To Dust I Return
December 14th, 2009Breathing is Nice
Take a deep breath. I’m considering taking the plunge. I may get myself…a DUST COLLECTOR.
The other day while I was doing something stupid on the web (which I no longer recall), I came across a dust attachment for my Dewalt planer. Not a real dust collector. More like a grass bag. Then I read up on dust some more, and I realized dust collection was something I could actually achieve, now that I can’t use the garage for parking. The added room makes it possible.
I have a table saw, planer, router, miter saws, and band saw. Dust generation is not a problem for me. I can fill a car trunk in a day if I put my mind to it. But I hate the post-fun vacuuming. Anything I can do to cut back would be good. The aggravation of cleanup makes me use the tools less, and that is unacceptable.
I keep letting credit-card points expire, and that’s bad. So I’m redeeming a bunch of them for gift certificates. I wish I could use them for a dust collector, but I can’t get a Delta, which is what I want.
I have to put a floor in my table saw so the dust will stop falling out of the bottom. Ironically, I’ll need a table saw in order to do this. I’ll have to cut the MDF I bought. I guess dust will have a couple more victories before I overcome it.
The drill press vise I ordered will be here this week. That will be fantastic. I’ll have everything I need to put the cross slide table and the vise on my drill press. That will get a fair amount of hardware out of my face.
What would you buy, if you had some Sears gift certificates? I think I should get out my book on putting together an amazing garage and see what I lack.
OOH! Worm-drive circular saw!
That’s a thought.
December 14th, 2009 at 6:39 PM
Be sure to get 1 micron bag(s) for the collector. The small stuff does the most damage to your lungs. I have a cyclone system from these guys: http://www.pennstateind.com/store/dust-collection.html
It’s not an industrial setup, but it works great in my 1000 sf shop. They also sell replacement bags for most popular collectors.
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These days, there really isn’t a need for a worm-drive saw (unless you enjoy “pushing” your lard-butted saw from behind). I’ll wait for all the old timers to stop screaming at their monitors……… Ok, then. The pro-grade sidewinders of today have more than enough torque to rip wet, pressure treated southern yellow pine 2x12s. If you need more than that, you should be using your table saw.
December 14th, 2009 at 6:50 PM
Penn State makes a good dust collector in the size I’m thinking of, but the Delta seems to be a better deal right now.
December 14th, 2009 at 6:53 PM
You can’t park in your garage anymore?
With all those tools, can you build yourself a bigger garage?
December 14th, 2009 at 8:39 PM
If you’ve got gift certificates, why not get a Bobcat?
December 14th, 2009 at 9:05 PM
You need a dust collector. I know you wear a mask but you put yourself at risk without a dust collector.
December 14th, 2009 at 11:18 PM
Wasting good floor space in a garage by putting motor vehicles in it is just…………well…….wrong. Anyone who does it should be carefully watched, there’s no telling what other perversions he might be up to.
If you don’t think putting a car or pickup in a garage is wrong, why would an otherwise sane person wish to protect a machine designed and built to be weatherproof from…..wait for it…………..TAAA DAAA!!>>>>>>>>THE WEATHER?
December 15th, 2009 at 2:24 AM
Milwaukee Worm Drive Saws rock, but most of the pros I’ve worked with prefer a bench mounted compound/slide miter saw and a light weight high torque corded saw they can “cut from the hip” with (or battery powered circular.)
Unless you’re going to work for Habitat for Humanity on a regular basis or otherwise building houses/barns for a living the worm drive saw is a luxury…not a necessity.
Buy the dust collector and get the CFM and Static Suction Pressure.
December 15th, 2009 at 1:19 PM
Wasting good floor space in a garage by putting motor vehicles in it is just…………well…….wrong
Unless you get 18 inches of snow in a day followed by freezing rain several days later, and you have a hard time walking. Up here we tend to keep our tools in basements.
December 15th, 2009 at 5:18 PM
What’s a “basement”?
December 15th, 2009 at 6:26 PM
I had an old Mall worm-drive saw that I picked up at a garage sale, it was great! Made those regular saws feel downright wimpy. Was a sad day when it finally died, and the replacement, bought at a flea market, is too darn heavy to use. A good modern one would probably be a good buy, except I use one so little anymore.
My wife’s dust collector simply exhausts outside, no filtration needed. Others are correct, though, if you’re going to have the exhaust inside, you need very good filtration, and those bags won’t get it, you need actual filters.