Bandsaw Dust Collection

[Bollox]

Hi Guys,

I'm looking for ideas on how to improve the reasonably pathetic dust collection I have right now on a 14" bandsaw and the HF dust collector.
I think Im going to end up ditching the factory duct, and running a piece of 2" PVC right up under the table, sucking around the guides. Of course this will be a pain in the butt as soon as I want to tilt the table.
Anyone got a better idea?
Mike

[Andrew Benedetto]

I added a metal DC gate,Rock;er on the side where Jet has an opening. Drilled a bunch of holes to act as a screen rather than the a 4" one. I have a BS1400 Ridgid.

[Ken Massingale]

quote:Originally posted by Bollox

Hi Guys,

I'm looking for ideas on how to improve the reasonably pathetic dust collection I have right now on a 14" bandsaw and the HF dust collector.
I think Im going to end up ditching the factory duct, and running a piece of 2" PVC right up under the table, sucking around the guides. Of course this will be a pain in the butt as soon as I want to tilt the table.
Anyone got a better idea?
Mike

Here's what I did, it's uglier than roadkill but it works real good. I cuttently use the shopvac, but I plan on running a small line down from the DC duct soon:




This is a Crouse-Hinds conduit fitting

[don_hart]

I picked up a 4" dc hood at woodcraft. They sell them for 6" jointers. I then cut a hole in the lower cover of the Bandsaw and installed the hood.

[Tom Miller]

Here's what I did:







I started with a smaller hole, then made radial cuts and bent out some material to give me something to connect the S&D fitting to. You can also just buy a 4" tool DC port.

I now get zero dust buildup in the saw. And the airflow is directed through the throat area. You could go a step further and put weatherstripping around the cover to get even more airflow at the throat, particularly if you don't have as much CFMs to waste.

Regards,
Tom

[Lonnie in Orlando]

I connect my DC hose to a 4" piece of plastic sewer & drain pipe that I cut to fit around the blade and lower guides. Didn't have to cut the sheet metal. Does a great job.

Here is a link to a previous post with pics. Scroll down to my second reply.
http://www.bt3central.com/forum/topi...C_ID=18140#top

This is one of the pics ...


- Lonnie

[Bollox]

Thanks everyone.
I just cant bring myself to cut a hole in the lower door yet, maybe after I've scratched the saw a few times I'll be able to...
Mike

[Ken Massingale]

quote:Originally posted by Bollox

Thanks everyone.
I just cant bring myself to cut a hole in the lower door yet, maybe after I've scratched the saw a few times I'll be able to...
Mike

I understand your hesitation, Mike. But, the blade pulls the sawdust down into the lower compartment. Pulling it out just before it gets between the blade and tire on the lower wheel will help keep the tire clean and smooth.
ken

[newood2]

I understand your hesitation, Mike. But, the blade pulls the sawdust down into the lower compartment. Pulling it out just before it gets between the blade and tire on the lower wheel will help keep the tire clean and smooth.
ken

Ken, I noticed you have top and bottom ports. How much percentage of dust is pulled through the top port?
I want to cut a 4" port in the door(side) but I can't decide whether to go bottom or top. I figure a bottom port would get most of the dust whereas a top port would allow some dust to fall to the bottom.
Or perhap a 4" port at the top(side) of the door would work different from your design(top front).
I'm not sure what I'm saying here make any sense.
Where's the best place to put a port on the Hitachi CB13F?
Feedback from others are also welcome.

Howie

[Popeye]

I picked up a 4" dc hood at woodcraft. They sell them for 6" jointers. I then cut a hole in the lower cover of the Bandsaw and installed the hood.

Not trying to steal a thread but welcome back Don, long time no see.
BTW I did the same thing as Don, if you use thin wall 4"pvc fitting with duct tape wrapped around the jointer connection then a quick disconnect will plug right in. Pat

[Ken Massingale]

Howie,
I didn't have the top port at first. Maybe since I'm using a vac (still) I had a lot of sawdust falling down before the blade pulled it down into the lower compartment. Adding the top port definitely helped significantly on the amount of cleanup.
HTH
ken

[jarhead]

I wanted to cut a hole for the longest time, but have been procrastinating. I am going to follow Highland Hardware's instructions. I know that HF BS has a "hump" on the lower wheel cover, but the dust hood that came with the HF DC kit seems to fit right on top of it.

[ElecrticSurf]

Hi Guys,

I'm looking for ideas on how to improve the reasonably pathetic dust collection I have right now on a 14" bandsaw and the HF dust collector.
I think Im going to end up ditching the factory duct, and running a piece of 2" PVC right up under the table, sucking around the guides. Of course this will be a pain in the butt as soon as I want to tilt the table.
Anyone got a better idea?
Mike

With your Harbor Freight DC you can support using a 5" hose going to your tools. Although many choose to use 4", it only supports about 350 CFM versus the 5" giving about 550 CFM. That much higher airflow will make a huge improvement in picking up the dust. If you use 5" then you can split to a 4" lower hose and a 3" upper and get plenty of air at both.

Look into the snap-lock ducting for up top. It will let you move the collection to right next to where you are sawing without getting in the way of seeing your work. Below, put a brush that wipes the blade. That helps lots. Some buy the Delta upgrade for the lower connecor and with a little work it can be modified. I instead like picking up an HVAC fitting for a long thin register and then doing a little metalwork to make a nice hood that attaches right below the blade on the front of the lower blade door.

There is a ton more information on my web pages. The URL below is a touch out of date, but still works. The more current is http://BillPentz.com/Woodworking/Cyclone/Index.cfm

[LCHIEN]

Ken, I noticed you have top and bottom ports. How much percentage of dust is pulled through the top port?
I want to cut a 4" port in the door(side) but I can't decide whether to go bottom or top. I figure a bottom port would get most of the dust whereas a top port would allow some dust to fall to the bottom.
Or perhap a 4" port at the top(side) of the door would work different from your design(top front).
I'm not sure what I'm saying here make any sense.
Where's the best place to put a port on the Hitachi CB13F?
Feedback from others are also welcome.

Howie

Seems to me like since the band saw blade is moving downward at the location of the cut, any dust that ends up in the top has got to be carried down thru the bottom and up the opposite side by the blade.
So, it seem that very aggressive dust collection on the bottom would be all you need.

[Ken Massingale]

Welcome to the forum, Bill.
ken