Glenn n JimB BS Total Dust Collect Solution

Hi,

Welcome to the total solution to Dust Collection for the Grizzly 17 inch BS. Use the concept to adapt it to your Band Saw.

In the beginning we had the typical BS DC problems. Dust from band saws seems to be more difficult to coral than some of the other machines. Glenn, in his own inquisitive way searched for an answer. He came up with two things that really tamed the beast. I will take you through the path I followed to get to the answer. We hope it will be helpful to you.

First I will show you the result that each of us achieved.
The sawdust you see in the lower wheel cover is the accumulation of a few months with NO CLEANING. Glenn uses his much more than I do. However, his compartment looks just the same.

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This is one of two things Glenn did to make the improvement. Basically he did not allow much sawdust to flow down into the lower wheel well. He did this by making a bandsaw Zero Clearance Insert. The insert is basically anything you can do to captivate most of the dust just under the BS table. The DC then whisks the dust on its way to the bag, barrel or whatever your unit has. In this case the ZCI is a thin piece of plywood (1/8”) that goes back to the back wall of the wheel well. It also continues forward to be next to the access door when it is closed.

Notice the two brushes; one wipes the inside of the blade, the other wipes the tire. Also notice the opening with the cross piece in it. That is a port that we don’t even use. In fact mine is not even capped on the outside.

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You have to lay down to view this picture unless the Gurus can fix it.
After the blade passes into the lower wheel section and before it goes through the ZCI air is moved past it into a 2.5 inch stay put or flexible duct. This then goes about 12 inches and wyes into the 4 inch BS duct.

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This is the second of two things that we did.

Here is how I designed my box that goes just under the table. That’s the black box that you see at the top in picture 3, above.

I started with some nice cardboard cut from a box. I used cheap scissors, paper cutter (not at all necessary), razor knife, ruler and tape (blue stuff in this case, but anything will do). I looked at the pics of Glenn’s and made some estimates. Then I cut out my cardboard pieces and taped them together and, of course, found out that parts of my box banged some pieces of the BS and left gaps other places. Hi there Mr. Murphy.

I stuck tape on to my model where my cuts were too deep and I cut the cardboard where necessary to miss pieces of the BS. Then I made another model which was very close, however, not perfect. Third time was “Charm” so I was ready to go to wood.

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This is the beginning of the real thing.

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OK two pics to show you the internal bracing for my box. Unless you have the same BS I do, yours will look different. In my case there is a flush 0.75 inch rare earth magnet at each end of the “MAGNETS” sticker. In my case they are what stick to the door of the lower wheel well to hold the box in place. I just pull the box off when I tilt the BS table. Otherwise the tilting table would run into it. The magnets are in the bottom front of the “box” and are stuck to the door. They are just a bit closer together than the two screws you see (for obvious reasons---I like the nice tips on my Forstner bits).

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I painted mine flat black so that it would disappear in the shadows under the table. Glenn left his natural wood and used shellac. His looks nicer than mine---But then you knew that even before you read the thread.

Any questions PM me.

Enjoy,

JimB
 
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As I have said before, here and other threads---Vacuums pick up dirt by moving air. It is not suction. Orek used to advertise a small "Dust Buster" type of vacuum on TV by having it pick up a bowling ball.

The poor little ole vac was trying to move air. The bowling ball did not permit air to move; air could not get into the vac. So the system was static; no air and no dust moved. It would not be a good dust collecting system. We absolutely must allow as much air in as we wish to let out on its way to the DC.

The following is a fictitious example to help explain some of the air movement problems in a dust collecting system. If the DC system is really sealed except for the air coming out one 2 inch BS ducts, the system is grossly inefficient. I am feeding into a 6 inch main duct. I cannot move more air than I can take in so the air flow is choked. Therefore if I cut a hole in the BS wheel well (or leave a 4 inch port open) I can move more air. When I move more air, I move more dust. My system, which now has a 4 inch in diameter leak is more efficient than prior to the leak. In brief, I got rid of the bowling ball.

Please note the example is fiction. The real way to do this is to have an air velocity meter and static pressure meter in the ducting where the air leaves each machine. Then we would know not to use one 2 inch output from the BS. We could enlarge our plumbing and/or the number of places air gets into the system (bigger port, multiple ports, or whatever to make the meters read in the happy zone). As it was, my system was working perfectly so I had no concern about the fact that Glenn told me I was not going to need that port. I just didn't plug it until you guys (I did not see any female responses to this) got on my case. So I plugged it with a cold cream jar with a rubber band around it. My efficiency just might drop some, I don't think it can get better.

"No pic. It didn't happen." So here is the pic. I have to start a new reply. It won't take the last pic. JimB
 
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"Here I are Again" This was the comment of a very young next door neighbor of Myrna's every time she came over.

A quart jar of spacers also filled the port. However, I felt that was a bit too much for this humor.

With the cold cream jar I put a wide rubber band around it. You can see the band on the port with the cold cream plug. Notice the slight gap between jar and port in that pic. When I placed a wide rubber band around the jar it became a very air tight fit. Usually when I use rubber bands this way I place three side to side to make a wider band. Put talcum powder on the bands prior to pushing into the port.

On the Griz BS the "box" fits around the blade guide mechanism in the area shown in the pic. I put "box" in quotes because it is not a box. It is a front and two ends (one of which has a hole going to the 2.5 inch duct). The Top is just the BS table (yep. there is a lot of room for air to enter). The bottom is the top of the BS wheel cover. That shows up plainly in the pic where the "box" has been pulled (to tilt table or whatever) and is hanging on the stay put flex ducting.

Sorry, one pic is a duplicate from preceding post.

Enjoy,

JimB
 
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Your 'pickup box' modification is great, Jim. :thumb: This post will definitely be a good reference for others in the future. Thanks for taking the time and trouble to post it.

One of these weekends we need to get Glenn down there to teach you how to add and subtract photos from a post. :p It's real easy once you know what things to click.
 
Some pictures that might help.

There have been several references to this post and a bemoaning of the lost pics . . . Seems dad was "cleaning up" his PC again. I guess I need to install a terebyte drive and tell him never to delete anything . . . ever again but, I digress :rofl::wave: . . . Like I never pull any boo-boos . .. yeah right.

There are pics of the original concept in this thread that I posted a little over a year before dad's thread so it is crude by comparison.

The construct under the table, although innocent enough in appearance, is the heart of the system. Secondary in importance is the baffle on the inside of the lower cabinet in the ported compartment above the wheel. Minimizing the ability of the spoil to get launched out of the dust collection air stream combined with an adequate air stream presence seems to do the trick. There must be enough open area to allow air into the location so that the DC can draw it out without restriction. The lower port provided by many manufacturers at the bottom of the lower cabinet is sealed off. I just stuck a piece of sheet magnet I happened to have over it to test. It worked and has been there ever since.
 
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Thanks Glenn, as the one who stirred this all up recently, this is a great help.
Do I recall that in your Dad's version, the under-table "box" was a modified and cut away piece of pvc, or am I thinking of some other application entirely?

Regards
Peter
 
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