YAHFDC (Yet Another Harbor Freight Dust Collector)

[Edgar]

Far from complete, but it is functional & it works great.

I bought a 2 HP DC from Harbor Freight (on sale + 25% discount), added a Woodcraft Dust Separator cap on a 32 gal Home Depot trash can and started plumbing it in this weekend.

My woodshop is 1/4 of my 30x50 garage and is located on the other side of the wall behind the DC. So far I have a finished drop for my drill press & a temporary drop for my lathe. I still need to add runs & drops for my miter saw & table saw in the woodshop. (Yes, I will replace that 90˚ elbow with 45s when I add the additional runs.)

My bandsaw, sanders & jointer are in the front part of the garage & off to the side so we can actually park cars in the garage. They will eventually be tied into the blast gate on the right side of the one for the woodshop.

I turned a few pens today and I'm really pleased with the way this thing works.

Edgar

 

[jttheclockman]

The drill press is the only tool I do not have my DC hooked to. Never seen a need for it. Oh yes my scrollsaws do not have dust collection on them either.

 

[Edgar]

The drill press is the only tool I do not have my DC hooked to. Never seen a need for it. Oh yes my scrollsaws do not have dust collection on them either.

I wasn't going to tie it in at first, but it was easy drop to make since it's right in line with the run to my lathe. I'll just put a vacuum nozzle on the end of that 10' hose and use it to clean up around the DP rather than having to drag my shop vac over there.

 

[Rodnall]

You may want to change the bag on your dust collector to a cartridge filter. It will take out the finer dust. Wynn makes a kit to fit the harbor freight dust collector.

 

[Edgar]

You may want to change the bag on your dust collector to a cartridge filter. It will take out the finer dust. Wynn makes a kit to fit the harbor freight dust collector.

Either a Wynn cartridge filter or this 1 micron Powertec bag are on my list - I just haven't decided which way I want to go yet.
POWERTEC 70001 Dust Collector Bag, 20-Inch x 31-Inch, 1 Micron - Vacuum And Dust Collector Bags - Amazon.com

 

[low_48]

Pretty sure that 1 foot of flex has the same restriction as 3' of straight. I would have used less flex, but as long as it works.

 

[Edgar]

Pretty sure that 1 foot of flex has the same restriction as 3' of straight. I would have used less flex, but as long as it works.

The connection at my lathe is just temporary for now - I'll plumb in a better setup once I add the runs to my miter & table saws. There's about 15' of hose laying on my workbench right now, but I shouldn't need more than 3 or 4 feet when I make the final tie in - just enough to reach across the workbench to the blast gate (yet to be installed).

I may put a double blast gate with another 10' vacuum hose like I have at the DP for general cleanup around the work bench.

 

[plantman]

Edgar; That's not a garage, that's a warehouse !!! Looks like you have a good start. Yes I would get rid of those 90's. Replace them with 90 degree elbows instead of the 45's. This will give you a much smoother flow with no sharp bends. Maybe even add a copper grounding wire to the inside or outside of the plastic pipe to prevent static shocks or dust explosions when you have long runs. Small guage wire will do because you won't be carrying any high amperage. Jim S

 

[wyone]

30 x 50??? OK... not sure you are allowed to discuss your shop anymore. I dream of having that much room one day, but well, other priorities in my life right now. Good for you to have a great place to.. CREATE...

 

[Edgar]

Thanks Jim & Mitch,
This building was a dream for a long time. I hired a crew to pour the concrete & erect the building about 20 years ago. We're in the county, so I didn't have to get any permits. It is built to hurricane specs & has been through 2 with no problems at all. I did all the wiring myself, put pegboard all around the walls with insulation behind the pegboard and put up the walls for the woodshop area. Only the roof is not insulated, but it's high enough that it's not really necessary. There's 3 roll-up doors - an 18' double door in front and two 9' doors in the rear and a walk-through side door. Last year I added a 20x50 tractor shed addition to one side of the building - turns out to be a great place to stack logs.

I haven't decided about grounding yet. It's so humid here in the Texas Gulf Coast that it's almost impossible to generate static electricity, but I belong to the "better safe than sorry" club. There's an industrial cabinet shop next to our office and their DC piping is all PVC. I'm going to chat with them about grounding & see what their static electricity experience has been.

 

[Bill in Buena Park]

You may want to change the bag on your dust collector to a cartridge filter. It will take out the finer dust. Wynn makes a kit to fit the harbor freight dust collector.

Either a Wynn cartridge filter or this 1 micron Powertec bag are on my list - I just haven't decided which way I want to go yet.
POWERTEC 70001 Dust Collector Bag, 20-Inch x 31-Inch, 1 Micron - Vacuum And Dust Collector Bags - Amazon.com

Ed,
I have a similar setup to yours. I bought two of those Powertec bags - put one on top, and one on bottom replacing the plastic bag. I wanted to maintain as many CFM as I could since the stock bag was 5 micron. It's been working great. Be advised that the bag is larger in circumference (an inch or two) than the stock bag, and will need ~ 1 inch fold-over to fit tightly.

 

[Edgar]

You may want to change the bag on your dust collector to a cartridge filter. It will take out the finer dust. Wynn makes a kit to fit the harbor freight dust collector.

Either a Wynn cartridge filter or this 1 micron Powertec bag are on my list - I just haven't decided which way I want to go yet.
POWERTEC 70001 Dust Collector Bag, 20-Inch x 31-Inch, 1 Micron - Vacuum And Dust Collector Bags - Amazon.com

Ed,
I have a similar setup to yours. I bought two of those Powertec bags - put one on top, and one on bottom replacing the plastic bag. I wanted to maintain as many CFM as I could since the stock bag was 5 micron. It's been working great. Be advised that the bag is larger in circumference (an inch or two) than the stock bag, and will need ~ 1 inch fold-over to fit tightly.

Thanks Bill,
Good idea on the double Powertec bag - I hadn't thought about that one. Do you have to empty/clean the bottom bag very often?

I did notice that the Powertec bag is slightly larger & figured that I would have to lap it over a bit.

Edgar

 

[wyone]

Well as an electrician, for 40+ years, I am thinking some #14 bare inside the piping would be cheap insurance. You may NEVER need it, but too much grounding, well there is no such a thing. I used metal piping in my system, which is needing to be redone, for exactly that reason. I like PVC better for longer runs, but my area is small so I used metal.

Regardless, I think it is great you have such a place. I plan to have that one day myself.

 

[Bill in Buena Park]

Thanks Bill,
Good idea on the double Powertec bag - I hadn't thought about that one. Do you have to empty/clean the bottom bag very often?

I did notice that the Powertec bag is slightly larger & figured that I would have to lap it over a bit.

Edgar

My chip separator is the Thien design and it does a great job of capturing all but the finest dust so I think I get maybe an inch of fines in my bottom bag for every two cans of chips emptied. Except when I was planing a bunch of board stock and forgot to check the can... :redface: So under normal operations i would empty the lower bag annually to prevent more than 6 to 8 inches of build up.

 

[MesquiteMan]

One pleated Wynn canister will provide more surface area than two of the Powertec bags and be more efficient.

 

[Wingdoctor]

Glad to see the hookup to the Drill Press. I hate it when chips get under the work piece or the vice and mess up the alignment with the bit. Even though I have a Oneida cyclone I turn it on every time I use the drill press. DC is wonderful. I know you will enjoy it for years.

 

[Edgar]

One pleated Wynn canister will provide more surface area than two of the Powertec bags and be more efficient.

Thanks Curtis - that's good to know. I wondered how the surface areas compared but I hadn't had a chance to research it yet.

 

[maxwell_smart007]

I don't have it, but this looks interesting: HEPA rated canister filter...

http://www.oneida-air.com/inventoryD.asp?item_no=FCS182000H&CatId={6F3C8CEC-1505-484A-AD28-BF1FA0D012DB}

http://www.oneida-air.com/inventoryD.asp?item_no=FXK011820&CatId={6F3C8CEC-1505-484A-AD28-BF1FA0D012DB}

 

[Edgar]

Thanks Andrew, I'll look into that one too. Looks very interesting.

This looks like a good candidate for the Bash donation drawing list.

 

[raar25]

I have the same unit. I built a closet around mine and it cuts the noise down >50%. I made sure I had plenty of air leakage points around the walls not to cause any restrictions.

 

[low_48]

I have the same unit. I built a closet around mine and it cuts the noise down >50%. I made sure I had plenty of air leakage points around the walls not to cause any restrictions.

Doesn't it take some really large "air leakage points" to vent out 1000 cfm?

 

[raar25]

I have the same unit. I built a closet around mine and it cuts the noise down >50%. I made sure I had plenty of air leakage points around the walls not to cause any restrictions.

Doesn't it take some really large "air leakage points" to vent out 1000 cfm?

The leakage just has to be large than the inlet to prevent restriction so the motor is not working to force the air out of the cabinet causing vacume efficiency loss. I leave about 1/4" gap all around the cabinet and dont see any change when I close the cabinet door.

 

[oneleggimp]

Edgar,

For what it's worth: I read (can't remember where - "Old timers disease")that any of that type of design dust separator (Woodcraft or Rockler)with just a lid with a couple (or only one) elbow inside are not very efficient. The article suggested modifying the arrangement by adding a Thien Baffle inside the garbage can and also changing the intake/outflow fittings on the lid so that the outflow fitting was more in the center so it wasn't in line with the intake elbow and would be less prone to just sucking the majority of dust and chips right into the Dust collector intake without dropping much of them in the trash can. Just a thought to consider. Have a wonderful weekend, my friend.

 

[Edgar]

Edgar,

For what it's worth: I read (can't remember where - "Old timers disease")that any of that type of design dust separator (Woodcraft or Rockler)with just a lid with a couple (or only one) elbow inside are not very efficient. The article suggested modifying the arrangement by adding a Thien Baffle inside the garbage can and also changing the intake/outflow fittings on the lid so that the outflow fitting was more in the center so it wasn't in line with the intake elbow and would be less prone to just sucking the majority of dust and chips right into the Dust collector intake without dropping much of them in the trash can. Just a thought to consider. Have a wonderful weekend, my friend.

Thanks Ernie,
For now I just have one elbow on the intake, angled slightly toward the side of the can and it actually seems to be working fairly well.

I don't have the full DC setup finished yet and I've only used my lathe a few times with it, so I don't have a lot of empirical evidence to go on yet. I do intend to experiment with the angle & length of the elbows and possibly a Thien baffle to see what improvements I might be able to get out of it.