Dust collection tips
Pick up your Double Taper Sanding Disc Here. You’re gonna want one of these!
https://www.mikefarrington.com/dt-disc
Tip Jar… Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/MikeFarrington
In this video I share a few woodworking dust collection tips I have picked up over the years. Below is a list of tips as well as some useful links.
Tip 1: Get a fan: https://amzn.to/3D9wNNd
I bought this DeWalt fan. Its been really good. I like that low is pretty low and high is moving a lot of air.
Tip 2: Ambient filters
Duct fans: https://amzn.to/3Qv2Oma
Filters: https://wynnenv.com/products-page/cyclone-filter-pricing/9l300nanoext/
Timer: https://amzn.to/3d1PlEB
8″ Elbow, better than the one I showed in the video: https://amzn.to/3Rz96m3
Tip 3: Blower
Makita Blower: https://amzn.to/3cZM0WH
I really like this blower, I use it in the shop and the yard.
Tip 4: Heat gun
I’ve had this heat gun for a million years, works great: https://amzn.to/3B7dRvQ
Tip 5: Dust Shrouds
Link to my table saw video: https://youtu.be/nhEZEnu9Gak
Tip 6: Air Quality Monitor: https://amzn.to/3RVE7QV
Tip 7: Anemometer: https://amzn.to/3KZkXaw
Tip 8: Loctite: https://amzn.to/3qx63i5
Tip 9: Vacuum Floors:
Handle: https://amzn.to/3KZP29Q
Extensions: https://amzn.to/3d2cu9O
Floor brush: https://amzn.to/3qsp85i
Tip 10: Vac hose
Bosch Hose: https://amzn.to/3QAYNwm
Tip 11: Down Draft Table
https://www.denray.com
If I were going to make one: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7FRHsSQf9W0&t=1s
Tip 12: Plywood donuts
Tip 13: Flex hose
I like this stuff: https://amzn.to/3QwCSqd
Tip 14: Orient dust collectors for ease of access:
Link to miter saw build: https://youtu.be/osojQkeZRVk
Tip 15: Big stretch silicone: https://amzn.to/3L1iWKN
Tip 16: Fein Vacuum: https://amzn.to/3RSJ2SI
I really think these are the best vacuums for the money.
Tip 17: Dust Mask: https://amzn.to/3TV5A75
Tip 18 PVC is great if you are going with 6″ or smaller ductwork.
Link to blast gates that work with PVC pipe: https://www.clearvuecyclones.com/shop/?filter_cat_list_0=45&wpf_filter_cat_list_0=55&all_products_filtering=1
Tip 19: Use 2 45 degree fittings not 1 90.
BIG PLUS 1 for the simple fan and cross air flow idea. I have not seen it mentioned anywhere before but it works really well and it’s cost effective.
Cost effective particle meters are available from bang-good. Rag and bone man got one for his workshop. Precision may not be high but as an indicator they still help give a number to the often invisible and deadly dust factor.
Great info Mike. On another subject, I’m curious how you handle humidity? I’m sure winter is not a problem but curious what the RH is there in the other seasons?
Sawdust….Man Glitter
Great video as usual. Thanks 👍 as a retired physician I realize what my lungs are worth. You did a great job in this video. When designing my new shop I decided to also install an attic fan. This woks quite well.
You know how you change your formula sometimes, it can be a slap in the face? I want to be slapped again.
Great job on this video! I have one thought to share that will improve the accuracy of your anemometer flow measurements:
When using the anemometer and placing it close to (or at) the opening of ductwork to measure volume flow, the cross-section of the anemometer will automatically cause an increase in airflow being measured because you’re restricting the actual area that the air passes through. The result is that you are getting erroneously high airflow measurements.
I think a practical way to improve the accuracy is to determine the cross-sectional area of the anemometer and build a section of duct that is larger than the ductwork that you were measuring the flow of by the amount of cross-sectional area of the anemometer. Then attach this test assembly to the duct you are determining the air flow of. The length of this test assembly should be at least a couple of diameters of the pipe itself. While in a rigorous calculation of airflow using engineering airflow calculations this is still inaccurate, it will still be more accurate than what you’ve been doing IMO. I don’t mean to be critical, but I think that this bears consideration.
You’ll probably need to build, at most, three test pieces: 4”, 6”, & 8”. I’d look at sheet metal, probably using large HVAC pipe, cutting it down and using pop rivets.
I really like your concluding comments – you give fantastic advice!
Hope this helps!!
Thanks and keep it up!
Your last general tip is good advise in a lot of situations. I heard a great quote recently, "continuous improvement is better than delayed perfection."
ρяσмσѕм
Yay! Dust collection. My favorite. Thanks buddy.
4:50 Pro tip: for what ever reason a 3/4" PVC fitting fits nicely into a 1" fitting.
Very interesting video. Ever try vacuuming your filters?
if German Fein is pronounced Fine
i NEED to turn my Oneida Dust Gorilla machine one notch because the filter is crammed in the corner..or just move everything over a little. Whats the link to the screw on DC filter? I cant find it but that would be really nice to have.
My dust collector is the floor
I wonder if applying an electrical charge to a dust filter would cause the dust particles to be repelled from the filter media, similar to a van de Graaff generator?
When sweeping a floor you can sprinkle or spray water on the floor as you sweep. It clumps all the dust on the floor into small clumps and lessens the amount of dust that ends up in the air when sweeping
Great video to put out, I’m a professional Furniture maker too in the UK and when started in the industry dust collection was pretty poor and I definitely suffered but in recent years the standards of dust collection around me and in line with my learning have got to similar standards you have your Workshop and it really has made huge difference. So many still take the lungs and personal health for granted, glad to see people talking about it more and more now
Since you have then anemometer, can you test the 2, 45’s method in comparison to 1, 90 degree? I just don’t know that you’ll see a difference with your particular system. My guess is <1%.
Lots of great tips, thank you. Lots of great comments too. The Bosch Hose is $48.39 compared to the Festool similar hose is $179.00 and for the difference of about $130 you get an antistatic hose. Is the antistatic feature worth an extra $130.00?
in lue of that dust tapping get yourself a cheap "massage gun" off Amazon. 1) you can use it after long hard day of work, they are great, but 2) the vibration is very good at loosening dust from carpets, but also filters. A tool you might not think to use. I also like the small Makita air blower, it’s very powerful, but way easier to use around smaller items in your shop and is still powerful enough for porches and other small areas for debris removal.
The new face mask, I got one 5 months ago what an improvement over the cartridges, I totally agree…….
Thanks for the video! At 17 I started doing woodworking as a hobby, I am now 62 and am battling COPD. I always thought spending 500 dollars on filters was way too expensive. Dust masks were not something that I though of as being important either, isn’t that what your nose hairs are for? If I did not have good medical insurance one month of breathing treatments would pay for a shop full of dust collection equipment.
Is the Bosch hose an anti-static hose?
Love it. Great video as always Mike
Thanks for sharing. Your channel is one of the most informative ones out there.
Love the homemade ambient filter. I wish they made a smaller or short outside in filter for small shops though.
hello, any interested in 4K POE secuity camera system sponsorship? i had emailed you the details hope can hear from you and willing to dicuss the further details with you. Thanks.
Excellent advice and tips! Thank you for the video
13:35
Dear Mike. I have the same face mask and I noticed that my beard negates the filter effects both ways, air in and out. I don’t have a long beard, but it still seems that a clean shave would work the best. The filters work partly, but I wouldn’t want to shave my beard for personal reasons. I noticed you have some facial hair and what are your thoughts on this topic?
Edit: I saw the ending and I feel a bit better about this. I took off the filters and cleaned them with compressed air and there was quite a lot of dust in them, so yeah… I guess having a clean shave would be almost perfect to protect yourself, but this product is still a big upgrage from 2 rubber band fabric face masks.
🤣🤣🤣
Great video!
I have to be honest, most of this video sucked. But that could have been the point, I’m not sure.
Hey Mike, great video! Dust collection is very important to my shop, since it exists in the garage, and we have some of the kid’s stuff there as well (strollers, hiking backpack, bikes, etc)… so this really hit home!
Also, don’t mean to hijack this video, but I have been watching some of your built-in shelving videos as well, since I need to make some shelving/storage for the kid’s playroom. Would you suggest 3/4 plywood or mdf for the cabinet boxes, and why? I’ve seen others who use ply, but your videos are with mdf. Thanks for the tip/advice, now I’m off to order one of your sanding discs!!!
Another excellent video, well done!
Well, you did a great job showing me how inadequate my dust collection is in my shop. Tip #10 was the best tip. The level of frustration for finding the correct fitting for each tool is so high. I had to resort to 3d printing some of the connections. On a serious note, you had excellent tips and I will be definitely looking into several of these.
Mike, thank you for sharing your experience! I appreciate you adding all the links to each tip. Does the Shop Apprentice build custom floor accessories?
This is a great & useful video on a topic that has been covered so many other times by so many others. That’s hard to do. Thanks man.
Very good information regarding dust control and how not to breathe in wood dust – which is a known carcinogen. Top tip, Mike: if you want to minimize dust inhalation, shave your beard. OSHA recommends being clean-shaven prior to donning any type of dust mask, including a full-face or half-mask respirator. The really fine dust has a good chance of getting in between your beard hairs and the mask.
I know, maybe you won’t look quite as macho, but you may increase your chance of not dying from lung cancer at a relatively young age.
you can find PM 2.5 air quality monitors for under $25, I have one in my shop and one in the house. They work great. They need a 5V power supply, but you probably have a few power adapters lying around, don’t you?
What do your neighbors say when you dispose of your dust?
thanks
I recently fell down the rabbit hole of shop vacs and came up against the static issue there around cyclones. There’s a lot of FUD about static for shop vacs and frying fancy festool units. Do you worry about static with your shop vac?
Tip 16, except we have dust collectors set up for each tool. We just got the Oneida Gorilla Pro 5hp dust collector with 7" hoses for our CNC. But it’s a full sized cabinet shop, like 12.5k sq ft. Anyhow, very well done video my friend.
Well played. That mask is very Bane.
Great and very clearly explained tips!
You merely adopted the dark, I was born in it… um wait…. What you know you can’t explain, but you feel it. You’ve felt it your entire life. Never mind viewer your dust collection system is woefully inadequate, here are two dozen pro tips. TY Mike for sharing another great video.
Great vid. Thanks.
11:35 No one cared about dust, until I put on the mask.
I have issues with you just blowing your dust straight out the window into everyone else’s enviroment to breath in. Selfish!
Uh, I would rather buy merv 15 filters from the big box store and make a solution for less than a $100.