sawmillcreek.org Building Electrical, Construction, Shop Layout and Dust Collection: Everything you want to know about housing all those tools!

So I added an air conditioner to my shop not too long ago and would like to step up the insulation in the walls and ceilings. Currently I have 40+ year old fiberglass that is in rough shape. Would love to have spray foam but it’s just not in my budget. With that said, where is the best place to get 48” or even 60” wide fiberglass bats? Manatee has something like 65ft for $270 or so which seems high to me with it being only 65ft of it. I live in the hot and humid south. I have searched online and not many places advertise their prices on their websites. I really don’t want to have to send out a dozen emails for pricing. With that said, do you guys have a suggestion or two on the best places to check with and what should I expect to pay for 3” thick x 48” wide x 100ft long rolls? What about 6” thick rolls? (.-.)

I have a small workspace and so I attempt to put everything on wheels. In an attempt to make better use of my, low to the ground, wood storage space, I decided to build a rolling wood rack. Hardwood would be stored on the front, and sheet goods on the back. I can wheel it out from the wall when needed.

A few specs before I get to my question.

Its build of 2x6 pine and 4x4 fir. The pine is the body and the cedar is the bracing.
Each leg and post is 3x2x6 with an actual dimension of 5x4.5 or so. I used lag replacement screws for tensioning the frame. I used SPAX screws to reinforce. The frame joints are assembled with 4 4x28x140 mm dominos. The uprights are assembled with 2 of the same dominos along with a 6" lag replacement bold through the back side to the base frame to support the dominos. The front bracing is also assembled with a combination of lag replacement screws and SPAX #8's in various lengths.

The arms of the storage rack are 13 ply Russian birch 3/4" with 2x6 pine blocking. The pine blocking is also against and screwed into the the uprights for additional support. They are mounted to the upright with 8x1.5" SPAX #8's.

I have somewhere between 500 and 700bf of white oak on it.

My concern is, now that I have it assembled and the wood loaded on, is how strong those arms are going to be. I put the highest weight closest to the upright. Looking at it, I can see a cascade collapse happening etc. Thus far, it seems rock solid, i see no flexing of the shelves or anything else. Incidentally, it rolls easily too.

My thought is, I'll give it about a week to settle with all the weight and see if anything sags, or if it collapses or cracks. With that much wood and weight, it would be hard to see surviving it falling on you.

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Hello all. Just sold my delta 50-760 dust collector and looking for replacement.
I have a small workshop, half of 2 car garage. Nothing major, table saw, dewalt planer and 10" bandsaw.

I came across an importer that basically gets the parts from china and assembles them into functioning units.
Specs are:
"3HP" 220v 12.5a motor
1 micron filter
30 gallon drum
Price is decent and its fairly compact and quite unit. Has automatic filter cleaning and sound dampening

Attached is the picture.

My other options I was looking at was Oneida mini gorilla, Laguna Pflux/cflux1 or Harvey G700 (found used one for sale, still negotiating on the price)
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any thoughts?

Thank you

Alex Attached Images

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For any Creekers considering a Harvey G700 dust processor, I thought I would offer my insights on this machine that I purchased about 3 months ago. It’s not my intention to give a thorough and in-depth review of all the features and specifications of the machine. There are several Youtube videos and websites that cover those aspects. I more wanted to point out what I see as the pros and cons of the machine and some suggestions for improvement, where appropriate.
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A little background. Over the last 30 years I have owned 2 previous dust collectors. First a single stage bag unit and then a Oneida 2hp cyclone. The Oneida was certainly an upgrade and performed well, but after 20 years I finally got fed up with removing and cleaning the internal filter in the cyclone. A dusty job, likely exposing me to greater dust hazard than actual woodworking.

So, my main objective in considering a new dust collector was easier and cleaner dust disposal. When I saw the Harvey on a Youtube video, it seemed to meet this objective plus I liked the potential for some space savings in my small shop.

Low Profile: The Harvey is only 34” tall and 24” deep (and is mobile), so this design lends itself to placement under a taller bench or shelving unit. As you can see in the photo, I placed mine under a shelving unit which has made for a more efficient use of my smaller shop space.
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Ducting Options: An advantage of a cyclone dust collector is that the duct inlet is typically higher up on a wall and out of the way. There is only one duct inlet on the Harvey and it is low to the ground. Some forethought is required in locating the machine to avoid the duct work either creating a trip hazard or stealing real estate. Fortunately, in my situation I was placing the left side of the machine near a wall, minimizing floor space taken by the ducts. Placing the machine against the opposite wall (to the right), the inlet would be about 3’ out from the wall, which could be problematic. So, this machine may or may not work for everyone, depending on individual shop layout. I have 6” and 4” duct throughout my shop and mostly run one machine at a time.

Mobility: Because the Harvey is on casters it is rather easily moved around. That said, there are only three casters on the machine, two fixed and one swivel. The machine would be much easier to move into tighter spots if there were four swivel casters.

Controls: The machine comes standard with a remote control, and I find that it is immediately responsive and works well from anywhere in my shop. I wish that the company had provided two remotes as these are easily lost items. The Harvey has a ramp start so takes 10 secs or so to come up to full speed. I don’t find it to be an inconvenience, but others might.
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The other machine controls are, in my opinion, a weakness with this machine. Not a game changer, but an area for improvement. There is a small control panel on the front of the machine with an on/off button, a couple of “Do Not Touch” buttons for technicians, a pressure dial, a speed control knob, and a digital screen. The main on/off switch is on the back of the machine (more on that).

IMO, much of the control panel could be eliminated, but I am not one enamored by gadgets and dials. Having a remote, I find the existing front panel on/off redundant. Others on Youtube have commented on the wisdom of having unprotected “technician only” programming buttons on the front panel. At least one owner bemoaned the fact that his young shop helper pushed the wrong button and the machine required a laborious reprogramming. I will say that I use the speed dial more than I thought I would as it is nice to dial down the suction (and the noise level) when max suction is not needed. I suppose there are those out there that want to monitor suction with a dial gauge and digital readout, but I find it unnecessary.

I am not sure why Harvey placed the main on/off switch on the back of the machine. It would seem much more sensible to place it on the front of the machine with the other controls. If one wants to slide the machine under a cabinet or shelf, how do you reach the main on/off switch at the back of the machine? I ended up buying a 220/20amp extension cord and splicing in an on/off switch. That way I could leave the main machine on/off in the “on” position and place the spliced in switch in a convenient location.

Noise Level: This machine is quieter than the other dust collectors I have owned. Others have measured db levels and you can find those results on Youtube.

Dust Disposal and Filter Cleaning: This is, in my mind, where the Harvey dust processor really shines. Though the machine only holds 32 gal of chips, it is easy to unload. I actually prefer this size chip capacity as at my advanced age, lugging a heavy 55 gal bag or barrel of chips is not an option for me. I am not sure why Harvey chose to deposit chips/dust in two separate containers. Perhaps the smaller “fines” container is supposed to fill less often. I find that both bins fill at about the same time and that there is not much of a difference in chip size, but I have mostly been collecting from my planer, jointer, and table saw. Heavy use of a drum or wide belt sander might change how the bags fill. I really don’t care what goes into what bin, so I would prefer a single larger bin rather than the large/small bin design. One less step in emptying the machine.

The Harvey has a “bin full” light and alarm. This is a great feature of the machine. The only time I have ended up with chips on the floor from my 18” planer is when the full bin light goes off and I don’t see it…..chips then start ejecting out the planer. With my old dust collection system, sweeping up chips was a regular chore. This is where bluetooth capability could come in handy. If you are wearing bluetooth capable hearing protection, getting an audible signal from the dust collector when full would avoid overfilling the dust bin.

Another great feature is the ease of cleaning of the collector filters. After separating the larger chips and fines, the collector uses 2 filters to catch the finest of the dust. Each of these filters have a 4" collection port at the end of the machine that needs emptying every so often. One can either use a shop vac or a hose from the machine to recirculate the dust back through the machine. There is a knob at the top of each filter to clean the pleats of the filters. I find that the dust collector does a good job of recirculating the filter dust back into the main bins.

To make the cleaning even easier, I used a clever idea from “Next Level Carpentry” on Youtube to construct a simple dust recirculation system. His design incorporated a custom made Y fitting to permanently duct from the collection ports back to the inlet of the machine. Instead of custom duct work, I used pieces of flexible 4” hose, a greenhouse Y fitting, a 90 degree dust fitting, and a blast gate to duct to the inlet of the dust collector. Works great and now I only need to open the blast gate and turn the filter knobs to clean the filters. No more air compressor or leaf blower to clean filters! It would be nice if Harvey plumbed the machine with this type of recirculator either as an option or as a standard feature.


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Dust Collection Efficiency: My updated dust collection system is much more efficient than the prior system. Both were rated at the same CFM (1100). That said, I did replace my old piping (metal) with a new clamp together system at the same time as I bought the Harvey dust processor. So, it is hard to determine how much of the improvement is due to the machine or the ductwork. My guess is that both contribute to the improved performance. I have my CNC router 30+ feet from the dust collector through 6" and 4" duct and the suction is awesome.

A side note: I bought my clamp together piping and fittings from The Blastgate Company of Warren, MI. They were cheaper than the competition and pleasant and helpful to work with. The components are heavy duty, well-built, and fit together beautifully. Whomever you buy from, a clamp together duct system is a joy to work with.
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Customer Service Experience: I lost the remote to the machine and called Harvey about purchasing a replacement. They were kind enough to send out (quickly) a new remote free of charge. They were also interested to hear about my suggestions for the machine. In fact, the representative said she was going into a weekly meeting just after my call and would make sure my suggestions got to all the staff. So, my customer service experience was very positive.

Final Thoughts: Would I buy this machine again? Absolutely. So far, this has been a really great machine. If Harvey incorporates some of the above changes, I think it will be a near perfect smaller shop dust collector. Of course, YMMV. Cheers, Bob Attached Images

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Hi Folks,
I just picked up a 220 volt radial arm saw that draws 9 amps and has a 15 amp plug on it.
I also have an unused circuit that it could plug into that previously ran a planer. It is a 30amp circuit with a 30amp receptacle on it and has 10 gauge wire.

1. Should the breaker be replaced with a 20amp or 15amp so that it is closer to the draw from the saw? My understanding is that the breaker shouldn't be much higher than needed.
2. What is normal practice or code for matching the breaker, receptacle, an plug? It is difficult to find information for matching up the plug and receptacle for 220. If for example if I go to 20amps, would it be a problem to use the 15amp plug and outlet. Most of the information seems to dwell on 15 amp outlets on 20 amp circuits for 110v.

Any help would be appreciated so that I can get the right pieces and get it wired.

3. Unrelated, does anyone go through "Jointing" planer or jointer blades after sharpening and installation? From what I gather, after installing blades a stone is lowered to the blades on a running machine to grind a slight micro bevel and make sure that all blades extend the same amount. This seems like a very scary operation to be that close to a running cutterhead and I would guess that most people send out the blades for sharpening and nothing more. I have an old 18 inch yates armerican planer and the manual says to do the jointing.

thanks,

Stevo



thanks,

Stevo (.-.)

My old Delta shaper is mobile so I need to be able to disconnect the dust collector and stow it in the minimal space possible. I was originally using two 4" hoses to the combiner on the DC inlet. I've changed that to a single 6" inlet so I needed an efficient combiner attached to the tool that stayed within the outline of the top.

It's sort of possible with standard PVC fittings but I couldn't come up with anything that didn't have at least one badly convoluted path. The maximum allowed profile was also giving me trouble with a printed fitting. I eventually realized that magnetic couplers would solve that problem.

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I'm building a new metal building, I am going to section off a woodshop area I'm planning on 20x30 (full depth of building, 20 ft of width) I want to have a loft to store lumber, plywood etc. Is then any realistic cost way to do this? I have some 10x10 barn beams that are long enough (20ft) if I cut them in half with mill would that give me enough strength? Or would I need engineered trusses etc? Won't be walking around etc very often but I have probably 2,000-3,000lbs of lumber I need to store.

My other idea is to try and find some cheap used I beams... any better ideas? (.-.)

Tired of small leaks in my 2 horse 20 gal air compressor. I have a number of joints in order to have attached a water filter, dust filter, air filter and pressure guage. I have been using a good grade plumbers tape but I still seem to have small leaks that add up over a few hours and I'm low on pressure again. I know there are several tooth paste tubes of stuff that people add around the threads joint before connecting to the next part. I've read a couple reviews where they thought that did the trick.a material that coats the threads that flows , let it set overnight plus some good plumbers tape should stop my problem. Advice from air compressor knowledgable creekers would be greatly appreciated. This constant air loss drives LOML mad because it goes on several times during the day and you can hear it throughout the home. Now you know the real reason I'm looking to fix the problem. If LOML ain't happy, nobody is happy. Any/all ideas and suggestions are Welome! (.-.)

Hi folks -
My shop is in an unfinished basement area, adjacent to a finished section. It's 300 sq ft, 2400 cu ft. In the long cold New England winter, it tends to get down into the high 40's at worst. Right now, I heat it only when I'm going to work using a couple of 1500W heaters - a fan-forced electric heater on the floor and a radiant heater on the ceiling.
It takes a good hour to get comfortable, and even longer to be evenly heated. Plus the floor heater is always in the way.

I've been trying to find a better means of heating it.

One possibility is some kind of more industrial heater, mounted high on wall - I've seen 220V models that were reasonable. I'm thinking something like that could bring the temp up faster if it had a good fan.

I've seen Envi heaters advertised in FWW - but they're only about 500W, and since they use convection, they aren't going to bring it up fast. I suppose I could use a couple of those to keep it a bit higher so it won't take as long to bring up to comfortable temp.

Breaking up the floor for some kind of radiant heat is not an option.

What do others do?

Thanks,
Michael (.-.)

One of my first workshop projects is to pay for electrical upgrades in the garage shop. Currently, I have 1 20-amp circuit. I have zero 220 machines, but that may change in the future.

1. What do I actually need, electrical-wise, in the shop? I'm thinking two more 110 circuits and 1 220, but that's just spitballing.

2. What will it cost to add these to new construction? There is space in the outdoor panel, and the indoor panel. Both are located on the other side of garage walls.

3. What does it cost to add a mini-split AC? I live in San Antonio, and it's warm here 6 months out of the year. (.-.)

Looking for ideas on how to set up dust collection on a turret arm radial saw. Don't remember whether or not I already posted something like this way back when. Since last summer, moved and its been slow setting up new shop. Too many other things to attend to first. I've thought about different ways to do the dust collection and have almost decided to just collect it when it shoots straight back and ignore everything else. I have a centralized system with 5" combo of pvc and metal HVAC ductwork. I'm obviously not very clever, hoping someone has come up with a clever way to do this with arm off 90 degrees.... Randy (.-.)