I have decided to build a dust collection system in my shop. Going to buy a blower, mount it outside and duct everything outside. One of the great things about living in the country, I can do this.
It's going to be a long term project because of the cost. So looking for sources and information now.
I need to start planning the duct system. I lean toward PVC because it's easy to work with. I think I read that metal was now cheaper than PVC? Anyone know for sure?
Any sources for things such as blast gates and the machine adapters I will need? I purchased all of my PVC at a local place that sold to landscaping people. I used SandD Schedule 35. I am quite sure a lighter weight product would have worked as well and been less expensive.
I remember somewhere I saw a blast gate someone built themselves but it was at least a year ago. No idea where it was.
It was here on FWW. Do a search, you should find it.
Any info or webs sites you care to pass along would be welcome.
BillPenz.com is the guru of dust collection. There is a tremendous amount of good information. However, the part about computing pipe size was too complicated for my antique brain.
Using the different size pipes that Penz math will lead you to has one great big problem. You
WILL modify your system several times as you change equipment, what you make, and a whole bunch of other reasons. Different size pipes will up your cost when you change things. It will make changes much more difficult (like: I need a 3ft section of 4inch pipe; all I have out back is 5inch---I need a 6inch 45 degree el; all I have is 4 inch).
I really searched Dust Collection (20 or 30 hours comparing systems, air speed, static pressure, etc. would not surprise me. I purchased several books on the subject. I searched the web, etc.). It was my No. One priority when I set up shop. After all of that research, what I did was run all 6 in pipe with 4 inch drops to each machine. The reason I did that was that I found quite a few people who had done that and were very happy. I am very happy that I did also.
My original drops were 4 inch flex. I did that for two reasons: 1) It was cheaper than solid pipe and 2) It was faster than plumbing solid pipe. By the way, I am a type "A" personality.
I have used PVC from the beginning. I would not change to metal if it was free. I can trim PVC with ww tools, do it quickly and easily. I cannot do any of those three things with metal. At least when I did it PVC was much less expensive.
I did take to heart, make it easy for the air to move. A vacuum cleaner (read dust collector) does not create a vacuum to pick up the dust. It moves air which carries the dust. Don't do 90 degree turns---Use two 45 degree els with a coupler between to make a much more gradual turn. The finished product should have as little flex hose as possible. We don't live in a square world...Don't be afraid to go 45 degrees if it makes a shorter run (horizontally or vertically).
My DC is a 2 HP PennState unit with 1 micron bags. You get to blow outside so your unit will be more efficient and a lot cheaper without the 1 micron bags to restrict air flow and suck money out of your wallet. Any time I rearrange my ducts I am amazed at how clean they are inside. Everything that goes in makes it all of the way to the collection bag. I have made several threads and posts on FWW about DC. Look up my name on the PM tab and see all of my threads and posts. The wording should clue you to find the DC writings and pictures. You can also do a search on Dust Collection and/or DC.
If you have any questions PM me (Jim C Bradley).
ps. I did not like the plastic blast gates sold by Rockler, WoodCraft and similar. They were quite stiff to open and close. They were a bigger pain than the metal and the amount of money saved was not worth it.
When you get into it I can give you some info on stuff you can buy from the Big Box Hardware's plumbing departments.
Enjoy,
JimB
FOR YOUR HEALTH'S SAKE, GET THE DUST COLLECTION SYSTEM IN AND FUNCTIONING!!!! You cannot do ww (or anything else) if you are dead or have congested lungs.