Hi there. I bought a second hand extractor driven by a 3hp motor. Sadly, despite the fact that I originally bought it for my home workshop, it was far too big to be useful. However, since I, and a colleague, were about to start up a new ‘Men’s Shed’ in Acocks Green (Birmingham) which we planned would have a fully equipped woodworking workshop. We started off with a bandsaw and a disc and belt sander, plus the usual small tools, all of which produced considerable volumes of dust. I have made a long-term loan of the extractor, and late last year, and pre-Covid, we installed connecting ducting with spare capacity if/when we obtained funding for additional machinery. I feel sure that the way we’ve connected up the system probably isn’t the best designed, but we do get a considerable volume of dust into the extractor’s bag. At home I use a high powered wet and dry vacuum cleaner which serves my occasional use of my small bandsaw, disc and belt sander (which I have adapted to fit the nozzle of the vacuum cleaner), mitre saw, hand-held power saw and hand-held sander. The single problem is that the filter in the vac., quickly becomes clogged with the very fine sawdust, requiring (all too) regular cleaning with a blow nozzle from the compressor. This is a major annoyance and I propose purchasing a cyclone and barrel to see if I can reduce the need for such regular cleaning of the filter.
As to the shed, we are happy with the system we have installed, and even happier since we bought and fitted a ‘fine dust extractor’ and hung it as high as was possible against the ceiling. Because of the nonsene caused by Covid, we have yet to give the newly enhanced system a proper trial, but we anticipate it will render our small workshop as dust free as is practicable, given our resources.
Wishing you well with your issues!
