Adam Savage's One Day Builds: Shop Dust Collection System!

It's about time: Adam revamps his shop's dust collection system by building a network of ducts for his various woodworking stations that feed to a Delta dust retriever that lives in the cave's loft. In the process, Adam demonstrates ways to make shop dust collection more efficient with automatic duct gates and even builds in a drop-down vacuum hose help make short work of shop clean-ups after future One Day Builds!

Shot by Adam Savage and edited by Gunther Kirsch

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[checkmate]

The secret to being tidy is making cleanliness easier than laziness.

[EthanfromEngland-]

Fun fact: Former British Royal Naval Commander Lumley Robinson invented the hose clamp in 1921. In that year, he was granted a patent for his invention by the London Patent Office. He called it the Jubilee clip and so Britain, the former British colonies and so on, call them Jubilee clips. We use many generic trademarks such as Hoover in the UK. His wife even suggested they re-mortgage the house for the first batch of steel, but in the end he didnt have to, as it was a VERY successful product. He died 2 weeks after WWII was declared and the government wanted to operate the business, his wife however wanted to run it, and so she did. They are still being manufactured in the same place as the VERY first one was made in 1921. Its an interesting little story for something often overlooked.

[kalleguld]

My dust collection system is a lot of half-finished projects sitting on a shelf, collecting dust.

[jaythecappy]

Not gonna lie, as a kid watching the Discovery Channel I really did not expect I'd grow up to have some kinda platonic crush on Adam, but here we are. There's so much joy in watching him puzzle out unique challenges and take delight in his own ingenuity. He's out here living the dream and I'm just happy to cheer him on. What a great channel this has been to follow :)

[dorndy]

"do ribbed vents decrease air flow?"...there used to be a show that would test those type queries

[LordOfTheSnoop]

One quick and easy way to increase your efficiency is to try and keep the 90 degree turns to a minimum. The softer the angle of approach in your turns the better the air can move.

[laurawerner]

Good job! That's a huge improvement. I've been going though the same process the last few years after retiring and getting much more seriously into woodworking. Here are a few long-winded tips:
1) If you can replace those 90° T joints with Y-joints or 45° T's, you'll get better airflow. Air doesn't like to make abrupt 90° turns any more than it likes ribbed hoses.
2) I think I noticed a Festool vacuum on the floor in the background of one of your shots. For small, handheld tools like orbital sanders, you may be better off using that than using a small drop from your main dust collector. Shop vacs move less air than a dust collector, but they do it at a higher pressure. (Dust collectors move lots more air, but at a low pressure.) The former (high suction; low volume) is what you want for tools with small orifices like orbital sanders, handheld circular saws, biscuit joiners, etc. Having said that, I was impressed by how well the small hose from your DC worked on your orbital sander. Maybe the conventional wisdom is wrong.
3) If want to get serious about air quality, buy a Dylos air quality monitor, preferably the "pro" verison that can measure 0.5 micron particles. After I bought mine, the readings were enlightening in a scary sort of way. It also came in handy during last fall's awful fire season. (I'm down in the South Bay.)
4) If you're scared by the particle readings, you'll want to replace the filter bags on your Delta dust collector. Those things are terrible. You could buy a new dust collector that uses canister filters, ideally with a cyclone separator before the filter. Or go to Wynn Environmental's site. They have a lot of good canister filters along with instructions on how to retrofit them onto DCs like yours. There are also lots of YT videos on how to do it.
5) I've heard good things about those iVac blast gates. "The Wood Whisperer" has a video where he installs the whole iVac system, and he seemed happy with the result. A couple years ago I started learning electronics in the hope of building my own DC automation system (including blast gates). I now know enough to do it but I just haven't have the time, so I may break down and just buy the iVac system even though it's crazy expensive. (I have the money, so I might as well spend it and get back to woodworking. :-) If you decide you want to build your full DC automation system, maybe we can compare notes.

[ronaldcomtois]

Adam, I have built a few vacuum system for my workshops. The recommendations I would give you is to eliminate the T junctions and replace them with 45 degree junctions, add a cyclone dust separator and a pleated filter instead of a dust bag. It will increase your airflow tremendously.

[davidworkun]

I'm sure you know already, but an important safety reminder is that the majority of woodworking shop fires happen in the dust collector. If you sand metal on that big 12", and send the shavings to the collector, they can cause smoldering within the collection bag/bin. The dust can smolder for hours even days very slowly before finally catching enough oxygen to light up. I know you do lots of metal work too, just wanted to give you a heads up... Thanks for all the vids!!

[Zaitzev]

Hey Adam, if you had used Y-bends instead of those 90 degree T's you would see a much better result.

[MegaAlex]

The fact Adam made it out of transparent pipes, practical for locating possible future blocks but more importantly satisfying to watch

[wallyhall]

I can highly recommend investing in a really decent safety step ladder. They’re just awesome - and I won’t have anxiety watching you wobble around on that one you currently have 😂

[mackm.]

Is it just me? Or is Adam more and more becoming mad scientist??? Awesome

[shogun]

"My fingers will never be in the way"

Proceeds to *stick entire arm* inside.

[exilelife]

Did i just watch Adam dangerously balance himself on top of all things, a First aid box !!! lol all my best words of wisdom and all of my faith for humanity and all of my memes come from this man alone, Love yeah Adam

[jonmoore]

I wish I had the amount of confidence in life as this man has in his ladder skills.

[casonspears]

Anyone else find it somewhat poetic Adam perching his foot ever so slightly on the “First Aid” sign while drilling those screws in?

[cypherfunc]

This could be titled "No longer ribbed, for your pressure."

[markfowler]

Great Video Mr. Adam... If I may make a suggestion?? As a HVAC professional, we always put "Dampers or Gates" at the source to prevent pressurization of ductwork that doesnt need to be pressurized. Your "Gate" really needs to be at the "T" to prevent depressurization of the duct to the table saw when not in use. Just a suggestion thats all... Glad that you are doing ok, nice to see you on the screen again ... I am late to your channel but Im here now... Thanks for everything you are sharing with your community, and keep up the good work...