Homemade Dust Collection....

[bigdguitars]

I am really getting into making guitar bodies and I am making a huge mess.

I need a better dust collection system there are some good things on ebay, but I need some other ideas...

What have you done for your own dust collection?

-Derek

[Scott Rosenberger]

There is a book on that very topic. I can't remember the title offhand but it's very popular. Please whatever you do, don't try to whip up something homemade without reading the book first. You could literally blow the roof off your house

[GregP]

Usually I use a file, and I shave them into freezer bags.

So far I only have "ebony", "limba", "birch", "maple", and "pao ferro".

I'm hoping to add more as time goes on.

[M_A_T_T]

There are a few threads about the one I made, however, it sucked(excuse the pun). It was no match for my thickness sander, so I ended up buying a General International 1, or 1.5HP dust collector. I was impressed with the suction of this thing when I first started it up, compared to my homemade version, which I thought worked pretty well.

[bigdguitars]

I am thinking of getting one of those cheapo units from menards that 3/4hp and mount it to my 55 gal drum

-Derek

[thegarehanman]

I really like the dust collectors that catch airborn dust. I know you need something to catch all of the dust that's falling to the floor, but what about the stuff that floats in the air for a while that's capable of doing so much damage to your health? First line of defens is a mask, of course, but those air cleaners you mount on the ceiling are so nice. Only problem is whenever I have the money to buy one, I spend it on a tool that makes dust instead.

[orgmorg]

What machines are you looking to hook up to it?

I have one of the 3/4 hp blowers, and it really doesn't pull enough to work effectively on most stationary machines- bandsaw,etc. It is OK on small sanders and such, though.

When buying any motor these days, don't trust the horsepower ratings. The cheaper ones are usually way overrated. Always look at the amperage on the spec. plate and figure a minimum of 10 amps per HP at 120v. A good quality 1hp Baldor or Dayton motor pulls 14amps. I have one that size on a blower and it does a very good job on all my machines, even my planer and thickness sander.

Older stuff like this often turns up on ebay. For the blower unit, look for a radial fin type, as opposed to the "squirrel cage" type. The squirrel cages move a lot more air, but don't generate the level of vacuum that the radial fin blowers do.