You guys are the best in helping new folks trying to make a proper decision on equipment. Sorry to be so long in getting back to the replies I received. I went early last week for a colonoscopy and ended up in the ER. I spent the week in the CCU and had 2 stents placed in my heart. I'm home now feeling much better and waiting to see a doctor about a wrist fusion that is very inflamed. I'm trusting in the Lord that I will be back in the shop soon to resume my hobby.
I have been doing lots of research on a DC system to fit my needs.
What’s your price range? I had one of the Oneida systems with the large metal cyclone separator. It had a 5 hp motor and did an amazing job. I’ve used other dust collectors with minimal success. Most don’t have enough power to just suck the dust out of the air while sanding. When I set up my new shop, I won’t be buying a dust collector. Instead I’ll buy a couple of the air cleaners to reduce the dust particles in the air. I find that sweeping up shavings is much faster than trying to suck them up and having to constantly empty the dust collector. Just my experiences
Thanks, Brandon, the price point is not a consideration in what I need as much as the point of efficiency of the DC to do the job. If 5 hp won't pull the sanding dust off a bowl I'm sanding I'm out of luck. I have a small 2 stage shop vac that does a fair job but is lacking for what I need.
Hi Ron, I have a small basement shop and I use a Jet dust collection system with a top canister. It has served me well for 4 years. For fine air dust I have a Wen dust collector that hangs from the ceiling. It does a good job as well.
Thank you, neighbor, I am planning to use a system with a canister. I have a good size squirrel cage motor that I plan on building a dust filter similar to the Wen.
I have a Laguna 2hp cyclone ... it fits my current needs, but I have been thinking about replacing it with one of Oneida's 'Supercell' systems.
They claim it "generates 10x higher suction than standard collectors, allowing it to effectively capture dust and debris from any 1" to 5" dia. port through up to 100 feet of 4" hose and ductwork! HEPA-certified filter media with internal pulse filter cleaner."
Sure sounds good to me.
Thanks, Gerald, I won't need anywhere near that much hose for my needs but the 1½ HP Laguna cflux: 1 is high on my consideration for a DC.
I have had one of the Oneida 3 hp systems for maybe 20 years. It fit in my old 860 sq. ft. shop easily, with 2 main arms/runs, and I could run 2 machines at once if I needed to. My new shop is in the 2000 ft. range, and it fits in here as well, and I can still run 2 machines at once, and still have 2 runs of duct work. So, it depends on what you want to do. I needed a centralized system, rather than having the smaller set up that was on a cart that I wheeled from machine to machine. A real pain.... A 2 hp system will have plenty of pull for most smaller shops. It could have worked well in my old shop, but running 2 machines at once would have been difficult. It would not work in my new shop. My first one was a 1 hp. system on a cart. Too much work...
So, for sure, you want a 2 stage system, which means a cyclone which separates all the chunks out before they go through the fan/impeller blades, and a pleated paper type of filter. Until you have experienced it, you will never guess how many things can go through the hose and get stuck in, and damage your impeller blades.... The pleated paper filters have much finer filtration than most of the cloth bags, and one filter will give you the same venting space that 2 or more cloth bags give you, so the footprint of the dust collector is smaller. Oneida probably has the best system out there, many sizes to choose from.
Also, you want a remote switch. I think the main one is called the 'Lone Ranger'. Some operate on infa red light, which means you have to be pointing it at the machine to get it to work. With the Lone Ranger system, it operates on FM frequency, and you just have to push the button. I have 2 remotes. The one in the flat work room floats from machine to machine. The one in the lathe room sits on a clip on the wall. I lost one in the shavings once.....
robo hippy
Thanks, Reed, this is more in line with my needs except I'll be running only one machine. The ones I'm considering do come with a remote.
I bought a small wall hanging DC from Grizzly specifically for sanding dust on the lathe; getting a route from my main DC was going to be long and painful to do because of obstructions. I mounted it in the hayloft above my lathe and dropped a 4" pipe down. It seems to work great for sanding dust. It's got a beater to clean the filter cartridge, I give it a spin when I remember. No cyclone. It's been a few months and there's a few inches of dust in the bottom of the bag, it will easily go a year or more without needing to be emptied.
It has enough air movement to get most of the dust generated while sanding even though it's only a couple hundred cfm. I have a small plastic hood on a floor stand that I keep fairly close to the work while sanding. I'd love to have an articulated arm dropping down from the ceiling to reduce clutter close to the lathe. The one that Glenn Lucas is selling looks great, but $500....
Thanks, Roger, I did look at the Grizzly but after checking on adding a 4 or 5-inch cyclone and the rest of the equipment for that I was close to the price of a remote-controlled two-stage system.
I agree with Reed that a cyclone is a must on any serious system. Even more important to me than occasional s..t hitting the fan is that a good cyclone will remove 0.9999? percent of the fine dust before it reaches the final filter. I have a shop built cyclone followed by a 2 hp blower and a cartridge type final filter. I find that when cyclone canister has accumulated ten gallons or so of dust, the cartridge filter has maybe a handful and is easily blown out.
BTW, when selecting the size of pipe or hose to connect the dust source to any type of dust collector, keep in mind that too large a size will result in low air velocity and may lead to accumulation of material in the duct, and eventual blockage.
Thanks, Dennis, that lines up perfectly with my research.
I have a Grizzly 2 HP with added pleated filter. Most of my duct is 4 in PVC drain waste . DC is in the attic. For years had a homemade cyclone and n2 years ago bought a Dust Deputy with 5 inch pipe to DC .
The pleated filter will increase your suction greatly as well as larger duct also.
Most of my shavings go on the floor, but sanding I can see the stream going into the dust hood. My shop is about 800 ft and I have 7 drops but only use one tool at a time so mostly ducts are closed. Even with gates you will get some leakage so that reduces your suction also. If I only had one duct to my lathe the suction would pull your hat off. Oh by the way I have had this DC over 20 years and it usually goes on when I go to shop and off when I leave.
As to overhead dust filters another poster mentioned. Yes you will want one but it does NOT replace a Dust Collector. Those are to filter dust out of the air and yes you will get dust in the air no matter what system you buy.
Thanks, Gerald, your reply is very much in line with my thoughts and needs. I will continue to sweep up shavings and install an overhead dust collector.
I have a Griz like Gerald's. I make no attempt to collect chips. does a pretty good job on dust. I made a "Fein" filter (installed so long ago I think that is the name of the guy who devised it). It is installed below the canister; so unlike a cyclone, everything still goes through the fan, but a very high percentage of dust drops into the colleting bag below. My DC is in a separate enclosure with the return air going through a high efficient filter. This performs like a air filtration unit.
Thank you for your reply, Mike!
I’ve had the Laguna PFlux 3 for about a year now and I’m very happy with it. It wasn’t my first choice but I have a height issue and it fit the space I have. I had several other smaller systems over the years and this one is the first one that has moved enough air to work correctly. Based on my experience I would consider a 3hp to be the minimum for adequate dust collection at the lathe
Thanks, Greg, I hope to get by with a little less HP.
A 3 hp system, may be overkill for most wood lathe shops. Main difference would be determined by how 'open' your lathe is. Out in the middle of a room, with a 3 hp system, and you would need a couple of hoses with big gulp type hoods around it. If you are in a corner, you are more enclosed, so your collection is more defined. This is a link to a sanding hood I made years ago. As I say in the video, it gets all of the dust that comes off of my bowls. The problem with it is that I can't leave it in place when I am turning, though it would entirely enclose a mini lathe. I am in the process of building bigger ones for my lathes. 5 feet wide, but same basic shape. This really defines or maybe focuses the air flow at the lathe, and I could run 2 of them at once with a 3 hp system. Another video in the works...
robo hippy
I've watched your videos, Reed, thanks for sharing them.
I really like the barrel idea, much less work than the box I made. That’s one of the things I love about this forum, seeing how others addressed a problem. I can leave my box in place but it still needs improvement. I’m working on “new and improving it”, to borrow your phrase.
I guess it depends on what size stuff you turn. If you don’t turn much over 14” a 2 HP would be plenty. I turn a lot of 18-20” sinks and even with a collection box a 2HP just didn’t move enough air to capture all the dust, but a better box may fix this. This is my current box, I’d planned some additions to it but once I got it on the lathe I saw a couple of obvious flaws and I’m working on my next design.
Amen, Greg!!!
Thanks again, and if anyone has positive or negative thoughts about the Laguna 1½ HP cflux:1 please let me know.