Upgrading my dust system

[Sally]

After I came home from Janette's, I realized I needed to upgrade my dust collection system. I had a wall mounted 2.5" hose system. Didn't work very well. So I bought the Shop Fox 1.5 horse 4" hose system, hoses, etc. I already had the hoods. It was a lot of work putting the whole thing together. Before I started I took one of my DeWalt saws to the shop and built a new stand for the other. The new one was built from material of a table that was taking up too much room. (You can see - my shop is small.) Both saw stands allow me to sit while using them. The last picture is of the "other side of the shop". The tools over on that side don't get used too much.

[Sally]

Upgrading

Now that the shop is so clean - I may never use it again - so I don't have to clean it again. I can tell you, I not going to buy anything else for years to come!!!
The gates are a little hard to reach - oh well. . .
The whole thing is set up with one of those plugs that if you turn on a machine the dust collector comes on automatically.
I must be crazy
Thanks for looking at my pictures.

[wood-n-things]

Good for you! Nice shop. Great new dust collection system. Is it very loud?

[ubgoofy2003]

You have a nice shop Sally. I think you have a good sellection of tools too. Glad you have a dust collections system, I don't. I just cleanup & wear a mask. Should change that method though. I have a problem with the airborne dust settling on everything. You just keep on scrolling. The shop is nice.

[Wood Dog]

Holy Molly woman you must have been a contortion artist is the past to be able to hook all that up. Sweeeeet shop, hope it works out well for you with the new system in place. Looks great, but you should never say you will not buy another tool.....for years to come. We scrollers have to keep the economy going again.

[VB...]

Well it looks great. How is it working out for you? Is the system strong enough? Is it too loud? Is it too dusty from the bags? Please give details.

VB...

[handibunny]

Very impressive, Sally. And a lot bigger than the 2' strip along the side of the garage that holds all my tools.

I know that the fight against dust is endless, and you are to be commended for going to such lengths to protect your lungs! We manage with 2 shop vacs and one box fan with filters--not perfect, but it will have to do.

BTW, I love the projects you have on your wall!

[Sally]

Thanks for all your comments. I haven't really used the system yet but I did test it with scrap wood. I will have to move the hood for the scroll saw a bit higher - it works but not good enough. The rest seems to be working very well. I"m pleased. Like I said the gates are a bit difficult to reach but I'll get used to them. I do wear noise blocking ear protection so the noise level seems OK.
Yes WD - we do need to help the economy but now I've done "my part" so I'll leave the rest to others for now. (smile)
Thanks Carole for commenting on the projects on the wall. I usually just give my stuff away so those projects are ones I've decided to keep for one reason or another.
Thanks again everyone.

[tgiro]

Sally - great system!

I notice that all of your tubing and piping are plastic. Dry saw dust, being pulled through plastic tubing, creates static electricity. Static electricity is what causes electrical arcs. Those arcs, through that dry saw dust can cause a small explosion through the collection tubing, which will damage the tubing and can cause fires.

This isn't something to be afraid of, just needs to be fixed and it is simple. Some bare #12 or #10 stranded wire, threaded through the main tubing pipes, and grounded to the dust collector, will do the trick. That will ground any static electricity buildup and keep it from becoming dangerous.

An easy way to thread the wire through the tubing is to take newspaper & tape and make a baseball - softball size ball. Wrap a couple of loops of wire around it and feed it into the port which is furthest from the dust collector. Turn on the dust collector and slowly feed the wire, while the dust collector pulls the ball. Don't let the ball reach the dust collector fan, unless you want to spend a lot of time unwinding the wire from around the fan drive shaft.

Bring the wire out, past the clamp which holds the tubing to the dust collector and connect it to one of the screws or bolts on the dust collector. Then go back to the port where you fed the ball & wire to the system. Bring the wire out past the clamp on that port and tighten the clamp down on the wire, so it doesn't get pulled back through the system to the dust collector. You don't need to ground this end.

Viola - a safely grounded dust collector that you will enjoy for a long time.

[mtnman]

Sally -- nice!! Dust is a major problem. Glad to see where you are starting. I'm sure you will tweak it as you use it and find the glitches. It is hard to keep the gates in places where they are handy. Thanks for the pics and the post.

[Sally]

Thanks Tiro for the explanation. The tubing has the wire built in. I do have a grounding kit and will install it soon.
Thanks again everyone for your nice comments.

[fireglass]

Sally your Intarsia work is awsome If you want to give it away, you can send it to me I'll pay shipping. Lance

[Sally]

Thanks Lance (big smile!)

[evilbadger]

Looks like a nice setup Sally. Let us know how it works once you really give it a workout.

[ossaguy]

Wow,what a beautiful workshop!

I love your projects on the wall,you do fantastic work!

Take care,
Steve