My basement dust collection setup (pic heavy)

[Brian G]

First things first, I need to give a few "shout outs":

I added Loring's instructions for the neutral vane to my HF dust collector. I simply followed the measurements and instruction in his article, and it fit great. I did learn one thing that might help others choosing to add the neutral vane. I used a small length of 6" metal ducting, the type that self-locks. When I marked out the X-Y points, I did them on the outside of the ducting because it was easier to keep the ducting flat. I should have done the marking on the inside, because the X-Y grid would have matched the natural curve of the duct. It still worked fine, it just would have been easier.

I also added Loring's remote-relay. It works great, and saves many steps even in my smallish shop.

I also installed a belly pan similar to what Loring devised as shown in this thread.


I screwed scraps of BB ply to the inside of the BT3100 base. Then I screwed the dust hood (14" x 14") to the BB ply from below. The nut showing in the pic is from the hook to which the spring for my Herc-U-Lift attaches.



The following pic shows the underneath. I screwed (1/2" #6 panhead) a small length of ASTM 3034 S&D to the port of the dust hood, and the elbow (from a Rockler dust collection kit I bought long ago) fits snugly into the S&D. The elbow is easily pulled out with a few twists and a tug if I need to disconnect it to retrieve the arbor nut when I drop it.



The following pic shows how I plumbed the DC hose to the BT port and the belly pan. It's not anything fancy, but easy to disconnect.





Thanks, Loring!

Thanks also to Tom Miller, for many helpful comments regarding using ASTM 3034 S&D for DC ducting, most of which are in this link.

I made a mobile cart for my HF dust collector.



The carcase is made of HD cull rack plywood, strengthened with a torsion box top and bottom. The face frame is made from left-over white oak, and the trim around the doors and drawer is made from some blotchy ash that wasn't suited for any other purpose. I lag-screwed the DC metal base to the top of the mobile base. Having 8' ceilings is a benefit! You can see the relay-remote box attached on the right, below the DC connector pipe. I also rotated the blower so that I could push the cart close to the wall.

More pics to follow.

[Brian G]

Part 2:

Here's a closer look at what's behind the doors of the cart.



The drawers are sized so that 4" fittings can fit inside. I also have space between the left and right sides, in the middle, to store extra bags for the DC.

This is the top drawer, which is large enough that I can squish a 10' length of DC hose (used for connecting to tools).



Why the odd-shape of the drawer? Well, in that corner of the basement there is a drainbasket and the discharge pipe runs up and into the wall on its way outside.



I've only heard the sump kick in once on its own, and then once every six months when I dump 5 gallons of water in the drainbasket just to make sure it still works. I didn't want to build anything permanent in that space such that getting to the drainbasket or sump would be difficult. I didn't want to waste the space either, so I made the DC mobile base with an opening into which the discharge pipe fits.



Wait. . . there's more!

[Brian G]

Part 3 (and last)

This pic shows an example of one of the two wye junctions I made. The pipe is ASTM 3034 S&D, which is a little thicker than the ASTM 2729 S&D. As Tom Miller noted, the extra thickness means that standard 4" DC fittings fit snugly on the inside of the 3034 S&D. The blast gates also fit perfectly, and required a few raps with a mallet to seat them in the S&D. I used the flared-end of the S&D as a means for a quick-connect to a small length of S&D attached to the DC hose.



This pic gives an idea how it's all plumbed


You'll notice that I have one branch off the wye going up and over to the Shark port (see below). The line to the Shark port is a length of Shop-Vac hose. I used an elastic cord to help stabilize the hose as it drops to the Shark port. The 2.5" ABS pipe is not related to dust collection; my shop is below the master bathroom. The black coupler just above jointer serves as a quick-connect to the jointer.

Here's a pic showing the connection to the BT3100's Shark port. My outfeed table is made from glass board (perhaps better known as dry-erase board) that I snagged from the HD cull rack. It makes a great notepad for when I need to do some figgerin'. You can see the second wye connection that goes to the bandsaw. I also use the second wye connection as a quick-connect port for the planer. The end of the DC main gives me a handy floor sweep/vac port.



Thanks for looking!

p.s. Yes, my shop floor is pretty much covered in rubber mats. I bought a pile of them on sale at HF ($6.00 per 16 sq. ft). I don't have any problem rolling mobile tools over it, but I do have a problem with static! I need to figure out a solution to that.

[ChrisD]

Nice setup there, Brian! I like how you fully customized your cabinet. Nice job!

[gerti]

I am jealous... Basement is probably a bit warmer in winter than my uninsulated unheated garage! Nice work Brian!

[SHADOWFOX]

Beautiful set up you got there!! I am on the same boat as gerti, freezing my hiny off in the garage.

Thank you for sharing pics of your shop!

[LCHIEN]

First things first, I need to give a few "shout outs":

I added Loring's instructions for the neutral vane to my HF dust collector. I simply followed the measurements and instruction in his article, and it fit great. I did learn one thing that might help others choosing to add the neutral vane. I used a small length of 6" metal ducting, the type that self-locks. When I marked out the X-Y points, I did them on the outside of the ducting because it was easier to keep the ducting flat. I should have done the marking on the inside, because the X-Y grid would have matched the natural curve of the duct. It still worked fine, it just would have been easier.

I also added Loring's remote-relay. It works great, and saves many steps even in my smallish shop.

I also installed a belly pan similar to what Loring devised as shown in this thread.


I screwed scraps of BB ply to the inside of the BT3100 base. Then I screwed the dust hood (14" x 14") to the BB ply from below. The nut showing in the pic is from the hook to which the spring for my Herc-U-Lift attaches.


The following pic shows the underneath. I screwed (1/2" #6 panhead) a small length of ASTM 3034 S&D to the port of the dust hood, and the elbow (from a Rockler dust collection kit I bought long ago) fits snugly into the S&D. The elbow is easily pulled out with a few twists and a tug if I need to disconnect it to retrieve the arbor nut when I drop it.


The following pic shows how I plumbed the DC hose to the BT port and the belly pan. It's not anything fancy, but easy to disconnect.



Thanks, Loring!

....

You're welcome. Glad you found the articles/ideas useful.

[Tom Miller]

Looks great, Brian! I especially like how the DC cabinet makes good use of an otherwise wasted corner. (I've got a drain basket in my shop, too, but it hadn't occurred to me to test the pump periodically. ) Great pics, too. I bet that's gonna be highly useful for lots of folks.

And thanks for the shout out -- glad someone's found something useful in my posts.

Regards,
Tom

[vaking]

I am also jealous. I am in the basement too so I am not freezing. But you have a tall basement, mine is just over 6'.
Nice work.

[Brian G]

Thanks for the comments.

[hermit]

HEY Brian, that setup looks awesome. Your shop looks very clean. Looks like it does the job. I guess you upgraded from the shop vac setup. You know you have to build a cyclone next! That dust collection stuff gets a little addicting .......... keep trying to improve efficiency, simplicity, etc.

Todd

[Wood_workur]

wow that is very nice

[Brian G]

Thanks, Alex.

Hey, Todd. . . good to see you again. My shop looks clean because I cleaned it. Yep, I finally got things in a little better order and switched from the ShopVac. I gained a little in space when I made the switch, because that corner was "dead" space for the most part, and the ShopVac and chip collector took up pretty much all of the space that the jointer and first wye connection now occupies.

No cyclone in the near future. . . I have too many other projects to finish, first.

[Jeffrey Schronce]

Part 3 (and last)

This pic shows an example of one of the two wye junctions I made. The pipe is ASTM 3034 S&D, which is a little thicker than the ASTM 2729 S&D. As Tom Miller noted, the extra thickness means that standard 4" DC fittings fit snugly on the inside of the 3034 S&D. The blast gates also fit perfectly, and required a few raps with a mallet to seat them in the S&D.

The greyish colored stuff is the ASTM 3034 right? I have a problem with my metal blast gates (very similar design except they have terminals for auto switching of the DC) fitting tightly and had to make support brackets.

[Brian G]

Yup. . .the greyish stuff is ASTM 3034. I found it at one of the local BORGS. I have seen it elsewhere (Menards), but it's a green color. The green stuff is what Tom Miller has used.