So can we discuss dust collection? Im personally interested in what I need to hook on from a standard dust collector (not shop vac) to the dust boot.
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Looks like no one has addressed Hummingbird’s question yet. I have the same question. I am a CNC newbie. My dust collection setup in my modest shop consists of a Ridgid shop vac together with a Rockler Dust Right dust separator on a mobile cart. I just wheel it over to whatever tool I’m using. For the CNC, I am thinking I should have a dedicated dust collector since my understanding is that it is best to be running the dust collector the whole time you are cutting rather than just suck up chips when the cut is done, right? So with that in mind, I would like to get something fairly compact and quiet, also reliable enough to run continually for fairly long periods of time. Oh yeah, and not break the bank though I think I’m already past the point of no return on that front, lol. What do people recommend?
On my current CNC I run a basic Rigid shop vac with a cyclone dust separator. It works great, but it is loud (maxes out around 90dB from 5’ away).
This is okay, but still loud, for the garage. I am planning to put my Onefinity CNC in the basement and want to go quieter. I am looking at either building an enclosure for the Rigid shop vac, or shelling out for the Fein Turbo 1 ($290) or the Festool CT15 ($350), either of which should be much much quieter. I may still even enclose those. My hope is to make this quiet enough to use while my one year old son is in bed, otherwise this Onefinity CNC will collect dust instead of make dust.
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Onefinity stayed the dust boot will connect to a 2.5” hose.
Check out the Harbor Freight dust collector. It is supposed to be a good dust collector for the money, once you replace the filter bags.
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Hey man- I had a similar problem to solve. My old shop vac was gross and extremely loud. I decided to get a new Fein Turbo 1 for general shop use and dust collection. I wanted to put a cyclone on it with a bucket to collect chips and save the vac filter. I whipped up some 3D printed parts to connect everything together for a compact mobile dust collection system. The Fein is very quiet: I’m able to have a normal conversation standing right next to it when its running.
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I am new to CNC, but am a beginner wood worker. What you need is a dust collector. They have longer run times and usually are a lot quieter. I have 2 kids and i am working out of my garage so dust control was very important. After a ton of research i went with the Jet DC-1200VX for $680. While not cheap, it has a 2 micron filter, powerful enough for all of my tools and has technology similar to the cyclone up above without all of the extra room needed. I also bought an air filtration system that i leave running that has a 1 micron filter that will pick up the particles in the air for hours after working. Of course there are cheaper options, but also remember to always wear a mask.
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A collection bucket directly on/in the shop vac… brilliant!
What did you end up using for dust collection with the cnc? I get mine in April. I’d like to use my dust collector with 4” hose. Any suggestions?
I use a dust collector with a 4" hose. The suck-it accessory has a 2.5" outlet so I have a 2.5" hose from that that then connects to the 4" hose from the dust collector via a 2.5" → 4" adaptor (the black part at the bottom right in the image).
Martin
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Martin, my intent is to use the Kreg base for my table as well. Is yours the 44"x44" kit and what size did you end up making your table top?
I have the Kreg 44x44 kit and the table top is a half sheet of MDF (48x49"). The other half got cut up to make the spoil board. I did not build a torsion table on mine (at least not yet). The Onefinity effectively sits over the Kreg rails so the weight is well supported. I have the caster kit and at least with the 1.0.5 firmware it seems to be fine with three of the wheels locked as the fourth is inaccessible in the corner. I hear that the 1.0.6 firmware is more forceful so we’ll have to see. I positioned the dust collection at the front right of the machine so that the hose doesn’t need to go over the router. I originally had it in the back center but didn’t like how the hose always got tangled. I also made some of the aluminum tubes longer than the plans said to better support the hose.
Martin
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Martin,
Your dust collection is exactly what I want mine to be. How far is it from the table to the top of the hose at the highest point?
Here are the dimensions. The tube lengths are the length that I cut the tube to, not just the visible part. The 2.5" hose is a 10’ length of PUR hose.
Martin
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Is that the 1HP Craftex you are using? How is it working with the 1F? I see there is a CX version with higher CFM but it is currently not available. These would ship free to me here in Ontario so was wondering how you liked it and its performance.
Thank you,
Tom
It is a Craftex CT029 1HP dust collector from BusyBee Tools. I’ve had it for about 15 years or so and just move the hose between the Onefinity, a table saw and a thickness planer. It works well and I haven’t had any issues with it.
Martin
I appreciate the information - that’s great to hear. Because of limited space, I have my tools in my small shed and do cutting outdoors - mostly home reno work not much detailed woodworking. The 1F will go in my basement, and will be the main producer of chips/dust so I was hopeful that this Craftex model would meet my needs.
Martin,
Thank you so much those are exactly the numbers I needed. The hose that is have may be a little stiffer than yours I am hopeful that it will work. I plan to use your information to run my 4” steel pipe up the wall above the unit and drape the hose down to the unit.
Dave
Martin do you think you will need an enclosure or does the dust boot do a great job of Dust collection?
I don’t have an enclosure at the moment. The dust collector does a pretty good job of sucking up the wood chips from the projects I’ve cut. I’m not sure I’d necessarily want to put aluminum or plastic chips through the dust collector so I may use the shop vac for those. My shop vac is pretty loud though.
Martin
How long is that 2.5" hose ?
oops just saw it 10’