[Closed] Dust extraction for working in the shed

I built my own. 5m of vacuum hose feeding tangentially into one of those massive dry powder barrels. Hole in the centre of the lid into which i just shove the nozzle off an old Dyson. Barrel takes the big crap and the Dyson the nasty fine powder. Think it cost me £15 all in. Just don’t block the feed as the Dyson will easily collapse the barrel.

I still wear a basic mask as most of the wood I cut is either hardwood, MDF or ply and the dust gets everywhere.

Will other things stored in the shed get quite dusty (eventually)?

Yep!

I use a Festool Cleantech plugged into a Bosch Track Saw and an Jet Air filter unit. You still really need a dust mask as well..

[url= https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7322/8858639248_0beffcb47a_z.jp g" target="_blank">https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7322/8858639248_0beffcb47a_z.jp g"/> [/img][/url][url= https://flic.kr/p/euNQPs ]Festool Vaccum and Bosch Circular Saw[/url] by [url= https://www.flickr.com/photos/brf/ ]Ben Freeman[/url], on Flickr

I use a pneumatic vacuum, Henry's big brother. Picked up very cheaply second hand. Works very well. Probably technically need a mask but it's marginal imo. Very little dust gets into the air. Most probably from the outlet of the vacuum as filtration isn't the best. I have it vented outside which helps a lot.

Just to add, I've been planning to add one of these plastic cyclone things. They get a good write up and it'll mean less loss of suction as the filter gets blocked

If you don’t have a ‘spare’ hoover knocking around, start with one of these;
https://www.screwfix.com/p/titan-ttb350vac-1300w-16ltr-wet-dry-vacuum-cleaner-240v/36516?tc=HT9&ds_kid=92700023756794399&ds_rl=1241687&ds_rl=1245250&ds_rl=1243318&ds_rl=1247848&ds_rl=1245250&gclid=Cj0KCQiAkfriBRD1ARIsAASKsQJSBQcwVLjZ2jPg3RGfyOoCkC4X2fTVf40Dkfsu3T-a9YgbROgXPGsaAv5REALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds

You might need to find some Ebay adapter to make the hose connection to the saw.
This will take away most of your dust. They’re very powerful little vacs (and handy for unblocking drains in wet mode!)
If you’re using it a lot, you’ll get fed up of using up the bags, in which case add a cyclone separator as above. By the time you’re really using it a lot you can upgrade to the Festool along with the track saw to go with it.

I use henry...he sucks...

Cheaper than a proper dust extraction system, but for shed dust extraction and general diy use it's great. Killed a £300 vax machine using it to clean up after diy episodes so buying a separate bomb-proof diy vacuum was a cost saving....

I have the big brother of the titan above that has a power take off to plug a machine into.It's pretty powerful

Its a good idea to get something with a power take off so it runs when you use the saw, it acts like an extension lead as well and will hookup to sanders etc , a cyclone and drum can be made up for about £30 and really work well but take up as much space as a vac so need a bit of thought to package - quite a good project to make up a stand/trolley so that both live vertically.
If you use a cyclone and a fleece type bag + filter in the vac dust should be minimised.
Budget for ear protection as using the saw and vac in the the shed or outside.
Try not to skimp on the power takeoff feature it saves a lot of buggering about.

I second all of the above. A vac with the power tool take off is really useful. I got a used Nilfisk on eBay which works well. Definitely stick some sort of dust separator in front of it. I built one from an old paint tub and bits of scrap. Look up Thien Baffle for lots of DIY examples.
If you can tuck the vac and separator out of the way under a bench, you'll be able to run a hose to reach anywhere inside a shed. Stick a hook in the roof and you can hang the house down from above to keep it out of the way when you are cutting.

I've got a Karcher vac, it has the power socket for tools this also means the vac starts automatically when you start the tool, and a bit of overrun afterwards.

I use a Bosch Gas 25 or something like that, other power tool manufacturers use the same bit of kit with their own branding. It works well and stows away when not in use.

Related question, I have loads of wood to sand back, some with lead

Would it be worth paying up for one of those Festool systems ? I currently have a James which is ok, but I want as little dust as possible (young kids)

Secondly what sander would work best with this set up? My current makita orbitals dust extraction isn’t great

I really rate the Mirka Deros sander if you're going to spend a bit more. Most Sanders are quite top-heavy but the Deros with it's brushless motor keeps a very low centre of gravity..very nice to use.

It's very lightweight in the hand and uses a paddle switch. It's favoured by decorators doing walls etc.

Team it up with Mirka Abranet sanding discs and the dust is very minimal.

In fact, put Abranet discs on any sander and the dust extraction is better. Your current sander will improve with Abranet.

Only thing with Abranet is they're a little more fragile so you have to watch for catching edges when doing narrow stuff, and they're not so great for aggressive sanding.

if you’re going to spend a bit more.

Understatement of the day 🙂

😂 You could be right there...though he is considering Festool so might be pleasantly surprised. 😉

For the lead can you not strip those pieces chemically and then sand them? Even then I’d be thinking of doing it outside with extraction on the tool as I wouldn’t want lead dust to escape. I’ve a B&D orbital and the extraction is also poor. I think with sanders it’s mainly supposed to stop the sheets from clogging too quickly.

Chemical strip would be a ball ache.

It’s a hall wall with 5 doors, 4 original windows, stairs, cupboards and all the trim. It has a top layer of non lead paint so a bodge would be to key it and over paint but I’d really like to get it looking much smoother an£ nice if I’m making the effort

Looks like £1k for that kit.....ouch....still a third of the quotes

I have this Titan vacuum with power take off I bought quite cheaply from Screwfix. I run it through a home made cyclone made out of an old beer making fermenting barrel. Both sit below my saw bench and mostly get used with my table and mitre saws. Slight downside with that set up is the vacuum is so powerful, if you block the nozzle, even momentarily the barrel implodes! The power take off is a very useful feature.

Still use a mask though, especially if I'm cutting MDF.

I did get a freebie vacuum from freecycle that is one of those designed to to be hidden away in the house with ports in every room. It's got miles of pipe and loads of blast gates and attachments. Must have cost a fortune initially. I have a plan to use it to make a neater, more efficient set up at some stage.

Looks like £1k for that kit…..ouch….still a third of the quotes

You don't gotta get the vacuum and everything. Not even the sander really. Just using Abranet discs improve the extraction a lot over regular 6-hole discs.

Just try some Abranet on your own sander and vac and get a decent respirator.

They also do a hand-sanding block that you can then attach to your vac and use Abranet rectangle sheets.

+ lots @kayak

Having spent most of December sanding a small acreage of parquet flooring, the Abranet discs with a sacrificial pad on my 150mm DA sander, hooked up to the Bosch Gas vac certainly minimised air born dust and enabled me to get a very satisfactory and pleasing finish on African and Brazilian mahogany and oak. As an aside, the Osmo Clear Wax Oil is a result too. 😁

EDIT: I’m liking the look of those Mirka sanders for my boat stuff, lightweight, easy to handle, thanks for your thoughts on how they are to use.

I have the Festool Orbital sander and the dust extraction is superb - as long as the sander is flat to the work piece there is virtually no external dust - very impressive.

[url= https://farm3.staticflickr.com/2899/14644904325_732200c357_z.jp g" target="_blank">https://farm3.staticflickr.com/2899/14644904325_732200c357_z.jp g"/> [/img][/url][url= https://flic.kr/p/oj7XQr ]Festool Rotek 125 Sander[/url] by [url= https://www.flickr.com/photos/brf/ ]Ben Freeman[/url], on Flickr

The Festool kit is extremely nice, strangely I’ve yet to be able to justify Festool and yet when I have used them, the balance is very good.

Maybe one day...

Another point if sanding , variable speed on the vac is quite important, I have a Festool Midi and use it with a Festool DTS detail sander , all bought secondhand - so affordable.
Have to turn the vac power down otherwise the strong suction pins the sander down and it does not work properly giving a poor finish and reducing effect, the dust collection is astonishing , there are some demos online by Peter Millard that demonstrate very clearly how good dust collection can be, its down to the sander not the vac.

I use the Festool Rotex 150 sander with a Henry (connected via various adaptors bought from amazon). With Abranet discs the extraction is fine though I'd wear a mask for lead based paint.

I use a good few Festool tools and do a lot of work in a small workshop. I couldn't justify their dust extractor though, and I'm fussy about breathing in MDF particles. I got the Titan with power takeoff and I'm very happy with it.
Peter Millard has a very good YouTube channel and has articles on the very saw the OP has, and discusses dust extractors.
I would have the Festool saw and Titan vacuum rather than the other way round.
For sanding, I get the JCB mesh sanding sheets. They let the dust through, last for ages and stick to the velcro on your sander. A very dust free experience.

Another point if sanding , variable speed on the vac is quite important, I have a Festool Midi and use it with a Festool DTS detail sander , all bought secondhand – so affordable.
Have to turn the vac power down otherwise the strong suction pins the sander down and it does not work properly giving a poor finish and reducing effect

True. I don't have any vac with adjustable power but most vacs come with a little 'gate' on the pipe handle that you can open to reduce suckage power. Helps stop the sander motor from labouring too much also.

Peter Millard has a very good YouTube channel and has articles on the very saw the OP has, and discusses dust extractors.

He's the reason I have the saw.... and have a blade to swap .... and will be changing the splinter guard for a thicker one..... and I'm asking about dust collection.

The small Scheppach/Workzone HD2P extractor looks good (apart from the reusable bag). Screwfix claims it filters down to 0.5 micron and extracts at 120M³/HR. This seems to beat the Titan on paper...although I'm not sure if Screwfix are right.

The 1400W Titan with power take off does look good

Just had a look at the Festool Cleantec, seems they have revamped them for this year, but £500 for the basic model is a bit steep, pretty sure I paid about £200 for mine...

Try to go for a power take off vac it really helps not having to reach to switch it on/off , those small Scheppach/Workzone extractors might be handy if you lug the stuff around a lot but otherwise they are no substitute dust extraction wise compared with a vac with a proper filter and bag.

Do the power take off vacs keep running for a bit after the saw/sander/router has been switched off? That would be very useful

Yes many do but some dont , not always easy to find out

My Titan doesn't seem to run on very long after I switched off the connected tool but I've got into the habit of giving the tool a quick zizz away from the work piece to clear the tube. The big downside of the Titan is the cumbersome end to the hose. I use an old Wickes hose instead for most of my tools and I've fixed a cheap (who guessed!) Festool rubber adapter to it.

He’s the reason I have the saw…. and have a blade to swap …. and will be changing the splinter guard for a thicker one….. and I’m asking about dust collection.

OP, I now have that saw and it's great. I only have a Vax hose fixed to it with masking tape but I put a piece of duct tape over the 'window' in the blade guard and it's stopped a lot of the stray chips and dust escaping.

I like tape! 😂

Do the power take off vacs keep running for a bit after the saw/sander/router has been switched off? That would be very useful

Festool Cleantec run over for a few seconds, just enough to empty the hose.

I notice their latest range even works with battery tools, the battery uses bluetooth to tell the vacuum to switch on.....

Top of my list currently is this Titan. However is there anything that has a better filtering for not much more cash? I'd like to be confident it's filtering the finer particles out.

This Nilfisk Aero is reduced at Argos, 110v though https://www.argos.co.uk/product/5575035

I was going to buy a Titan, but then I saw that Nilfisk have all the spares available and aren't a whole lot dearer. My requirement was wet/dry and have a power take off.

I bought this one when it was on offer for £125 and have been very happy indeed.
Nilfisk Aero 26-21 PC 1250W 25Ltr Wet & Dry Vacuum Cleaner

The rubber cone fits into most of my tools without adapters.

If I had the space, I would add a cyclone and dust box, but it's fine as is. I'm only on my 3rd bag in 2 years - I just empty them regularly. Someone mentioned that they just wrapped the filter in the bag material instead which seems clever, but I didn't dare.

The Titan one gets the pipe jammed with my wood shavings. Back to the broom : (

The Titan one gets the pipe jammed with my wood shavings.

this can be the problem with cheaper extractors - its not so much that they lack 'suck' but cheap hoses that are too ridged on in the inside kill the airflow and reduce the dust pickup and 'stuff' like shavings or other general workshop guff clogg them really easy - so they might just about work as an extractor for a tool but they're not much use for general workshop tidying.

I bought a (not very cheap) Trend T31 - I've used the T30 it replaces and it was great but the the T31 amongst a whole host of shit features has a hose that renders it useless - plenty of suction at the machine but nothing from the other end of the hose.

(and it falls over, and the ends of the hose fall off, and the dust bags fall off, and the machine doesn't lock together and seal properly and the prefilter looks like it came out of a Christmas cracker)

And on the strength of that glowing review.... its available free (for the price of postage), used once, still in the box to anyone who wants it. On the proviso that I have to not like you very much as it'll probably shorten your life.

You have a PM 😀 ....it can't be that bad can it!?

I bought the cheapest wet/dry vacmaster, works a treat. Comes with a reducer for various sizes of inlet, you can hook the tool up to the vacuum so it turns on when you use the tool, and when you're not using it as dust extraction it also is a normal wet/dry vacuum and has a blow mode too.

Do you have a link Ross?

You have a PM 😀 ….it can’t be that bad can it!?

replied - I never liked you much anyway 🙂

Keep an eye on Gumtree / Facebake marketplace, I got a Makita Class M vacuum with some crazy RRP for about 200£ off a tradesman who was replacing his 240v stuff with 110 for site work.. works great with the chop saw, sander, rail saw... Of course, I did have the akward conversation with the other 1/2, along the lines of you spent how much on a teal coloured vacuum cleaner.. But she was happy enough the reduction of dust when doing 12 door frames!