Dust Collection

[Doug]

I started scrolling in January of 2010 and being a senior decided I should try to preserve what lung capacity and hearing I still had.  I have very few original ideas but from this and a couple of other forums I have seen what others have done and tweaked it to where I think I am done tweaking.  As a result of all I have learned from others, I thought I should share what I have done with the thought it might be especially useful to those who are newer to scrolling.  I will not bother to describe everything as I think the pictures are self explanatory but I will be glad to try and answer any questions if there are some.

 

The sawdust you will see on the tabletop is what I call kerf dust which is the sawdust which is not cleared out of the kerf while sawing and thus ends up on the table top - thus the paint brush and plastic bag.  The dust you see under the table is basically kerf dust which has fallen through when I am brushing it off the table top and is probably what is present after 30 to 40 hours of saw time on 3/4 to 5/4 hardwood.  I also almost exclusively use FD 2/0 spirals and I do not think they clean the kerf dust out as well as most other blades but since I do not use other blades much that is just a guess.  The dust which has not stayed in the kerf is nearly completely collected by the system.  I am really sold on Dust Deputy - after several hundred hours I have not had to clean the vacuum filter.  I started with the Rockler Vortex and it was a huge disappointment.  The only place I use it now is with the planer - it is in line directly behind the planer and feeds to the Dust Deputy and then to the vacuum.  The reason for using the Vortex in this manner with the planer is because of the volume put out by the planer.

 

Regardless of all of this I know there is still fine airborne dust which is not caught by the system at the scroll saw which is the reason for the ceiling mount Jet Air Filtration System and you will see a fan in the back left which is directed away from the saw and also helps to pull the fine airborne dust away.  Although my comfort level is high, I still wear a dust mask but use the Vog mask because of the comfort and I also wear hearing protection.  After one gets used to it, it becomes automatic and you feel naked without it.  Enough rambling, I hope there is something in this that is useful to someone.

[amazingkevin]

Have you used the shop yet it is so clean,lol glad you are able to get it all .I really appreciate the call on the dust deputy.can't wait to get one.  

[heppnerguy]

I really do not use any dust collection system., nor do I wear a mask. Maybe not a good idea, but I don't feel very threatened from the small amount of dust the scroll saw makes. Outside of my sanders, the saw dust just seems to fall harmlessly to the table below my saw. Doug you obviously feel a lot different about this than I do.. What about it gang ? Am I really foolish about this ?

[bobscroll]

Doug you got one heck of a setup there, I can't say you are lazy when it comes to

health & safety, Top job!, Thank you for the photo's, Bob    

[jrpeteo]

Very nice set-up, mine is similar, also have a hose going to the drill press, works great. I do my work in the basement of my house. Before I did this there was was dust on the walls and the floor, and I always had dust on my glasses and the magnifier I look through. The shop vac is in another room operated by remote, and I also have the Dust Deputy which works very well. When I use spirals I also wear a mask, it seems they send a lot more dust into the air.

Pete

[Phantom Scroller]

Doug that's a great piped system you have going there which gives me ideas now, thanks for the pics.

 

Roly

[scrimper]

I have to admit that whilst I use dust collection on all of my other woodworking machines I don't on my Fretsaws, I use a blower to keep the line free of saw dust and that's about it, I did set up the (supplied) suction device on my Hegner but did not find it very effective and went back to the blower!

[sullyscroller]

Nice settup Doug. Richard i'm with you ,call me what ya want but i ain't skeered of a little dust even if it is 5" deep in my shop !!!! IT'S MY SHOP MY RULES !!!!

[Doug]

I am certainly not going to try and convince someone to change what they are comfortable with.  Sawdust in the shop really does not bother me too much, although I am somewhat of a "keep it clean" freak, as I can vacuum it.  What concerns me is sawdust in my lungs and it could be 2/0 spirals and 3/4 to 5/4 hardwoods create more airborne dust than many other types of wood and blades.  What I do know is that for what I do my ceiling mounted air filtration collected a lot of fine air borne dust before the table top vacuum and it still collects some but not nearly as much.  I think the air filtration system convinced me as much as anything of what I could not see but was inhaling.  As many of the hardwoods are exoctics, I also have some concerns about the potential sensitivities and reactions to some of the dust in the lungs.  I hope no one's pulmonologist ever has to suggest they maybe should have done more dust collection.

[Jim Finn]

I have a dust collection system with 6" ducts to each machine.  I also have an airborne dust collector mounted on the ceiling.  I still have sawdust all over the shop.  I am out there 5-6 hours a day seven days a week.  I have a friend that plays in there with me that is 88 years old and has COPD.  He asked his doctor about this and the doctor told him "You do not get COPD from sawdust" I hope he is right.

[rjR]

AS we are all different; so are our sensitivites/prejudices/beliefs also all different!

 

I ose a vacumn system on my prtable and stationery sanders. It also gets uesd on the cut-off and table saws.  I do not use it much on the scroll saw.

 

I have tried a few times and found it not to work out well.

 

My little shopvac and the port on the  DeWalt portable do catch a lot of dust though.

 

Not breathing sawdust is always a good idea.

[scrimper]

AS we are all different; so are our sensitivites/prejudices/beliefs also all different!

 

I ose a vacumn system on my prtable and stationery sanders. It also gets uesd on the cut-off and table saws.  I do not use it much on the scroll saw.

 

I have tried a few times and found it not to work out well.

 

My little shopvac and the port on the  DeWalt portable do catch a lot of dust though.

 

Not breathing sawdust is always a good idea.

TBH I imagine that most of us suffer more damage to our bodies due to unseen particles that are emitted from motor vehicles that we breathe in rather than sawdust from our scroll saws!

 

However you are correct breathing in sawdust is best avoided if possible.

 

I always feel that my scroll saw is the least likely machine to cause me problems?

[amazingkevin]

All excellent views on the hazards of dust particles. Great shop set ups too. I do know certain woods cause skin.eye,nose and breathing problems so working with those woods do the best you can containing them.Travis has a list in the village somewhere telling which woods are the hazards ones.It would be well worth your while to look at it.I think it's in the more section on top of this page.

[Doug]

Read on ONLY if interested in potential harm from sawdust.

 

Excerpt from a British Medical Journal Article:

 

"It should be noted that in some of the large scale general population studies assessed by the American Thoracic Society, the original aim was to determine the overall impact of workplace exposures on the population burden of COPD, and not necessarily to identify workplace specific causes. However, in certain studies, information was sought on the specific substances and occupations associated with increased prevalences of COPD. Occupations linked to increased prevalences of COPD include construction, leather, rubber, plastics manufacturing, plastics and rubber workers, textiles, food products, spray painters, and welders. Specific substances linked to higher prevalences of COPD include quartz, welding fumes, wood dust, sawdust, asbestos, and solvents."

 

The full article can be found at:

http://oem.bmj.com/content/62/4/212.full

 

And a couple of other articles:

http://www.wood-database.com/wood-articles/wood-allergies-and-toxicity/
 

http://billpentz.com/woodworking/cyclone/index.cfm

[Phantom Scroller]

I'm going to DIE! early, have you seen my shop

 

Roly

[oldhudson]

That's a pretty impressive dust collection system. It appears that your saw is in a fixed location. I don't use mine all the time, and certainly not  as much, as many of the members here. So when I put mine into operation I use a box fan about 14" away and a hose from my shop dust collector on the other side. Works pretty well, it's easy to set up, and stores away when not in use. All important considerations in a smaller shop.

  

(Posting my first pic - wish me luck)

 

 

[Doug]

That's a pretty impressive dust collection system. It appears that your saw is in a fixed location. I don't use mine all the time, and certainly not  as much, as many of the members here. So when I put mine into operation I use a box fan about 14" away and a hose from my shop dust collector on the other side. Works pretty well, it's easy to set up, and stores away when not in use. All important considerations in a smaller shop.

  

(Posting my first pic - wish me luck)

Nope.  Drill press, planer, chop saw, DW788, and EX21 all have stands mounted on 3/4 plywood with 4 inch swivel locking casters.  The table saw has its own base on wheels but all the toys are very portable.  The scrolls and drill press seldom are moved.  Even though using dust collection on the others they generally get rolled out to the driveway (unless raining or extremely cold) when they are used as the dust collection is less efficient on those toys.  The ones used in the driveway are also the least frequently used toys. I need them mobile because, for instance, I need to move the planer and chop saw to get to the table saw.  I also work with a limitation on space so a place for everything and everything in its place and on wheels.

[Doug]

I'm going to DIE! early, have you seen my shop

 

Roly

RIP Roly, have fun until then.

[amazingkevin]

"Rainbow "makes a dust collector that traps the dust in water $2000 dollars

[Multifasited]

Everybodies free to make their own decisions ,I have COPD ,saw dust maynot have caused it ,but I can assure you that talc fine dust especially from the top of the saw causes me problems ,that the larger stuff in the shop don't ,table saw ,bandsaw ,chopsaws ,routers ,planers  & sanders down to 220 grit can not compare. My wife has health problems ,in order to be there for her and still shop work I moved my 788 into my computer room next to the den where she watches tv.I knew I had to make some drastic changes to my saw to be able to move into the house ,I had to made it dust free ,I had to make it compact ,and clean and neat possible , this computer is 5' away from my saw . noise had to be minimal .pictured is what I ended up with .tables and d.t.drill press saw cart are all on casters,saw is stationary ,no blower, keyed to ,single swing arm is the lite -mag -spot lite and upper vac pu. all swing left to totally clear saw table between cuts and blade changes .under table vac. is recess manifolded in the table ,single slip fit hose top and bottom ,goes to tee to part piece trap then thru the wall to 6hp shopvac.on covered porch.  DIY  20 amp multi switch-recp.  box mounted on  f.right leg provide power to saw , vacc and d.t. drill press . Wall. circuits supply 3 double shop lite w/ day-lite bulbs . Plus I needed a chip chunk cut-out collection tray around the table to keep them off the floor and out from under the chair and cart wheels plus the mess of collecting them there.

The last thing I built was a fein style small dust collector separator to go a head of the vac ,with the textured cone it appears to do a great job on the ultrafine dust vertually nothing is getting in to the sheetrock filter in the vac.The vac is on constantly when I'm scrolling ,the saw starts and stops while the vac still runs. The high amp draw of constant starts and stops with the saw causes the extra wear on the vac.motor and the higher power usage ,as well as cutouts and dust not getting clear to containment ,causing intermittent blockage and diminishing suckion .I started working on this a year before moving it to the house as there is so little done in this regard ,I have been tweeking amenities to stream line to what you see today . The only dust I ever see is the tiny amount caught between the pcs. and the cut out ,as soon as they are out the vac gets them too . That and the DIY lift arm have made this a pleasure to operate and work around with no complaints about noise or any thing else from wife or family . Like I said in the beginning it is what ever you want it to be ,I hated all masks and fogged up glasses , fans filters etc. By the way I am not selling a dam thing ,no videos ,prints ,kits .disc's so Relax enjoy what ever way you decide to handle or not handle the dust ! Lately there has been some interest in a better way ,This is mine ! If you have any serious questions ,PM me if you don't want to go on the thread .

[amazingkevin]

I'd love to have a book full of scroll saw work shops to dream in.They make the wheels turn!

[Savannah Scroller]

Wow thats guys for all the great posts Yall have given me a lot of great things to think about.

 

KEEP ON SCROLLING!!!

[OCtoolguy]

Multifasited, I'd love to see more pics of your setup from the side angles. Also, what kind of small drill press is that? It looks like it would sure more handy than a regular bench top press. You'd never have to get up from your stool. I really would like to see what you consider to be your "finished" setup. The swing arm is interesting and I'd like to see more of it. Thanks for posting all your pics.

 

Ray

[Multifasited]

Multifasited, I'd love to see more pics of your setup from the side angles. Also, what kind of small drill press is that? It looks like it would sure more handy than a regular bench top press. You'd never have to get up from your stool. I really would like to see what you consider to be your "finished" setup. The swing arm is interesting and I'd like to see more of it. Thanks for posting all your pics.

 

Ray

 

Multifasited, I'd love to see more pics of your setup from the side angles. Also, what kind of small drill press is that? It looks like it would sure more handy than a regular bench top press. You'd never have to get up from your stool. I really would like to see what you consider to be your "finished" setup. The swing arm is interesting and I'd like to see more of it. Thanks for posting all your pics.

 

Ray

Ray !Thats an old rockwell ,Look up a post I did on the DIY deepthroat drill press .Hint ! for that you want a 1/4"chuck what ever you find The chuck has to be able to go down to close tight to hold small drill bits I use!   3/8" don't and you don't want to use an adaptor ,I  just bought ,a new ION bat. 1/4" black and decker cordless drill ,for use of small bits and dremel bits for special occasions .It's a little sweetheart $29.95 ,I will see what I can do about the extra pix, anything special you want to be able to see ? 

[OCtoolguy]

Thanks for your reply Multi. I was wanting to see the swing are and what all you have connected to it. All of your pics were of a frontal view. I just thought if possible maybe others would like to see side views also. I know I would. I am trying to get as many ideas as possible before I start putting mine together. I have the original tubular stand that DeWalt offered prior to the bent sheet metal stand that they sell now. I think I want to build my own stand that would have a single leg in the front and a double leg at the rear so that the operator can straddle the front leg and have a foot on either side. I have a foot pedal switch that is next to impossible to use with the two front legs where they are now. Once I get the stand built, then I will incorporate tool trays and vacuum hose connectors within it. I have a lot of ideas in my head but the more pictures I see of what others like you have engineered, I'll have a much better idea of what I want. Whatever I come up with will have to be mobile as my shop is very small and I can't have it in a spot that is permanent. Thanks again for your previous postings and for your very rapid reply to my question. I'll be anxiously awaiting your next batch of pictures.

 

Ray