Dust Collection?

[joewino]

When my new ShopBot arrives I want to have a dust collector ready to go with it.

A Delta 1 HP is available at Lowe's. Is that enough power to suck up dust from my 4' x 8' or should I go to something larger? I'll be doing 3D signwork - mainly HDU and PVC.

Thanks in advance for your help.

[jsfrost]

Raymond,

You may want to check the reviews in the most recient Fine Woodworking. Go with something that captures most of the 1 and 2 micron particles. If filtering is insufficient, the collector captures the big pieces and distributes fine dust (the worst kind) all over the shop.

[ed_lang]

I went with a Clear Vue Cyclone for my shop, and Shopbot. I get no dust in the air from cutting MDF to anything else I have cut. I also ran 6" duct to each machine. On the Shopbot, I ran 6" then a 6" to 4" reducer and 4" flex to the dust skirt mounted on the machine. I also ran wire around the duct to keep static down. Works great for all of my machines.

[oddcoach]

i have a 2hp bridgewood dust collector with fabric bags. like Jim said i gets the big stuff and the fine dust goes right thru. until i found
http://www.americanfabricfilter.com/
they made me a new filter bag for the top that gets
all the fine dust down to a few microns. i got them awhile ago but they were not expensive, $80 i think. they made the bag from dinensions i gave them.
i use trash bags for the bottom so no leaks there
john

[scott_smith]

I have the 1hp Delta from Lowe’s hooked up to ONLY my bot. It works OK. You can’t beat the price and it’s quiet too. The soft start motor is nice in my underpowered garage. I plan to add a cyclone separator someday. Keep in mind that the first time you surface the table you will FILL the collector bag.

If you’re using the PC router you’ll want to add an air deflector to the bottom of it (from other parts of this forum). I made mine on the Bot out of 3/16 lexan.