Advice on METAL Dust Collection

[Augus7us]

So I saw a Torit model 64 come up for sale. It sold for $300, which is probably a decent deal from what I saw on ebay. No idea what they go for new.

I almost sprung for it, but did not have time to do proper research and I've seen them come up before. So I thought I would tap the collective and see what you guys like or use?

I create a lot of fine metal dust from grinding, which is mostly what I do in my shop. What threw me after I read up on the Torit was this particular model had hanging "curtains" that captured the dust and a shaker lever to drop it down into a pan for clean up. That didn't seem like it would tolerate a lot of dust, but I've only seen them in industrial settings for the most part so I'm probably off on my assessment.

So before I start down this rabbit hole I was hoping you guys could point me in the right direction. A dust deputy or something that plugs into your shop vac won't cut it. I would like something that I can pipe to several tools (3-5) for metal only. This will be a short run so don't need anything that will pull a vacuum like a jet engine, just beefy enough to get the job done and not break the bank.

Thanks!

-Clint

 

[BillK]

That is almost identical to two I have in the shop. One for my steel shot blaster and one for my boring machine. They work great. They are NOT real high airflow so I dont know how they would work piped to several machines.

Just about all of the better collectors are the "bag" type that you shake down every once in a while. The one on my shot blaster is 25 years old and still going strong but it is a lot larger unit. About 6ft tall.

 

[brothernov]

I'm a 40+ year woodworker who's gotten pretty close to perfecting collecting dust at the source. I bought a welder 9 months ago and I'm going crazy trying to figure out how to collect dust. All I have is a Metal Devil 14" chop saw and several grinders (since I **** at welding pretty) and I make messes that are nearly impossible to clean up.

I'd love metal dust collection ideas, but I'm sure $300 wouldn't buy much in terms of woodworking dust collection.

 

[Augus7us]

The one I was looking at was used. I'm sure they are a lot more than 300 new.

Bill, the amount of power it had was one of my concerns. I know with metal you need fairly powerful suction to make sure all the dust and grit is pulled through the pipe to the collection area, much more powerful than wood dust from my understanding.

Brothernov something like a dust deputy used as a type of bong for spark arresting may work for you, if all your grinders are hand held. For stationary tools, I've only heard that setup works if you dedicate it to one tool, which I don't want to do.

Hopefully someone will chime in, if not I'll post over on a few other forums I'm a member of that specialize in metal working. I just spend less time on them and more time over here now. Hmm, that probably explains why I am broke, but will have an awesome workshop

I know there are options out there!

-Clint

 

[MushCreek]

I've used a lot of Torit units at work. Its the answer for metal dust. A couple things- keep your duct runs as short as possible, and as big as possible. Many shops make the duct work too small. Unless you have multiple people using it at once, put a shut-off at each machine, and only open the one you are using.