I am going to revamp the dust handling in my workshop, and replace the individual pieces with a cyclone system. The shop is ~35′ by 20′ and has the usual jointer, planer, TS, RAS and router table, along with a BS and sanding station. I was looking at the Oneida, but was wondering if there were any strong options regarding it, models or alternatives. I’ve reviewed the major book and website, but could always benefit from someone’s practical experience. Thanks in advance,
Glaucon
If you don’t think too good, then don’t think too much…
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I installed a 2 HP Oneida commercial system about 2 years ago and am very satisfied with it. I have a 30' x 50' shop with equipment similar to what you have described plus a couple of shapers, widebelt, etc. I had a 1 1/2 HP bag type system before and it did a substandard job. I also changed the ductwork out from 4" to 6" so I suspect that was a big part of the improvement. The Oneida was kinda spendy though, and if I had it to do over I'd look very hard at the new Grizzly cyclones. Their spec's are pretty impressive.
I put in an Oneida system a couple of years ago and I'm happy with it. I had to cut the barrel down a couple of inches to get it into the shop because of a low ceiling. I just cut out a strip from the middle of the barrel and glued it back around the outside of the cut. worked fine.
Mine is wall mounted on their brackets, but I had to build a ramp with winch to get the motor head assembly up onto the brackets it's so heavy and I had to do it alone.
The only thing I wish is that I could have it outside of the shop as it is noisy.
Also consider a remote to start and stop it. That's a great convenience.
Oneida was terrific at designing the piping system which they do for free if you buy their DC. Due to space limitations, I have a 4" hose drop that I can switch from a fold away down draft sanding table to Shopsmith disc sander and Shopsmith mounted band saw as needed.
I'm very happy with the system and the personal service I received while determining if I could shoe horn it into my basement shop.
Consider adding a floor sweep drop for easy clean up as I did.
I have the 2hp with internal filter and muffler in a shop exactly to your dimensions. I had Oneida design the ducting and it works very well. I also purchased the ducting from Oneida. On many of the machines I can run with 2 open ports and do so often if I am switching back and forth between machines fairly quickly such as between the joiner and the TS. The muffler makes the noise level very tolerable. Of course I have a hearing impairment in one ear :-) I also run a 25" dual drum sander and the system handles the dust pick-up with no problem. The only problem is with a planer. I run a 15" planner and with a 5" port at the planer with a 6" drop to the 7" main line, it handles planing the widest board with some fairly aggressive cuts.
I haven't seen the Grizzly machines and while the spec's look good, I'm not sure if it is apples to apples. The one thing I do know is that newer and lower-cost Oneida and Grizzly cyclones do not use a really quality motor and that is a weak point when you consider on-off cycling.
What will a cyclone system provide that your current system will not?
PlaneWood by Mike_in_Katy (maker of fine sawdust!)
PlaneWood
What I have now is pretty skimpy and underpowered. Since my power tool lineup has expanded, I hadn't done much about dust collection. The shop I trained in had a very powerful (and noisy) DC system- but it was very efficient. Since I hadn't put much into my own shop, I think it's time to address the issue. From what I've read here and elsewhere, and based upon my training experience, a cyclone may be the best approach.
I am curious as to what others have found, and if they favor (or regret) using a cyclone. I think setting up a decent DC system is time consuming, exacting and expensive. I'd like to to do the major "backbone" and power equipment right on the first go round, and leave some flexibility for expansion or re-tuning later. My sense is, if you do it right from the beginning, you can save a lot of time and aggravation (as well as upgrade costs) later. To me DC seems more like plumbing than wiring- bulky, space occupying duct work that once set up, is a pain in the a$$ to move and reconfigure [When I lived in an apartment in NYC I had a tiny, very smoky kitchen with a pitiful vent. Every time I cooked a hamburger, the smoke alarms went off. When we had the kitchen in my present house renovated, the one thing I insisted on was a powerful double fan vent above the stove. The contractor must have thought I was a bit mental to spend an extra $500 for a commercial quality vent- I even made him do a straight to outside connection. Since then- no smoke, no alarms, no regrets. The thing will suck a stogie right out of your mouth...]
I've heard mostly good things about Oneida (except for cost), mixed reviews of Delta (especially lately) and not much about Grizzly DC. On the last point, Grizzly gets both positive and negative reviews of its equipment- jointers are generally well regarded, BS mixed and TS not so positive. I haven't heard a lot of feedback from end users of their DC systems, they might warrant consideration if others have been pleased.Glaucon
If you don't think too good, then don't think too much...
Well, my goal was to move all chips and dust out of my shop. So, I poured a concrete pad outside, under the eve, and set a 1200 CFM DC out there. I made an inclosure to protect it from the elements. I punched two 4" holes through the wall and installed blast gates there on the inside. From there I ran flex pipe to my various tools. One flex pipe is switched between my bandsaw, TS, and planer as needed. The other goes to my rolling workbench where all the rest of my tools are. That workbench is plumbed inside with 4" PVC sewer pipe with blast gates to the various tools.
After being in operation for a while I decided I needed a separator. I was accidentally sucking up screw drivers, nails, screws, you name it. Every time one hit the impellors, I winced.
So, I got a commercial 44 gallon Rubbermaid trash can and rigged up a separator for one of the blast gates (the one to my rolling work bench).
It works well, except for suckin the conditioned air out side!! I live near Houston, so that isn't a concern to much. Most of the time the shop doors are open. If it gets to be a concern, I will cut a hole in the wall and install a filtered return between the DC and the shop.
You definitely need to spend some time planning on where to set each tool.
PlaneWood by Mike_in_Katy (maker of fine sawdust!)PlaneWood
I recently built and installed a cyclone collector. I live in Hawaii and shipping one from Oneida was just too expensive. I already had a 3-hp Grizzly dust collector, which is in an shed attached to the back of my shop, but I was never happy with emptying the bags and hearing the big pieces hit the fan blades. I welded up the cyclone myself and installed duct to each machine.
I love it! I had nearly stopped woodworking due to developing hypersensitivity to the dust and asthma problems. This system collects 80 ~ 90% of the dust at the source. I never run more than one machine at a time, and it is probably over kill, but I'd rather over kill the dust than my lungs and nose.
I spent a lot of time researching the cyclone design and dust collection design in general. It was time well spent. As you noted installation of the ducting is a pain and you only want to install the backbone once, with enough capacity and flexibility to allow for some expansion and relocation of machines.
The links below show collector in construction and the final shop installation.
http://photobucket.com/albums/y12/rhirling/Dust%20Collector/
http://photobucket.com/albums/y12/rhirling/Work%20Shop/
Hi Glaucon,
Ever consider a Woodsucker ? Works excellent . My shop is 25x 35.
11 drops, 6in ducts. With the new green and yellow machines out now the Woodsucker seems to have been forgotten. I use mine commercially ,never had a problem. Very well built, all steel construction, very heavy duty. Moves alot of air.
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