Dust Collector Showdown for Knifemaking

Testing a couple of dust collector nozzles and hoses to vent dust from belt grinders used in the knife making shop. Bladesmith Walter Sorrells is updating the ventilation system in his shop and here are a few steps along the way toward his final set-up.
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[@Tackleb3rry]

Oh man I’ve been looking into these for the past week! Perfect timing for this video! Thank you!

[@ThinusRautenbach]

My wife has a treadmill in the bedroom. It collects dust like crazy. You should try it...

[@toolman9081]

WooHoo!!! He's back! Been going through withdrawals lol

[@stoneinthefield1]

On my Grizzly 2x72 I used galvanized ducting like you mentioned. I also used grill mat fabric instead of plastic in areas that I needed dust flaps. Had it laying around so I tried it.

[@jamesbarisitz4794]

You can take the Line Lock segments apart and line each one with aluminum duct tape. Same with the orange inlet. Honestly I'd go with metal ducting and have a rod /magnet positioning arrangement for holding the intake in place fast and easy.

[@rootvalue]

Good idea. Only downside is magnets and metal dust. My nightmare 😂

[@colininscore1286]

I get so many great ideas here, thank you

[@benchapman5247]

I have just finished my grinding dust collection system. A 50 gallon drum is under the bench, movable to any location (three belt grinders and two disc grinders), a 6" gal spout goes in to near the bottom which feeds signifcant air to a home made cyclonic separator also made from 50 gallon drums with good lids (sealant drums with neoprene seals, cost me $10 each) then an 8" hose feeds from there to a repurposed 2HP floor sweeper (outside) from ebay for $100. I also wet grind (dual water mist) and just grind post HT stainless and stainless wool burns so plastic is mostly out. So far so good and cannot smell or see any dust if I am not wearing a respirator (I do though) and the burning stainless wool sticks to the gal then gets drips of water on it and goes out so it works well. My third shop-vac fire got me working on it...

[@kermit2999]

Been there. Went back to metal ducting due to hoses catching on fire. I also use an metal ash canister between the nozzle and the vacuum with about a gallon of water in it. No more smoldering metal plastic combinations.

[@CerberusForge]

Great video as always!

[@MikeJones-vb1me]

I have a bucket of water on a board with wheels so I can roll it out when grinding steel, it catches a lot of sparks, it’s right there for cooling blades, and was extra cheap. Easy to roll under the bench when not needed. I built a little removable abs pipe for shaping handles.

[@WessexBladesHandMadeKnives]

I've been using Numatic(Henry ) hoses for years, but the initial inlet is a coffee can(Azera in UK) 3M masking taped onto a 90deg. plumbing elbow, into a cyclonic over a plastic bin through into a cheap Screwfix wet n dry shop vac, but my grinder is slow so not exactly flinging out sparks too far.

[@kwbknives7989]

Good video as always. I have yet to try those flexible ones but will do now. Be careful of the filters in those portable collectors, might caught fire. If you plan on getting a full size collector then I’d highly recommend drainage pipes with the proper fittings. I tried taping them but it all falls apart, the real ones are cheap and fit together nice. Dust build up can really burn hot. You mentioned it in the video but be careful, I have a 5m long smooth 4” pipe which I thought would let the sparks cool before going into the bag, never had issues with the bag but the pipe caught fire half way and a lump of glowing hot spark cluster dropped onto a fairly out of sight wooden shelf… luckily all was fine but I don’t use it for steel anymore.

[@RatelLaw]

Thank you for sharing

[@jeffreydauterman]

I used a storage container with a seal in the lid. Cut a 4” hole in the top for metal ducting. Then glued in the hole. The bottom of the pipe sits 1” above the water in the bottom. At the top is a normal vent duct connection with a flex tube on it to help reposition it. I then made a simple two arm holder with a screw in the elbow to hold it up. Hope all that makes since. Can send you images if you want. Had it build int a matter of a few hours. Has drastically cut down the dust. Next I put another hole and add an vacuum line so that it sucks air in.

[@kwbknives7989]

Excellent idea, I suppose wood would clog it up but could have a lever to switch between spark catcher and straight to extractor

[@jeffreydauterman]

@@kwbknives7989 I use the Loc liner on another grinder for wood with a cyclone. Set up.

[@lancelandis227]

I have ground on some titanium, and tour right, the sparks are very bright and really hot. It lit a 5 gallon bucket up and wouldn't go out until I drowned it in water.

[@thomaspowers1048]

We all know that plastic and hot metal sparks do not get along, especially when it is a steady amount over a lengthy amount of time but, the average number of people grinding on metal in a small or average shop, won’t be steadily grinding at that pace! So, that being said, I think they will hold up nicely and I know this because I have 4 of them at several locations in my shop

[@russtdodd]

I had a similar set up vented to an Oneida Dust Deputy cyclone. The metal dust accumulated in the correlations of the plastic hose and with the high speed air flow it created the conditions to start a fire. The smell of burning Dust Deputy alerted me in time to get it shut down before a major fire. The next iteration will have water traps and spark mitigation. The fire was not theoretical.

[@beerichm5]

Thank you for doing this video. I am very interested in what you learn running it long term. One of my concerns is, are there any stagnation points where metal dust, wood dust, or resin dust can build up and ignite later. I hope you cover this in your long term analysis.

[@lisag2771]

I’m looking for something for my milling machine. Perfect timing.

[@johncannon3593]

WARNING!! I tried Lock Line attached to a shop-vac. After only a few hours of operation, a big hole melted in it at the second curve of an "S" bend. Also, if you're grinding wood handle material, your metal sparks can start a fire on the sawdust collecting in the shop vac bin (ask me how I know...). Bottom line is I only use the Lock Line on handle material and use the good old fashioned bucket of water for steel grinding. If I try ducting again, it will only be metal.

[@kwbknives7989]

Same here, I even tried a smooth pipe 5m long. No issues with the collection but pipe caught fire. Heard about a water trap that could be the answer though

[@jwspock1690]

Top ! Tnx for the video

[@brysonalden5414]

I've been mulling over the same options for my new shop, but for the moment I've decided not to decide, and am using excellent personal filtration equipment. I just can't conceive of a collection system that would be so efficient as to allow me to grind without a mask.

[@kwbknives7989]

I use both, I’ve built up a decent extraction system (for wood at least) but still need my mask. It does hugely reduce cleanup though. Window open with fan on is a cheap way ;p

[@franotoole2702]

No dust collection will ever be that good, if it was you woild have to be maglocked to the floor so you wouldnt be sucked i too 😁😁

[@augustonthefly]

Walt..."I'm done with the blue shirt" Walt...narrates all future videos in blue shirt 😆

[@franotoole2702]

Quick tip, change your hoses on the cyclone, the hose ontop should go to your vacuum. I made that mistake, couldnt figure out why the suction was not good. Turns out the dam instruction booklet was wrong, typical. Good test but id never use an extractor, even the proper metal dust extractors, as its just an accident waiting to happen. Ive been beside both setups when they caught fire. Wouldnt mind but the proper metal dust extractor cost over 2k. Both caught fire in the pipes, the proper metal dust extractor seemed fine after it, but the normal one started smoking a bit after it. Both had spark arrestors on the intake. Thats why i boxed my grinder in and just prefere to use a pull out tray of water that sits under the grinder, very handy. Remember sparks,fuel, forced air = fast fire or explosion. Too many people have made that mistake.

[@caskwith]

I really wish we could get Loc-line to fit UK shop vacs. Currently I use an adjustable DTI base to hold my shop vac nozzle, it works ok but it isn't as versatile as something like loc-line.

[@carlb401]

Looks like Record power will be stocking Loc-line kits and an adapter for 2.5 inch / 63mm inlets.

[@caskwith]

@@carlb401 Interesting. I'll have to keep an eye out for that.

[@DeepSouthern_Outdoors]

At 4:08.... what is that contraption in between the shop vac and grinder? What is its purpose? I was hesitant about making my dust collector with my shop vac due to sparks. Wasn't sure if they'd ignite inside the shop vac.

[@RichardOutdoors]

Walter. Pls can you tell me the name of the adapter (Home Depot) at 4:25? Having real problems with a search. Thanks.

[@phillstill]

Do you have water in the bottom of your cyclone bucket?

[@WalterReade]

Is something like this much better than a bucket with water, or no?

[@wingnutbert9685]

Your Dust Deputy hoses are the wrong way around, as spotted by Peter V a few days ago. :D Also, if you can, up grade from the shop vac. Get a 2hp+ dust collector and at least 4", if not 6" hose. Volume of air movement is a good thing.

[@noahrockland7184]

You aren’t worried about the sparks getting sucked into the shop vac and possibly starting a fire inside the shop vac?

[@MJ-nb1qn]

Walter doesn’t scare that easy!

[@MikeJones-vb1me]

Friends of mine have definitely burned down shop vacs like this but that cyclone cone thing works really well at keeping stuff out of the vac

[@kevincolwell9575]

the issue will be the accumulation of metal, and also wood dust in the system

[@daveh777]

Wouldn't it be great if there was a good and easy solution to dust collection?

[@101mayn1337]

I am very impressed by the lock line, looks promising. At 04:10 i noticed that the hoses from the shop vac is connected to the side of the cyclone. I am pretty sure that you will get better performance if you switch the positions of the hoses. (Really not trying to be a smart ass). Look like you are enjoying the new shop 😊 thank you for the time you put in these videos! You were part of the reason that i jumped into knife making (hobby).

[@wingnutbert9685]

LOL! Nice catch! He's definitely got the hoses backwards! Hopefully he sees this. I'll put a new post to make sure.

[@usernameisaname]

My biggest concern with building a dust collection system is metal sparks and wood dust going through the same lines leading to solid risk of fire within the system

[@dougbish5533]

I use the same lines for both, but at the end are two shop vacs. One for wood and one for metal. Not really that much of a pain to plug into whichever I need.

[@treygrubbs2550]

I have been trying to figure out what I want to build for a while. I'm worried about grinding handle material like mycarta then hitting the spine and throwing sparks in with all that combustible dust. A dust explosion in the shop vac would not be fun. I was thinking of a eater trao between the inlet and the vac. What is the experiences of others? Am I being overcautious?

[@saddletramp7215]

Ya's get whatcha pays fer... 😁

[@samchapple6363]

IDK, dust isn’t just ‘dust’. Metal filings can ignite, especially mixed with other materials, sure smolders first, LOL, heck flour explodes. It’s not the first five minutes, it’s over time, like dryer vents. Shop vac, fine, it can be removed, short lines, static grounding. Metal lines, not plastic that can add to a fire issue, like dryer vents. I mean I have little fires burning sometimes grinding hogging off metal. But then there those of us who have fallen off motorcycles and those who will 😉

[@tropifiori]

It is important people know not to put metal filings or sparks into a dust collector that has saw dust in it. There are 4 inch metallic tubes available

[@kevincolwell9575]

Be so very careful. So many of our friends tried this, and then later had the "fire in the dust system" experience. Myself included.

[@jbyrd3304]

I had a fire also because of this. I went inside for a water came out and my hose and bucket was melted! I had the bucket halfway filled with water

[@co1urzz]

delrin, everytime.

[@mindbogler1234512345]

First like and comment

[@larrybair8074]

how about a 55 gallon metal trash can. Just saying!

[@BubuH-cq6km]

6:48 😂 hopefully part of your test isn't trying to set your shop on🔥