Dust collection options

Hi, everyone.

I’m trying to get serious on many CNC fronts, including dust collection. I see a lot of CNC-ers with really cool rigs that overhang the table and track with the router/spindle, like on a swivel.

Are there common designs or commercially available solutions for that kind of rig? I’ve seen some superbly creative personal solutions on the forum so far, but I need some guidance.

Thanks in advance!

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I should elaborate: I mean the kind of dust collection hose holder that looks like a “boom mic” on a TV show and is rigged to move over the footprint of the table.

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Hello @The_Unknown_Bassist! So I am embarrassed to say, I just got my dust collection functional after almost 1.5 years after getting my LongMill. It still is work in progress, but what is nice is I got the expandable hose in place and connected to the Sienci dust boot. It goes to a baffle where I go to a cyclone separator to hopefully capture more of the dangerous dust. I connected the hose to the wall and jogged my LongMill to the furthest locations and connected my hose. Even after jogging to the closest areas to the wall, the hose doesn’t get in the way of the gantry. I, too, thought I needed a boom and some people do have them, but this was easy, simple and effective. Most importantly done! Tomorrow, I’ll snap a couple of pictures. As my late dad always said, “more than one way to skin a cat”. This is the case as well.

I am going to build some form of boom for above my table saw. The bottom dust collection gets “some” of the dust but not anything above table. There is a lot to capture up top.

PS. No need to apologize for anything. Many of us here are new to the CNC world too. Lord knows I have asked numerous not so smart questions since joining the forum.
Jake

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Excellent! Can’t wait to see and thanks for the response!

This system works pretty well for me.

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So pardon the mess. I just got done with a paid woodworking project that has nothing to do with my passion of CNC. My shop is trashed. Yesterday, I cleaned out the cyclone and the dust collector and installed a viewing window in the drum under the cyclone. I don’t quite have an opinion on the cyclone quite yet, and will be transitioning to 4" drain pipe for the majority of my shop. But here it is as it sits. It works amazingly well considering. The only negative is it is attached to the wall. That may change in the future, but I was SO sick of the dust in my shop. Hope this helps!



Love it :+1:t2: this is what I’m going to do.

Thanks for sharing :pray:

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Hey @Parkey , Let me know if you come up with something that works for a boom. I would very much like to get the hose off the wall and onto my CNC machine. The entire table is on wheels, but I haven’t moved it since starting to carve.

Thanks for the input, everyone!

@Jake : I love that setup, especially for its simplicity. My problem is that my CNC (named ClaNCy) is in my garage on a rolling stand with a rotating top, so I need something more along the lines of what @dehoutwinkel has on his setup.

Or, now that I think of it, I could probably also do something similar to what @Jake is doing: meaning, just mount the hoses to the wall in the area where I usually deploy my CNC machine, then just plug in the hoses.

Here’s mine, deployed and stashed:

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I think either of the options you guys have shown me would do the trick.

Remember that time when I almost broke my back moving my LongMill? No? Well I do…

Nice work!

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I like your table design! It turned out well! Funny, I just boasted that I never moved my CNC machine, yet today I did for the first time. Vacuumed under it and mopped the floor. Going to design some drawers now that I sort of got a work flow down pat.

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Thanks! I adapted it from a set of plans I got Fisher Woodworking online. His version had a whole section of drawers on one side. It was pretty sweet but too large for my situation.

Screenshot 2024-05-15 at 9.35.04 AM

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I’m also pretty adamant about having portable and modular stuff so that my wife and I can still keep our cars in the garage. I still pull them out when I’m doing CNC and other woodworking, but for the most part they stay in the garage (our southern Nevada climate kills cars).

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@_Michael @dehoutwinkel @Jake : Hey, everyone. Sorry for letting this trail go cold, but now I’m hoping for some more input. It cracks me up that Jake set the thread going by confessing that he had been CNC-ing for 1.5 years but hadn’t yet completed his dust collection strategy. I’m clearly way more tardy! Anyhow, I’m getting ready to put the system in place, and it’s very low-fi: Shop Vac, cyclone collector, etc. However, and here’s my question to the Tribunal: The clear 2.5 flex hose I purchase seems to constrict or contract when I turn on the vac. It’s like the suction is too much for it or something, and rather than staying expanded, it wants to return to its compressed state, like a Slinky on the downstroke. My worry is that the tension will somehow impact the travel of the CNC, like something pulling on the dust boot. Have any of you experienced this?

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Also, @dehoutwinkel , I love that uke up in the corner of the photo you posted. What is that back wood? Some kind of limba? The figure is beautiful and you totally nailed the book match!

I just finished the carve on a six-string bass that I’m building for my nephew. Spalted maple top, very punky and difficult to work with – other than the CNC part! The finishing pass came out smooth as butter. Virtually no sanding needed (I’d estimate the CNC produced the equivalent of something sanded to 220 or even 300.)

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I can’t say that the pull on my suction hose has had any impacts on my cnc or parts in general. I actually prefer the hose being taut instead of sagging anyway.

If its something that bothers you, having the vent(if you have one) open would suffice. Otherwise something like a Festool or hardened hose would work.

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Yup that is black limba :wink:

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