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Bandsaw dust extraction

M

Michael Beswick

Joined
Jan 28, 2022
Messages
150
Likes
115
Location
Ware, Hertfordshire, UK
My new bandsaw is great but suffers, like others, of poor dust extraction. The 63mm exhaust spigot is situated near the lower wheel whereas most of the dust appears just under the table. My knowledge is limited to experience-the smaller the hole the greater the velocity. Sawdust is bigger than sanding dust. I happened to have a piece of 40mm basin Easter pipe with a 90* bend. As a first attempt proof of concept I found a lump of fence post. Realising that the two suction points needed to be the same diameter I drilled a 40mm hole through the blank and turned it to fit the spigot (one end) and hose the other. Internally the 40mm hole tapered out after the join for the angled pipe. A mix of measurement and trial and error got the length/angle and mouth of the pipe close to the blade under the table. It works very well. Hardly earth shattering but I’m pleased with it. I might refine it but it works well!F96E43A3-FB63-49CA-8631-0E342F0AB883.jpeg842A512F-9471-4F3E-9AB3-7E98D8BF5EC2.jpegB7C3B954-1D6D-4D18-86CD-544993BBB867.jpeg
 
Decades ago when I bought my Delta clone I sacrificed a shop vac crevice nozzle and mounted it below the blade. I'd guess it gets over 90% if the sawdust, every bit as much if not more than the saws I've used with factory installed dust ports.

Bandsaw Dust.jpeg
 
One thing about shop dust collection is that it is volume and not velocity which creates an ideal collection . This may be why it is harder to collect at the BS. You cannot get a large enough aperture and therefore lose much of the capability of the DC. I do think Tom has the best approach with collection at the point of creation .
 
One video I did was "Bandsaw dust ports do not suck". They are made for cabinet shops that cut dry wood. There is a lot of very open space inside the bandsaw so the air flow is not channeled in any way. I did put long dust ports in the bottoms of my saws. You could stick some foam around the vertical post in your saw which would plug up that hole. You can also put foam in around the table to get more channeling that way too.

robo hippy
 
Most of what I’ve cut so far has been relatively dry. The volume of sawdust that falls under the table has been reduced considerably. I’ve still to see how much is inside the saw. Despite various devices to prevent dust getting everywhere inside the saw I suspect I’ll need an elongated collection port along the lower edge of the door. Might wait till the warranty is up before cutting slots in the door!
 
Clever solution, @Michael Beswick .

Along a similar line as Cosman's solution is the Ripnado product. Pricey, and designed for the classic oval case 14", but with some modification I've been using it on my 14" steel spine BS.
 
Rob's solution works for dry wood. Not for wet wood. The older bandsaws were very open, and difficult to get good air flow around all that open space.

robo hippy
 
Gerald Lawrence said:
One thing about shop dust collection is that it is volume and not velocity which creates an ideal collection .
Click to expand...

I agree with Gerald, fine dust collection requires air volume moved not high air velocity speed.

When I get around to upgrading the DE on a couple of BSs I need to do that on I will take three 4" branches off the the 6" main duct: one positioned behind the top guide, one to the port in the bottom cabinet (just to pick up any 'chips' that end up there, but not so important) and one under the table. That 4" diameter duct under the table will require a transition to a rectangular section that will fit under there. These BSs rarely get to cut anything other than 90°, so easy removal of that under-table fitting won't be so significant with those. It may be more significant for others.

Unlike the Cosman design, the port under the table will be open ended to maximise the air flow volume past the blade. Air crossflow is a critical factor in fine dust capture.

Chip collection is not a priority for me. I will of course be taking particulate matter readings before and after implementation, and during fine tuning.

robo hippy said:
Rob's solution works for dry wood. Not for wet wood.
Click to expand...

Robo

I expect that the larger 4" diameter under-table port will also capture the wet wood swarf (less likely to clog, well less so than a small 40mm port), but I could be wrong there.
 
I have a 5 inch port. One of the first things I did was take out the 4 inch port for more air flow. I do stand log sections on end for slabbing them, so I get long shavings. As I say in my video, the inside of my big bandsaw reminds me of the Star Trek episode, The Trouble with Tribbles..... The bandsaw is too open for refining the air flow for efficient dust collection.

robo hippy
 
Good luck with changing the high velocity wood particles abruptly 90 degrees their flying direction.

I seen where a bandsaw was modified by cutting a wider slot in the bottom of the lower wheel surround, with the vacuum attached, could work for at least removing the dust from the lower area.

Mine is not used for cutting large blanks, and has been running like this most times,

Bandsaw.jpg
 
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