WOOD SHOP
Well! - I finally got the shop in pretty good shape. Also, the best thing I did was to install a dust collector. Boy - what a chore. However, it was worth the effort. Now I have very few chips on the floor, very little dust in the shop. I bought the dust collector from one of Lewis' woodworking buddies. He gave me a good deal.
As you can see, the dust collector is almost as tall as the ceiling (9 foot ceiling). It has a remote that I carry around so I can operate it from any where in the shop. It runs on 220 volts. The lower bag collects the chips. The upper bag is the return air bag. I haven't had to empty the bag yet, but it will be a hassle.
The vacuum connects to the machines through a 4" sheet metal pipe that runs the length of the shop. The pipe tees off to the various machines. It's better to have the collector in the middle of the shop, but I couldn't do that.
This is the pickup for the drill press. It is adjustable in several degrees of freedom. It picks up all the drill press chips. Also, I slip a 10 foot hose over the nozzle to connect to the various hand sanders to get all the sanding dust. I can also use that same hose to vacuum when I produce chips from a tool not attached to the collector.
This is the connection for the jointer, planer and miter saw. It's not obvious in this photo, but each machine has a valve that shuts off the vacuum. The valve is opened when the machine is in use. This keeps the flow velocity high for the machine in use.
I had to build this large dust catcher for the miter saw. It swings right & left about 60 degrees, and normally scatters chips everywhere. This dust catcher gets about 95% of the dust & chips - big improvement. I get kidded about my monster dust catcher. However, I would rather take the ribbing than sweep the floor everyday.
Craft work requires several kinds of sanders. These three will handle most any job I have. However, they produce a lot of dust. This set-up gets almost all of the dust. There is one shut off valve for all three machines.
This picture shows the table saw and band saw, and their connections to the dust collector. You can see the shut off valves in this picture
This is my new work bench. it is about 7' x 3 1/2'. It's real heavy and doesn't scoot around when I am working on it. The thing on the bench is a dovetail jig.
I am almost finished with Betty's craft room. I insulated the ceiling and the overhead door, so this room can have heat & air. I will add pictures soon. Billy helped install the ceiling.
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