Portable Dust Collection System With Noise Reduction & Dust Separator Using Shop Vac

This is a dust collection cart that I made for my small workshop that serves multiple purposes:

o It provides a handy portable working surface of various shop projects

o It serves as my primary means of vacuuming dust from the floor and work surfaces

o It includes a dust separator made from a Dust Deputy that separates out 95+% of the wood dust into an easily removable container (and allows the shop vac to continue to produce maximum suction)

o It includes a noise reduction system for the shop vac that significantly muffles the shop vac noise (-10 dB)

o It has power outlets on both sides of the cart (one is switched)

o It allows easy connection of a vacuum hose to various woodworking tools in the shop to suck up most of the dust at the source of dust generation, including:

- Radial arm saw

- Kreg pocket screw jig

- Circular saw

All parts used in this instructable are off-the-shelf parts. No specialty parts are needed.

This instructable is intended to provide a proof-of-concept approach for creating a portable dust collection system using a shop vac. Detailed steps are not provided, but if there is sufficient interest, I'll be glad to provide them. If you would like additional detail for a particular step, please post a comment and I'll respond.

Step 1: Determine Which Shop Vac You Are Going to Use

If you already have a shop vac that provides great suction, you can use it.

I used a Ridgid WD1450 14-gallon 6 HP shop vac (available from Home Depot for $99). It has great reviews and provides excellent suction.

http://www.amazon.com/Ridgid-WD1450-14-Gallon-6-Horsepower-Vacuum/dp/B001MBADFI/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1451765780&sr=8-1&keywords=ridgid+wd1450

Step 2: Determine What Dust Separator You Are Going to Use

I used a Oneida Dust Deputy dust separator because of its lower cost and lower profile. It's available from Amazon for $58.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002JP315K?keywords=dust%20deputy&qid=1451759868&ref_=sr_1_1&sr=8-1

Step 3: Design Your Portable Working Surface ...

This is by far the hardest part. Take some time on this one.

My source of inspiration for the noise reduction came from the following two links by Mr. Schrunk:

How To Silence Your Shop Vac

http://www.startwoodworking.com/post/how-silence-y...

Build a Simple Box to Muffle Your Shop Vac (be sure to view the video and listen to the difference the noise reduction system makes)

http://www.finewoodworking.com/workshop/video/buil...

I followed the basic design of Mr. Schrunk's shop vac noise reduction box, but added a compartment to the right to hold the dust separator (Dust Deputy).

Determine the height you want the working surface to be (be sure to include the height of the casters).

Determine the width of the cart, the depth, and where you want to add the partition between the shop vac and the dust separation compartment.

Determine what you will use to catch the dust. I used a plastic container that I purchased from Walmart. Make sure the width and height of the dust collection compartment will hold the container.

Note: The dust collection compartment MUST have an air tight seal or the dust separator will not work correctly. I created a lip and included some weather strip seal on the lip. I also sealed the inside of the dust collection compartment with caulking. I also purchased toggle clamps to hold the door onto the weather strip seal.

Determine what you will use for noise reduction, if anything. The acoustical noise reduction padding that Mr. Schrunk used is expensive, and I decided to use some egg crate foam padding that I had in storage. You really don't have to have any padding in the box to get a significant noise reduction (I don't think the egg crate foam padding added that much to the noise reduction). Note that I did not get anywhere near the noise reduction that Mr. Schrunk got, but it is still perfectly fine for my purposes.

If you make the cart tall enough, you can include a small storage compartment just above the dust separator. Also, depending on the size of your shop vac, you might also be able to include small storage compartment above the shop vac.

I'd also like to refer you to another Instructable that describes another noise reduction/dust separation cart: https://www.instructables.com/id/Dust-Sniper-quiet-...

He has a very detailed Instructable with lots of good information. For those concerned about heat build up in the enclosure, see esp. the discussion in Step 5 of the Dust Sniper link above. He also includes a circuit diagram to make a switch that automatically turns the shop vac on when the connected tools are turned on (see Step 13).

Step 4: Obtain Plywood and Parts and Construct the Cart

You will probably need 1-2 sheets of plywood.

I used 3/4" plywood.

Build the outer walls first (do not put the top on yet), then focus on placing the partition between the shop vac and dust separation compartments. I used two sheets of plywood for the partition.

The Dust Deputy uses a 2" vacuum hose connection, and you will need to cut a hole in the partition to connect the shop vac to the Dust Deputy.

I also shortened the power cord going to the shop vac and added a power outlet inside the box.

You will need an adapter to connect the 2" hose to the 2-1/4" shop vac. These are not easy to find. I modified a Porter Cable 1-1/2" to 2-1/4" adapter that I got from Amazon. I used some plastic tubing that I got from Lowe's to make up the difference between the 1-1/2" and 2" vacuum hose.

http://www.amazon.com/Porter-Cable-COLLECTION-ADAP...

Add casters as needed. I used 3" casters from Harbor Freight Tools.

Step 5: Add the Dust Separator & Small Storage Compartment

Once the shop vac compartment has been constructed, go ahead and determine the height of the base to the Dust Deputy. Make sure you have adequate clearance for the dust container.

Make the plywood base for the Dust Deputy fit as closely as possible to the sides. I used Kreg pocket screws to attach it, and then sealed the edges with caulking on both the top and bottom.

Install the Dust Deputy per its installation instructions, and attach the 2" hose from the shop vac.

Then, mark where you want the intake port to be on the side of the cart. You will need a 2-1/4" - 2" adapter for the side of the cart. I used a universal adapter similar to the one below and cut off the excess. Drill a hole in the side of the cart and install the universal adapter.

http://www.grizzly.com/products/2-1-2-Universal-Ad...

Once the Dust Deputy has been properly installed, you can go ahead and add a piece of wood on top of the Dust Deputy to make a small storage compartment accessible from the top (if desired).

Step 6: Make Sure the Dust Collection Box Is Properly Sealed ... Troubleshoot As Required

Make sure the dust collection department is sealed as best as you can make it.

Connect all the hoses together and power up the shop vac.

Try vacuuming up the dust and see if it all goes into the container.

If it does not, try doing a "smoke" test. With the system running, light a match and blow it out and then hold the smoking match near the edges of the dust collection compartment to see if any smoke is drawn in. If smoke is being drawn in, you will need to rework your seal.

In addition, you will want to make sure that the Dust Deputy is grounded. Use some metal tape and run it over the surface as described in the link below. Then, attach a wire to one of the Dust Deputy mounting bolts and run the wire to a washer which can drag along the floor. This will make sure that the Dust Deputy is adequately grounded when running and will help ensure that all of the dust drops into the container below.

http://www.oneida-air.com/pdf/festool%20grounding%20sheet.pdf

Step 7: Enjoy Your New Tool!

I've included a photo showing a comparison of the dust that gets captured in the plastic container under the Dust Deputy and what actually made it to the shop vac.

You can see that most of the dust and small chips are captured by the dust separator system!