Dust Vac System For “Inside” Sawmill

Dust Vac System For “Inside” Sawmill WOODLOT EQUIPMENT Miscellaneous Dale McLaen likes having his Lumbermate 2000 sawmill inside a building but dealing with the sawdust was a problem So he added a sawdust collector to the old granary building that vacuums sawdust into an outside collection trailer “The Lumbermate 2000 is designed to be portable with leveling blocks when set on the ground ” says McLaen “I moved it inside and built 8 leveling legs They raise the mill up about 24 in so the bed of the mill is at about desktop height ” “I can saw logs without stooping or bending over It also lets me easily sweep up around the sawmill when I’m done ” Sawdust from the mill itself never touches the floor McLaen attached a homemade manifold to the side of the sawmill where sawdust is normally expelled from the safety shield at the drive end of the bandsaw A 4-in flexible hose runs from the manifold to a 2 hp 110V bag-type dust collector normally used in a wood shop “I bought the dust collector new and discarded the bags and brackets before mounting it from a rafter above the sawmill ” says McLaen The sawdust from the sawmill is pulled up the flexible tube by the suction fan and then expelled out of the building through a solid 5-in plastic pipe “The collector captures nearly all of the coarse and ultra fine sawdust that comes off the blade and is very quiet when operating ” says McLaen “Because the fan and motor are mounted above the mill the collection hose is never in the way and follows the sawmill from one end of the log to the other ” Once outside the sawdust and chips are blown through a second flexible pipe to a covered trailer made from an old IHC 103 manure spreader “I removed the beater replaced the floor fixed the apron chain and built a removable cover for the top with an inlet pipe at the right front corner and outlet pipe at the left front corner ” says McLaen who also added plywood baffles inside the trailer to slow down the flow of air Once the trailer is full it’s a simple thing to unhook the inlet hose and pull the trailer to a field for spreading A hinged wooden door at the rear of the spreader is swung up and out of the way so the sawdust can be unloaded with the apron chain Contact: FARM SHOW Followup Dale McLaen McLaen’s Service 13756 Hwy 11 Rutland N Dak 58067 ph 701 724-6232; mclaen@drtel net

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