Dust collection

[KWood255]

Anyone here using a sawdust collector system on your mills? I would like to build a unit for inside the saw shed which plumbs directly onto the chute on my LT40, and the 70 when it arrives. 

I will have 110/220v power available inside the shed in the spring. 

Thanks

[SawyerTed]

@customsawyer and @YellowHammer have systems for their mills and other machines.   Others do as well.

[beenthere]

Also, member ElectricAl and his wife Linda have such a system. Shows in this video. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yOgkc2fP-ao&list=UUVKuunOHc5ERyL3fLrLpgOg

[Will_Johnson]

Hopefully not breaking the rules to mention our sister company (and FF supporter) Woodmaster Tools. 

Woodmaster has three different cast aluminum dust blowers with 3HP, 5HP and 10HP motors. 2600 to 6300 CFM depending on model.

We have quite a few TimberKing owners using them, and I know we also have guys with other brands of mill using them. One nice thing about cast aluminum is fire prevention.

[PAmizerman]

I have a 5hp wood master on mine

[Southside]

I own two of the 5 HP Woodmaster blowers - they are beasts!! 

[YellowHammer]

I wouldn't cut without mine.  I'm not shoveling tons of sawdust anymore, it all goes directly into a large bin.  

[KWood255]

Hopefully not breaking the rules to mention our sister company (and FF supporter) Woodmaster Tools.

Woodmaster has three different cast aluminum dust blowers with 3HP, 5HP and 10HP motors. 2600 to 6300 CFM depending on model.

We have quite a few TimberKing owners using them, and I know we also have guys with other brands of mill using them. One nice thing about cast aluminum is fire prevention.

Thanks Will, are you able to add any pictures of the setups? In my situation I would like to be able to send the sawdust directly from the mill, overhead through a flexible tube, and into a duct work which would carry the sawdust about 30' or so to a bin outside. In essence, much like YellowHammer's but without the addition of other finishing tools (for now). 

[scsmith42]

I wouldn't cut without mine.  I'm not shoveling tons of sawdust anymore, it all goes directly into a large bin. 

Robert, what HP is your blower?  I picked up a used blower from some type of street sweeper (it was driven by a JD Diesel engine) and I've been thinking about setting it up for the sawmill and edger.  I'd like to run it off of a 15hp 480V motor if possible (since that's the max that my RPC will start).

@customsawyer - Same question for you Jake - what's the HP on your blower?  Mine appears to be a similar size to what I recall you having.

Thx.

Scott

[Will_Johnson]

Thanks Will, are you able to add any pictures of the setups? In my situation I would like to be able to send the sawdust directly from the mill, overhead through a flexible tube, and into a duct work which would carry the sawdust about 30' or so to a bin outside. In essence, much like YellowHammer's but without the addition of other finishing tools (for now).

Well again I think I'm walking in a gray area of Forum rules about not using it to sell stuff. Here's a link to one of our dust collectors. Should give you an idea. Feel free to email me directly at wjohnson@woodmastertools.com.

https://woodmastertools.com/shop/accessories/drum-sander-parts-accessories/new-10hp-super-duty-dust-collector/

[Old Greenhorn]

@Will_Johnson , I see both Woodmaster and Timberking are forum sponsors. There is a whole forum section for sponsor news. I am not privy to the details of how some sponsors have dedicated sections, but as sponsors (x2) I would think you could contact Jeff and get a clarification of the posting restrictions for sponsors. This is a great place to get the word out, and although I only learned about your dust collectors from your email last week, a Lot of other folks just learned of them from your posting here. 
 So maybe talk to Jeff and get it cleared up. The reason that marketing is 'prohibited' outside of forum rules is because this is free advertising stolen from the forum and unfair to contributing sponsors. As you are already sponsors, I think some PM's with Jeff should clear it all up either way and make life a lot easier for you. It might help us out too.
 Just a thought.

[Joe Hillmann]

For those who do have dust collectors, how well do they work?

On my mill I would guess that only about half the sawdust actually makes it out the chute.  The rest of it sticks to the boards or spills out all over the mill.

My sawdust collection system may not be helpful to the op. I lay a 45 inch wide conveyor belt along the side of my mill.  A lot of the sawdust ends up on it.  I can than chain it to my tractor and drag it away to dump it somewhere out of the way.  It takes care of about half of my sawdust.  The rest ends up between the rails of my mill and I eventually have to shovel it out.

In addition to sawdust falling in between the rails of my mill that area also gets filled up with bark, small chunks of wood, knotts and chainsaw dust from having to trim down logs.  All that debris adds up to be quite a bit of material that you will have to deal with.

[Southside]

Will - how much larger is the fan on that unit compared to the 5HP?  I run two of the 5 HP units on my moulder and planer and they do a great job.  

Joe - how much lube are you using?  The band should really be pulling that dust out of the cut and sending it to the chute. 

[Andries]

There's been a lot of discussion about mill sawdust pickup design here on the Forum.
There seems to be two categories of dust collector types in use.
- The cyclone type, such as Yellowhammer's. The fan is optimized to move air and doesn't ever touch the sawdust. The cyclone and rotary valves dump the sawdust into a big bin. It does a great job and needs a few more bits and pieces to make it work.
- The second type is the pass-through blower type, like Custom Sawyer has. Everything the mill exhausts passes through the vanes of the blower. FF member
123 Maxbars (Out of the Woods) has made some excellent YT videos showing that system in use. 
Also, there's a nice video on Youtube with a two blower pass-through setup.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kgcMBNb8h_s 
In that setup, the main blower was a rescue from a cotton mill demolition, and the guys operating the bandsaw mill found that wet sawdust was too heavy for the first blower alone. A secondary blower was needed, placed directly above the mill.
In other words, you need a lot of cfm's going up the pipe. 
 
Kwood: In Dryden, ON. you will  need even more because cfm's than our buddies down in the tropics of Georgia and Alabama, because of cold temps. You know that sawdust will freeze pdq after it's cut. Heck, if you wait too long, even fresh cut boards will freeze together. D'you carry a hammer or a pry bar? 
Also, you're in pine country and probably don't cut too much hardwood. The pine sap sawdust mix is harder to move. By far.
My approach is pretty darn crude. My setup when milling in the Kenora area is to set the mill so that the dust just blows onto the ground. I can scoop the sawdust into the loader bucket and run it to a dump pile. @barbender is like me in that he doesn't have a mill shed, yet. But he may know some folks in Northern MN that have a good working system. 

[YellowHammer]

I believe I get, on a pound by pound basis, 95% of the sawdust into the blower.  I can't do much about the big chunks, just push them to the end of the slab with a broom.  I dump maybe 20 bins of sawdust with my loader and then, maybe, maybe, I'll clean up the area around the sawmill.  

I just emptied the bin a few moments ago of thousands of pounds of sawdust, and I never had to touch a bit of it.  Keep the lengths corrugated hose to a minimum, and you will love it. 

[Will_Johnson]

Hey Southside:

The impellor sizes are as follows:

DB350 (3.5HP Motor) 12" diameter x 2.75" deep
DB500 (5HP Motor) 12.75" diameter x 3.25" deep
DB1000 (10HP Motor) 14.75" diameter x 4" deep

So the differing CFMs of the units are a function both of power and impellor size.

[Don P]

And generally...  diameter = suction pressure, width = volume

[KWood255]

There's been a lot of discussion about mill sawdust pickup design here on the Forum.
There seems to be two categories of dust collector types in use.
- The cyclone type, such as Yellowhammer's. The fan is optimized to move air and doesn't ever touch the sawdust. The cyclone and rotary valves dump the sawdust into a big bin. It does a great job and needs a few more bits and pieces to make it work.
- The second type is the pass-through blower type, like Custom Sawyer has. Everything the mill exhausts passes through the vanes of the blower. FF member
123 Maxbars (Out of the Woods) has made some excellent YT videos showing that system in use.
Also, there's a nice video on Youtube with a two blower pass-through setup.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kgcMBNb8h_s
In that setup, the main blower was a rescue from a cotton mill demolition, and the guys operating the bandsaw mill found that wet sawdust was too heavy for the first blower alone. A secondary blower was needed, placed directly above the mill.
In other words, you need a lot of cfm's going up the pipe.
 
Kwood: In Dryden, ON. you will  need even more because cfm's than our buddies down in the tropics of Georgia and Alabama, because of cold temps. You know that sawdust will freeze pdq after it's cut. Heck, if you wait too long, even fresh cut boards will freeze together. D'you carry a hammer or a pry bar? 
Also, you're in pine country and probably don't cut too much hardwood. The pine sap sawdust mix is harder to move. By far.
My approach is pretty darn crude. My setup when milling in the Kenora area is to set the mill so that the dust just blows onto the ground. I can scoop the sawdust into the loader bucket and run it to a dump pile. @barbender is like me in that he doesn't have a mill shed, yet. But he may know some folks in Northern MN that have a good working system.

Thanks Andries, yes I hear you about the frozen sawdust....pretty minimal this year of course. I try not to run the machines at -15c or colder of I can avoid it. Even that sucks. 

With my current setup, I shovel the sawdust into the bucket of my tractor at the end of the day, sometimes twice. As we know, it doesn't take long to become a problem. 

[YellowHammer]

The big problem I see with trying to collect sawdust at -15C isn't the sawdust, it's the -15C. 

Just move south and all that gets easier.  

[customsawyer]

Mine is a 42" Pendu blower with a 30HP 480V motor. The only thing I don't use it for is the Slabmizer. Something about using 30hp to suck the shavings off of a 3hp planer didn't set well between my ears. It sure worked good though. The only thing that it doesn't do well on, is my resaw. The suction distance is a little to far. I just put a small Harbor Freight blower at the resaw, and blow it to the big blower, and it goes from there. I will saw most of the week on the sawmill, and then there is a couple of skidsteer buckets of sawdust beside the mill that have to be cleaned up at the end of the week. I'm would think my setup is overkill for what the OP is needing.

[alecs]

From an energy cost perspective, a bulk material conveyor might work well.  Running a dust collector all the time there is a log on the mill vs. running a conveyor belt from time to time...savings could add up! 

I envision a belt alongside the mill that the discharge chute would dump onto, and the conveyor belt then taking the dust away to whatever receptacle you need.  Haven't tried that myself, for now my hobby needs are met by a 5+ gallon pail that hangs from the saw carriage, which I empty into a larger bin and then into my dump trailer as it fills up.  The amount that doesn't end up in the bucket is a small percentage.

[PAmizerman]

A blower will get the vast majority of it. 
As for the remainder....
https://youtu.be/wXbnxCyALig?si=YaNCuyuy6dXM6M-l

[Mr. Buck]

From an energy cost perspective, a bulk material conveyor might work well.  Running a dust collector all the time there is a log on the mill vs. running a conveyor belt from time to time...savings could add up!

I envision a belt alongside the mill that the discharge chute would dump onto, and the conveyor belt then taking the dust away to whatever receptacle you need.  Haven't tried that myself, for now my hobby needs are met by a 5+ gallon pail that hangs from the saw carriage, which I empty into a larger bin and then into my dump trailer as it fills up.  The amount that doesn't end up in the bucket is a small percentage.

I'm curious how long it takes to fill the bucket in this scenario.  Do you need to empty it once per average sized log?  Every few cuts?  I'll be starting out this way while I complete my shed setup.

Also, do I need to make any modifications to the mill to get the bucket to hang on the chute?

Thanks!

[SawyerTed]

Had a friend who wanted a couple of logs milled.  He was worried about ruining his grass with sawdust.  

I mentioned it to my wife.  

Her solution is in the photo.

[SawyerTed]

@beenthere posted a YouTube video of a circle sawmill that uses a pit and drag chain to remove sawdust.  For a bandmill, a trough (with grate on top) with the drag chain in the bottom could work equally as well at removing sawdust.  The trough would be in the floor where sawdust comes out the chute.  

A drag chain will move chips and chunks a blower won't.  Power and noise will be less too.  

https://forestryforum.com/board/index.php?msg=2028487