My dust collection system

I started mine out with using a shop vac hooked up to the box under the machine. It worked ok but was noisy and I still had to do a fair amount of vacuuming out the inside during carves. During one of my trips to Lowe's and my normal route through the tool section I spotted their floor model 1HP/650CFM Delta that had a reduced sign on it. Big difference in both noise and dust removal.

I tried a top suction using a shop vac floor attachment. It was fair but the reduced hose size limited the air flow.

I have since added the top suction box that I fabricated out of alum. 4" duct. and gorilla tape. I've also added an air push using an aquarium air pump.












And my new top mount DC-Insert..

By Jove I think you've got it!! Looks like your design is small enough to not loose a lot of velocity in the vacuum air. That seems to be a big part of answer. I've been trying to set up a good DC with no great results. I want the DC to be easily R&R for bit change or other tasks. It seems you have it. Does it remove 100% of the chips? It appears the air pump must really start the chips flying and then picked up inside the machine. What percentage of the vacuum air is directed to the bottom collector and what % of the vacuum air is directed towards the front loader? I've been looking for an old pump from a used clothing store but it seems time to go to a discount store and just buy one. What volume of air is produced by your pump? Best Wishes, Ol' Dad

Brad ol' Dad,

Yes this one works great but my newer version is just as good if not better and it does not have the gorilla tape..

I think the trick on this or any other DC system is not to restrict the system by having a smaller hose or fittings in the design. That was the problem I was having when I had the shop vac floor nozzle design. It went from a 4" hose to 2 1/2" hose and then the nozzle.

Mine is very easy to install and remove and I can do bit changes with it still in the machine.

My DC is only a 650 CFM system and it does not suck up 100% of the dust. I have seen a large reduction of the chips and dust that would build up on the board edge under the rollers, the drive belts, QC and the rest of the machine. I'm sure a larger DC would get even better results.

I usually run with both ports open unless I am carving on full width boards. I tried experimenting with this and found that keeping the bottom port open did pick up the dust that the top did not.

The air pump is a real low pressure pump and does not blow the dust around a lot. It is more like it moves it. I've seen where one of the other carves have throttled down the tube size to get a little more pressure out of it though. I'm not 100% on this set up but it does work ok and is a lot quieter than running the air compessor.

Brad, Let me know when you are coming up north. I bet we can work out a trade, A DC-Insert for a set up new belts....

F.W.H., sounds great. The end of this week works for me. I'll drop you a line on the other side and make arrangements. As always, thanks for the good info. It always seems to work. Ol'Dad

I installed a new DC pick up nozzle that F.W. Harris is manufacturing and selling. The jury is in and the verdict is that it really sucks, well! I have a 930 cfm DC with two hoses. One with a gate on it for the downdraft and the other is connected to F.W.s front loader style collection nozzle. If the workpiece is 9" or less I shut the gate down to 50% or so and the collection nozzle really does pick up a large majority of the chips. I ran a 2 1/2 hour and a 6 hour project, both with extensive carving and the chips left on the piece at the end of the job was next to nothing. Now don't be fooled, there was a lot of the very fine dust left in the raised portions of the carving but the chips were all but gone. I did not need to stop, open the safety cover, vacuum it out and hope it restarts correctly. With Harris's collection nozzle I feel confident that I can leave the machine for a short time with out fearing that the build up of wood chips will trigger a problem or at best it will leave crushed chips as the piece travels through the rollers. In addition it seems my shop is cleaner with less airborne dust. It seems that the cut motor picks up a lot of dust from inside the cabinet and sends it out through the muffler. I've taken the muffler off and utilized the exhaust air ducted into a crinkle hose to cool the flex shaft. This method seems to keep it a lot cooler as well as the Rock Chuck seems to run cooler just in and of itself. Mr Harris, in my opinion your product is something we all should pay attention to. I know that the accuracy of this machine as well as the longevity of its parts will be greatly enhanced with the use of this dust pick up. The price was reasonable also. F.W. plans to sell them with the postage inc. and it's a good dollar number. Line up Boys, this one works!!! Ol' Dad

Glad to hear it is doing it's job!! Great feedback for me on this.

How was it for doing your bit changes with the Rock? Did you have enough room to work in for the change??

Thanks again!!

F.W. wanted some feedback concerning the ease of The Rocks bit change after I installed the collection nozzle. Mr. Harris designed the collector with a short lip that runs the length of the collector opening and it slips over the bottom edge of the cabinet just above the traction belt. My model has a short 4" dia. straight up discharge tube that I connect to my DC. The 4"DC tube is suspended from an arm so that when I change bits in the Rock I am able to slip the nozzle off of the lip and it hangs, very conveniently, to the right side. I change bits and slip the lip back over the cabinet edge and away I go. I don't think it could be any easier. It works for me and what a difference from my feeble attempts at dust collection. Thanks F.W., Ol' Dad

Brad,

Thanks for the update..

Just curious, did you try the bit change with the insert in place vs. taking it out??

I tried to change out the tool with the insert in place and my hands wont fit in there. I think it may work with the QC but its to much for me and the Rock. My unit is 1" or so away from the chuck, even with the QC I think it would be close. It is SO easy to R&R and mine hangs very conveniently to the rt. side when removed. The room is nice. I noticed that the lip cuts off some of the movable air to the cabinet cuz it takes up a small amount of the space between the work piece and the cabinet. Anything to take advantage of my cfm's. Ol' Dad