Hi all, I'm new to the group and wondered if anyone could help me out.   Unfortunately, dust is a huge issue, both the mess as well as the oil furnace pulling the dust into it.  I have watched a lot of videos, and read a book on dust collection, but I was wondering if anyone with basement shops had any good ideas/suggestions or if there is someone I could hire to help me with layout/airflow etc.  I have shop vacs and some smaller dust collectors but not a great overall plan. I'd like to do it once and right (or at least right for a bunch of years). 

Thanks, Dan

Dan,

First rule of a basement shop is to isolate and protect your HVAC system from the  dust that is created when working wood. I built partial walls between my system and shop, then used clear poly hung from the joists as an entrance dust barrier. There is no substitute for a dust collection system hooked up to every machine. Additionally, add a ceiling air filtration unit somewhere near where the majority of your cutting/sanding is done. I turn mine on with the lights, if you're working wood you're creating dust.

Lay out your shop as you want it, then lay out your dust collection. I'll be home Monday thru Wednesday this week if you want to come see my shop layout.

Jim Allen

978 877 8052

Generally I see 2 ways people go about collecting dust from machines. 

1 DC per machine, or group of machines. this has the advantage of fewer pipe runs and increased flexibility when it comes to adding or rearranging your shop. down side is you need more DC's.   

the 1 bigger DC option the major downside is you have to figure out a way to pipe in everything from 1 machine, and can cost more as you need a bigger DC and piping. my basement  has sub 8 foot ceilings plus ductwork and plumbing to work around.  adding or rearranging is also more of a PITA. the upside is you only have to deal with 1 machine at a time for maintenance and emptying.  

As i move back to my house I'm likely to go with my current  DC (3hp single stage with aftermarket cyclone) for the easy to pipe stuff. augmented with smaller units for difficult locations.   I will still use my room air cleaner

Dan, As you can probably tell many of us are passionate about dust management in our basement shops. I am presuming, since you mentioned an oil burner, that you have have an older home with limited height in your basement (as do I). Others have given you good advice that I’ll supplement.

Since the bottom of my joists are only 7 ft above finished floor, I could nort easily implement the standard ceiling mounted dust filtration so what I did was incorporate it in my out feed table, successfully I might add.

Another suggestion is to check out the EMGW Video Library for last year’s session on Dust Management in the small shop. Jim Russell and other EMGW members do a great job recording our events.