Collecting Sawdust from a Bandsaw Mill
Suggestions for corralling the dust from a bandsaw mill's traveling head. May 6, 2014
Question
What shoot could be attached to a bandsaw head rig moving approximately 20 feet, to drop the sawdust into a 10-yard container? What type of special blower would be needed to pull the sawdust through, and coil up a hose riding along a cable approximately 10 feet high in the air?
Forum Responses
(Sawing and Drying Forum)
From contributor R:
Any chance of putting the container parallel to the mill and below grade? Then the sawdust would shoot right in. I know it sounds like a lot of work, but if you are thinking you'll fill a 10 yard container with sawdust, it may be worthwhile. The sawdust coming off a bandmill is usually pretty wet so any kind of coil hose and blower would clog pretty quickly I'd think (although the old circle mills always had blowers). One other suggestion might be to park the container parallel to the mill and then just attach the blower to your head and plumb a snorkel that just blows the sawdust up over the edge of the container and down in. We just leave enough room to run the skid loader along the side of the mill.
From contributor P:
I have seen a log band saw equipped with a box installed on the head. The box collects all sawdust. In the bottom of the box there is a door. When the saw head is at the far end of the frame, the door opens. The sawdust falls out of the box and can be transported from that point, by a fan, or be taken care of once a day. The door can be opened automatically or it can be remote controlled by the operator. I could see it works very well. Avoid long hoses or tubes, which clog with the wet sawdust.
From contributor J:
Put a feed auger below grade with a grate over it.
From contributor I:
The simplest one I saw just has a short tube attached to the discharge chute. By narrowing the distance to the ground, the sawdust is piled in a neat line along the ground. I suppose you could put something there to catch it, from a tarp to a container.
From contributor B:
Sort of like this... a little 6" flex duct, and you've got it. One of those lawn vacuums for picking up leaves would bag it for you.
