New shop and dust collection system

[DickB]

I have moved into my new shop that I had built after our move form Minnesota to Florida and have started to get it set up. I have four projects underway in parallel with setting up the shop, so I am splitting my time between projects and shop setup. I expect it will take some time to get the shop set up the way I want it, but that's OK. Part of the process is deciding what I want in the new space. BTW this shop has to be categorized as one of those "dream come true" moments for me! I came from basically a "shop" in half of my double-car garage up north. I used an expandable hose Dust Right system from Rockler to move the portable hose end from machine to machine. I now have the luxury of a more permanent setup. I decided to use 4" thin wall PVC drain pipe and fittings, as these are readily available at the local Lowes and relatively inexpensive.

Today I needed a Y fitting to install at my dust collector so that I can have a run going in each direction along the wall at the collector. Lowe's didn't have a Y, but I figure if I can cut and glue wood, I can cut and glue PVC. This is a Y that I made out of two 90 degree long run fittings. I got the fit good enough to secure with PVC cement, but if there were a gap I figured I could fill it with either a mixture of PVC shavings and acetone or silicone sealer, but neither was required.



I have a couple other tricks I'll be posting shortly as this project unfolds.

[Digitalwoodshop]

"Y" I like it !!!

AL

[oscarl48]

Green with envy. Congrats on the new shop.

[200k]

It looks like it was manufactured that way! Very nice.

I might have split off successive double 45° Y's. It wouldn't look quite so nice, but traversing the 90° would be over a larger "arc" albeit with twin bumps. I'm not even sure it would work, now that I think about it. OTOH another way would be to use 4" galvanized HVAC tubing with the infinitely adjustable elbows. But you had to and did make that decision before you started. PVC is much cheaper.

Not that I want to bring up the subject, since it seems to set off a plethora of rabid-foaming-at-the-mouth adherents posting dogma of opposing views, but...

Are you planning to make any provisions for static spark control?

[Digitalwoodshop]

Static being mentioned... So before you get too far into this.... Dust moving inside PVC generates a pretty nasty amount of high voltage... It can knock you out if you touch a charged pipe... MANY stories and some great info at Sawmill Creek forum. I did a search on PVC Dust control and got a bunch of stuff you can read through before you start. Also Wood Web has a bunch of stuff too.

https://www.google.com/search?sitese...=17&gws_rd=ssl

Good Luck,

AL

[CarverJerry]

Al, I was thinking the same thing on the static build up. What part of FL did you move to DickB? I used to live in Englewood north of Ft Myers, then we got grandkids....back in Ohio now...bla, bla bla.

[mtylerfl]

Dick,

Are you anywhere near Jacksonville, FL? Brunswick, GA (where I now live) is just an hour north of JAX.

I lived on the Gulf side in Bradenton, FL for many years before moving to GA. One of my sons still lives there. He works at an Apple store in Sarasota.

[Bigtyme]

I have built dust collection systems in all the shops I have occupied. Static is a big issue as Al mentioned. I used to run speaker wire inside all the piping and grounded it to the collector as well as to each tool through the blast gate. The last system I built I used speaker wire once again, but simply wrapped the outside of the piping and did the same grounding method. I read a number of articles on this method and in the 15 years I have been using this shop, I haven't had a single issue. I have seem a number of pictures of folks who have not taken care od static and the results are not pretty. Best of luck on the new shop, Dick. you and I are switching places to a degree. I am about 80 days from pulling the pin on my day job and have been working on a new shop in my hometown in the west end of Michigan's Upper Peninsula. This will be my last one, I believe and we plan to live in God's Country full time as soon as we sell our current home in Lower Michigan. We will be probably be less than 2 hours from where you just moved from. Great area, but can't argue with Florida, nice !!

[cestout]

When I built our retirement home I designed it with a 3 car garage, put a wall to close of one car space nearest the house for my wife's car leaving a 2 car space for my shop. It was the first part of the home finished so I could get the equipment off the trailer and secure. We then used the shop to finish construction. That was long before the CompUcarve then CarveWright. I had to adapt and added a DC and move the hoses if not on the 2 CarveWrignts. They are connected to over head 4" ABS with a blast gate at each so I can run either or both. Shop is currently knee deep in sawdust - lots of projects and ranch maintenance (the problem with having 9 acres) and no time for cleaning. I will have to hire a grandkid. Have fun setting up your new shop - it should be fun - and send pictures.
Clint

[DickB]

I was reasonably sure when I said "PVC" that static and grounding would come up, and I would not be surprised to see a hot debate spring up here. There is as Al said a lot on the internet on the subject - some of it may even be true! (Kidding.) I too have read several articles. One that resonated with me is the article PVC Pipe Dangers Debunked by Rob Cole that was published in Fine Woodworking January 2002. Rob is a woodworker and a mathematician (know anyone like that?) and cited studies from the Journal of Electrostatics. I do not have any plans other than to ground the equipment as I have been doing. I am not concerned about fire danger. If I have a problem with static shocks to my person I will do something. But with the high humidity in my shop (even with air conditioning) I wonder if I will have a problem.

200k, a set of fittings as you described would work, but take up a lot of space. (That's actually a 22.5 degree not 45 degree fitting, but you get the idea.)


mtylerfl, I am in Lake Placid FL, center of the state south of Orlando. Most people think NY and the Olympics when they hear the name. The town has had a few names, but a prominant person from NY got the town named Lake Placid some time ago.

Clint, I will post some pictures inside as I get more organized, but here is a picture of the "estate", with the new garage/shop on the left. The shop is a separate room walled off, insulated, and air conditioned. I can walk out the side door of the attached garage straight into the new shop - may do a breezeway someday.


I will post a picture of my old "shop". Most equipment was in my garage, but my Carvewright was in a room in the crawlspace. Take a close look at the photo. The light bulbs at the top are on the ceiling, and you can see the floor under the short legs of the Carvewright stand. The room itself was about 10' x 6', and with a 52" ceiling had to be one of the smallest shops ever. I used a secretary's chair on casters to operate the Carvewright and move about, as it was impossible to stand up and tiresome to bend over.


For those that have used 4" PVC drain pipe, you know that it is 4" inside diameter, while 4" dust collection fittings such as blast gates are 4" outside diameter. You can buy adapters, but at $7 a pop not exactly cheap. I'm making my own adapters for pennies by cutting and spitting a section of PVC pipe, then gluing it inside the 4" PVC to make the adapter. I did this twice to get small enough to attach flexible hose that I am using to connect most equipment, as most of my equipment is on stands with casters. This mobility was necessary in the old garage, and may not be necessary now, but still convenient at times.