Bit of a common topic I know but I could do with some specific
recommendations. I've got a small workshop (about 3mx4m) at the back of
the garden and I need to improve the dust extraction. Currently I've got
an old Vax which isn't up to the task.

Now is there any reason I can't vent the dust straight outside rather
than messing around with bags and filters? I'd have to open the windows
to let in clean air but as its not heated I could live with that. Also,
I don't think the dust would get in anybody's way either.

If this plan is workable, what sort of dust sucky thing do I need? Most
of the dust is from routing, light sanding and the radial arm saw. Noise
isn't a huge concern, but price, of course, is.

Thanks

--
Matt Helliwell
www.helliwell.me.uk
matt at helliwell dot me dot uk

In article ,
Andy Dingley wrote:

On Mon, 01 Sep 2003 20:08:14 +0100, Matt Helliwell
wrote:

Bit of a common topic I know but I could do with some specific
recommendations. I've got a small workshop (about 3mx4m) at the back of
the garden and I need to improve the dust extraction. Currently I've got
an old Vax which isn't up to the task.

Build it a cyclone
http://codesmiths.com/shed/workshop/cyclones.htm

Agreed. If the Vax is truly knackered then look at either the Wickes
version of the Earlex combi with power take off or B&Q's new PPro
extraction models, again some have take off. I have the Earlex with
takeoff and its suction is great though it is a touch noisy. Some time
soon I will build it a cyclone to separate out the big stuff from the
fine. Cutting dadoes with the router is SO much easier when you have
extraction fitted that switches on with the router and off a while after
the router. No more dadoes clogged with dust, and no more fire risk.

I bought the Earlex after a marathon session handheld routing rebates on
a load of 18mm ply, I went in the next morning having recovered from
being totally covered in dust and saw a 6" long scorch trail in a pile
of dust where a spark had smouldered its way along in the night and,
fortunately, not ignited properly. Faced with the garage going up in
smoke SWMBO needed little persuasion that the expenditure was necessary.
The state I was in when I had emerged from the garage the previous
evening also helped I think.

Peter

--
Peter Ashby
School of Life Sciences, University of Dundee, Scotland
To assume that I speak for the University of Dundee is to be deluded.
Reverse the Spam and remove to email me.

In article ,
Andy Dingley wrote:

On Tue, 02 Sep 2003 09:49:10 +0100, Peter Ashby
wrote:

I bought the Earlex after a marathon session handheld routing rebates on
a load of 18mm ply,

My Earlex has been 50 quid well spent too. Not as cheap as it seems,
because there's another tenner for the good filter, and the wide hose
is very expensive - but still a good machine. It also quietens down a
bit, if you hang a spare hose off the exhaust. It's _much_ better at
driving a cyclone than my 1/2HP 4" chip collector.

I got my wide hose from the bargain bin at B&Q for less than a fiver.
Thanks for the tip about the exhaust, I'll try that. Also thanks for the
info that it's good with a cyclone.

Peter

--
Peter Ashby
School of Life Sciences, University of Dundee, Scotland
To assume that I speak for the University of Dundee is to be deluded.
Reverse the Spam and remove to email me.

On 2 Sep 2003 05:21:52 -0700, (Flat Eric) wrote:

Don't you find that the very fine
dust - which tends to clog the filters *before* the vac's hopper gets
full - is still a problem though?

I get _no_ dust in the vacuum. The cyclone is that efficient. Well,
the tall one is - the older one let some dust through.

If I rout MDF, then I get a fine dust cake forming on the filter (the
upgraded pleated one). Even then I don't get any build up in the
cleaner's bucket. If I'm working hardwood, then I don't see dust
collected at all. The only time I ever need to empty it is if I've
used it "bare", to sweep the floor.

Andy Dingley wrote:

On 2 Sep 2003 05:21:52 -0700, (Flat Eric) wrote:

Don't you find that the very fine
dust - which tends to clog the filters *before* the vac's hopper gets
full - is still a problem though?

I get _no_ dust in the vacuum. The cyclone is that efficient. Well,
the tall one is - the older one let some dust through.

I agree, had a problem dust that we needed to keep out of the toxic vac,
made a tub cyclone and 99% gets caught in it, the 1% might be caught by a
taller unit but that won't fit in the location. We've also got a Record 3
motor extractor that could do with a cyclone, but as space is a big
problem we just change the filters regularly, get those wrong and it stops
working as the dust (mainly graphite) shorts the motors out....

Niel.

Andy Dingley wrote:
On Mon, 01 Sep 2003 20:08:14 +0100, Matt Helliwell
wrote:

Bit of a common topic I know but I could do with some specific
recommendations. I've got a small workshop (about 3mx4m) at the back of
the garden and I need to improve the dust extraction. Currently I've got
an old Vax which isn't up to the task.

Build it a cyclone
http://codesmiths.com/shed/workshop/cyclones.htm

Ooo, I never thought of that. I thought about making one for the pond
but decided not too in the end. I'll have to do a bit of experimenting.

As you clearly know more about the subject than me(!), can I use the 3"
dust extraction pipe work, blast gates etc. that Axminster sell.

Also, I don't think the dust would get in anybody's way either.

I've been known to make 10 bags of sawdust a day when thicknessing,
and a bag or two off the sawbench. That's too much just to dump out
the window.

I don't generate anything like that much so I reckon I could get away
with dumping it outside.

Besides which, I collect it up for the woodstove.

Mine gets chucked onto the compost heap, which happens to be right by
the shed anyway.

Thanks

--
Matt Helliwell
www.helliwell.me.uk
matt at helliwell dot me dot uk

Flat Eric wrote:

Build it a cyclone
http://codesmiths.com/shed/workshop/cyclones.htm

Matt, if you just want a basic system for extraction, then the Earlex
works well for the money.

I might do some experimenting with a Andy's cyclone whilst the Vax is
hanging together. Having an extractor without any filters and dust
dumping the stuff outside is still tempting though. I suspose it'll
depend on how well I can get the cyclone going.

--
Matt Helliwell
www.helliwell.me.uk
matt at helliwell dot me dot uk

On Tue, 02 Sep 2003 21:07:18 +0100, Matt Helliwell
wrote:

As you clearly know more about the subject than me(!),

All I know is that every cyclone I've built (and the first one was a
plastic bucket and gluegun) has worked. They're just not hard.

can I use the 3"
dust extraction pipe work, blast gates etc. that Axminster sell.

Probably, but it will stop working if you go too big (although I've no
idea where "too big" is). I seem to be managing well with 2" and I
wouldn't want to go bigger. I sweep up handplane shavings with a
broom, but the 2" pipe sucks up all the other waste without blocking.

Andy Dingley wrote:

On Tue, 02 Sep 2003 21:07:18 +0100, Matt Helliwell
wrote:
As you clearly know more about the subject than me(!),

All I know is that every cyclone I've built (and the first one was a
plastic bucket and gluegun) has worked. They're just not hard.

can I use the 3"
dust extraction pipe work, blast gates etc. that Axminster sell.

Probably, but it will stop working if you go too big (although I've no
idea where "too big" is). I seem to be managing well with 2" and I
wouldn't want to go bigger. I sweep up handplane shavings with a
broom, but the 2" pipe sucks up all the other waste without blocking.

Thanks. I'll do some playing around. I was only thinking of the 3" stuff
for the convenience of fitting the blast gates and, presumably,
adaptors. Minded you the Axinster site keeps timing out and I can't find
my catalogue.

I wonder if I used 3" and then a smaller diameter into the cyclone
whether that'd give the appropriate speed. Only one way to find out.

--
Matt Helliwell
www.helliwell.me.uk
matt at helliwell dot me dot uk

On Tue, 02 Sep 2003 21:44:32 +0100, Matt Helliwell
wrote:

Minded you the Axinster site keeps timing out and I can't find
my catalogue.

Hasn't the Axminster cat just expired anyway ? Although I've not had
my new one yet - anyone else got theirs?

On Tue, 02 Sep 2003 22:42:34 +0100, Andy Dingley
wrote:

On Tue, 02 Sep 2003 21:44:32 +0100, Matt Helliwell
wrote:

Minded you the Axinster site keeps timing out and I can't find
my catalogue.

Hasn't the Axminster cat just expired anyway ? Although I've not had
my new one yet - anyone else got theirs?

Yep.

Quite a lot of new stuff :-)



..andy

To email, substitute .nospam with .gl

Matt Helliwell wrote:

I wonder if I used 3" and then a smaller diameter into the cyclone
whether that'd give the appropriate speed. Only one way to find out.

There's a balance to be struck between the volume of air you can
move, its velocity, the pressure it will suck against and the size
of the particles it needs to carry.

The vacuum cleaner (henry/vax) type of arrangement will move modest
amounts of air at high velocities and pressures, but won't work
too well with large bore pipes.

Workshop extracters move lots more air, but don't work well against
large pressures and so are less satisfactory will smaller pipework.

I developed mine four or five years ago initially using an Earlex,
but moved on to a bigger dust extractor.

http://www.geocities.com/nicknelsonn/cyclone.html

This system is based on 4" ducting and flexible pipework.

Whats really good about this whole issue is that it's so
interesting and easy to simple experiment with different
approaches, starting from what you happen to have already
in terms of materials and blowers, and develope it into
a system which works for you.

Nick

In article ,
Matt Helliwell wrote:


As you clearly know more about the subject than me(!), can I use the 3"
dust extraction pipe work, blast gates etc. that Axminster sell.

Axminster sell a lid for a plastic dustbin with ports on the top as a
cylcone. I've not tried it myself but am tempted to do so. Might be the
easiest option.

Peter

--
Peter Ashby
School of Life Sciences, University of Dundee, Scotland
To assume that I speak for the University of Dundee is to be deluded.
Reverse the Spam and remove to email me.

On Wed, 03 Sep 2003 10:05:38 +0100, Peter Ashby
wrote:

Axminster sell a lid for a plastic dustbin with ports on the top as a
cylcone.

I'm not too keen on this gadget, although I've not tried it.

IMHO, it's a drop-box, rather than a cyclone. Probably works well for
thicknesser chips (my biggest DC problem), but it won't stop dust.
There's no central tube to keep the airflows separate and so the
separation efficiency will be poor. It's also quite shallow.

I don't think a dustbin is the best start for a cyclone. It's too
short and squat, and it's huge. I need the workshop floorspace more
than I need that sort of storage volume. A tall, narrow cylinder of
the same overall volume gives better proportions for the cyclone
aspect.

On Thu, 04 Sep 2003 02:53:48 +0100, John Rumm
wrote:

Details he-

http://www.internode.ltd.uk/cyclone/

Thanks, trying to make one is going to be hard to resist now! ;O)

Take Care,
Gnube
{too thick for linux}

I made one, as I posted a while back in response to the original
thread.

I then didn't use it much, as I was landscaping the garden, but
over the last two weeks I have been building a wardrobe which
involved a lot of routing and cutting, mainly MDF, and I also
used it to clean the workshop floor and bench.

I have made or bought fittings which hook it up to a jigsaw,
bandsaw, router, router table, plus I adapted the original vacuum
cleaner tools to push onto the end of the hose for general
cleaning witin the range of the long hose I bought from
Axminster.

Result was 50-75mm of densely packed dust evenly distributed over
the bottom of the cyclone bin (it's a plastic 55 litre £5
dustbin).

The first vacuum cleaner bag developed a hole but between it and
its replacement I only got, say, four tablespoons of very fine
dust.

At that rate one bag would last a very long time, but the paper
seems to weaken in use and I think a burst is more likely than a
full bag. Maybe the pores in the bag clog up making a burst more
likely,

The only siginficant problem is if the hose gets blocked, either
with a large and coarse plane shaving, or because I put the
nozzle too close to a surface when using it for general cleaning
up, the suction is enough to partially collapse the bin to a
three-pointed cross section.

After this happened a few times a split developed at one of the
peaks. I taped over it and am more careful now, but the finishing
touch would be a pressure relief valve which I will make as soon
as a spy a suitable spring.

W.

In uk.d-i-y, Gnube wrote:
http://www.internode.ltd.uk/cyclone/

Thanks, trying to make one is going to be hard to resist now! ;O)

And how long before that nice Mr Dyson asserts his patent against you? ;-)

Woodspoiler wrote:

The only siginficant problem is if the hose gets blocked, either
with a large and coarse plane shaving, or because I put the
nozzle too close to a surface when using it for general cleaning
up, the suction is enough to partially collapse the bin to a
three-pointed cross section.

I had exactly this problem in my early experiments. It
can be solved by using a galvanised steel dustbin instead
(assuming you can still find one of course).

Nick

wrote:

In uk.d-i-y, Gnube wrote:
http://www.internode.ltd.uk/cyclone/

Thanks, trying to make one is going to be hard to resist now! ;O)

And how long before that nice Mr Dyson asserts his patent against you? ;-)

Fortunately, cyclone separation was a common industrial techique
well before Mr Dyson was born.

In uk.d-i-y, Nick Nelson wrote:

And how long before that nice Mr Dyson asserts his patent against you? ;-)

Fortunately, cyclone separation was a common industrial techique
well before Mr Dyson was born.

It was indeed, which makes his current whingeing on about how Inventive
he is, how expensive patent renewals are, and all the rest of the Great
British Inventor pose, get right up my nose (vortex-free due to blockages ;-)

Stefek

In article ,
"Woodspoiler"
wrote:


After this happened a few times a split developed at one of the
peaks. I taped over it and am more careful now, but the finishing
touch would be a pressure relief valve which I will make as soon
as a spy a suitable spring.

If you do, a post of the valve would be appreciated. Some of the dog
holes in my bench are necessarily blind and so need vacuuming out on
occasion which might cause the problem you see.

Peter

--
Peter Ashby
School of Life Sciences, University of Dundee, Scotland
To assume that I speak for the University of Dundee is to be deluded.
Reverse the Spam and remove to email me.

Peter Ashby wrote:

If you do, a post of the valve would be appreciated. Some of the dog
holes in my bench are necessarily blind and so need vacuuming out on
occasion which might cause the problem you see.

How about using one of the small door catches which have
two spring loaded ball bearings pressing into the sides
of the catch plate. The better ones of these are
adjustable for tension.
atmosphere
_____________________ ______________
_____________________| |_______________
hinge O_||____________||____ ||
vacuum side |_____________________|== catch
||


I suppose it wouldn't be self resetting though.


Nick

On 4 Sep 2003 09:48:22 GMT, wrote:

And how long before that nice Mr Dyson asserts his patent against you? ;-)

You're confusing me with someone who actually gives a damn about being
sued - you can't strip an already naked man! :O)

Besides, it's going to be (sometimes) used with a Dyson! A nice way to
treat a paying customer that would look!

As a matter of fact, I'd be deeply appreciative of the opportunity of
a "face to face" with Dyson in a legal setting too; I have a bone I'd
rather like to pick (until it's truly clean and shines) with them! ;O)

Take Care,
Gnube
{too thick for linux}

On Thu, 04 Sep 2003 02:53:48 +0100, John Rumm
wrote:

http://www.internode.ltd.uk/cyclone/

I wondered whether you ever experienced a problem with static buildup
on the vacuum hose? I had that problem with an old Aquavac - whilst
sucking up sawdust the plastic (or nylon?) pipe would gain a static
charge, which could cause an interesting reaction when you came to
touch something that was earthed

Solved the problem by connecting an earth wire to the vacuum hose.
Ever since I've been cautious with any form of vacuum arrangement,
just in case.

PoP

In response to various posts:

Galvanised bins: good idea. I'll look into that if I destroy the
plastic one.

Static: never noticed any! Maybe using hose designed for dust
extraction has helped. I got that and the step-down adaptor to
connect to my jigsaw from www.axminster.co.uk.

Mesh on inner bucket:: blockages occur in the inlet hose between
the business end and the cyclone bin, so that wouldn't help.

Spring catches: neat idea, but crude and involves spending money.
This is a low budget project and I'm using found items where
possible.

Screwfix springs: hadn't noticed they sold them, but I think
that's the wrong sort of spring (my valve idea requres the spring
to compress and push back, rather than stretch and pull back)

A ferret around my garage has turned up a suitable looking
spring. It looks like the return spring from an ancient car or
bike throttle linkage (or perhaps brake or clutch). It fits
nicely up a bit of scrap copper pipe I have, so all I need is to
cobble together the valve end.

I shall post back when I've got someting usable, but the plan is
to have a lip at the bottom of the pipe to retain the spring but
allow air through the pipe. The spring will be compressed inside
the pipe. The inlet end will be like the outlet, with the
addition of a plastic or rubber disk. This will be sucked in
whent he pressure is great enough, and allow air in.


-- --
| |
| |
| |
| |
| |
| |
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
--



This was my original post: http://tinyurl.com/m9j3
(http://groups.google.com/groups?q=wo...one&hl=en&lr=&
ie=UTF-8&safe=off&as_qdr=all&selm=bbi4hc%24jnm%241%40tita n.btinte
rnet.com&rnum=1 )

W.

Sorry, hit the wrong button before finishing the ASCII art. This
is my plan for the valve design. View in mono-spaced font like
Courier.


Atmosphere

-- -- lip to retain spring and form seal with disk
|===========| --- disk between spring and lip
|o o|
| o|--- pipe with spring inside. spring pushes disk
against lip
|o |
| o|
|o |
| o|
|o |
| o|
|o |
| o|
|o |
| o|
|o |
| o|
|o o|
-- -- lip to retain spring

Inside of bin


When the pressure drops enough inside the bin, the disk will be
pulled down and air allowed to go through the pipe.

Obviously the disk needs to be a bit smaller than the pipe to
allow air past its edges. The spring tension will also need
playing with so that air is not admitted under normal conditions
but the valve does its job when the pressure drop is sufficient.

I will post back when I have something working.

W.






"Woodspoiler"
wrote in message ...
In response to various posts:

Galvanised bins: good idea. I'll look into that if I destroy
the
plastic one.

Static: never noticed any! Maybe using hose designed for dust
extraction has helped. I got that and the step-down adaptor to
connect to my jigsaw from www.axminster.co.uk.

Mesh on inner bucket:: blockages occur in the inlet hose
between
the business end and the cyclone bin, so that wouldn't help.

Spring catches: neat idea, but crude and involves spending
money.
This is a low budget project and I'm using found items where
possible.

Screwfix springs: hadn't noticed they sold them, but I think
that's the wrong sort of spring (my valve idea requres the
spring
to compress and push back, rather than stretch and pull back)

A ferret around my garage has turned up a suitable looking
spring. It looks like the return spring from an ancient car or
bike throttle linkage (or perhaps brake or clutch). It fits
nicely up a bit of scrap copper pipe I have, so all I need is
to
cobble together the valve end.

I shall post back when I've got someting usable, but the plan
is
to have a lip at the bottom of the pipe to retain the spring
but
allow air through the pipe. The spring will be compressed
inside
the pipe. The inlet end will be like the outlet, with the
addition of a plastic or rubber disk. This will be sucked in
whent he pressure is great enough, and allow air in.


-- --
| |
| |
| |
| |
| |
| |
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
--



This was my original post: http://tinyurl.com/m9j3

(http://groups.google.com/groups?q=wo...one&hl=en&lr=&

ie=UTF-8&safe=off&as_qdr=all&selm=bbi4hc%24jnm%241%40tita n.btinte
rnet.com&rnum=1 )

W.

On Thu, 04 Sep 2003 19:51:59 +0100, PoP
wrote:

I wondered whether you ever experienced a problem with static buildup
on the vacuum hose?

No. There's just not enough grunt in a domestic vacuum. Black hoses
help too - most are static dissipative (if not officially so), just
because carbon black is still a favoured pigment. I've observed
dust-cling, but never even got a tingle from it.

There is _no_ recorded instance of static discharge causing a dust
explosion or fire with wood dust, shavings or wood flour in
woodworking dust collection equipment. There is a robust theoretical
risk-assessment as to why this is impossible.

Sucking up toluene is, of course, another story. Same for cigarette
butts, grinding sparks, and finishing rags.

On Thu, 04 Sep 2003 22:14:39 +0100, Andy Dingley
wrote:

There is _no_ recorded instance of static discharge causing a dust
explosion or fire with wood dust, shavings or wood flour in
woodworking dust collection equipment. There is a robust theoretical
risk-assessment as to why this is impossible.

OK, but you'd be amazed at just how many people manage to kill their
computer and or other similar sensitive equipment that way!

Take Care,
Gnube
{too thick for linux}

Aha, missed that. Thanks Gnube.

I'll flag that as plan B, as I am suddenly keen to try the idea
with this spring I found in my bag of bits. The only
disadvantage, if it works, is repeatability for others.

I have thought through the details of the valve design (slightly
different/better/easier to the previous ASCII art) and will try
it soon.

W.

On Fri, 5 Sep 2003 09:07:29 +0000 (UTC), "Woodspoiler"
wrote:

Aha, missed that. Thanks Gnube.

Welcome!

I'll flag that as plan B, as I am suddenly keen to try the idea
with this spring I found in my bag of bits. The only
disadvantage, if it works, is repeatability for others.

That's what I liked about having those packs; I'm working on some
rudder pedals for home PC based flight simulators and wanted to be
able to post the instructions to the web once I got a design I was
happy with, having a source for the springs was pretty important to me
so others could get some too!

I have thought through the details of the valve design (slightly
different/better/easier to the previous ASCII art) and will try
it soon.

Best of luck, let us know how it goes, pics posted somewhere would be
appreciated if there are any when done.

Take Care,
Gnube
{too thick for linux}

In article ,
John Rumm wrote:

The only time a recall having a static problem, was when sanding some
filler on a plaster board wall. I had the old vax plugged into the dust
extraction spout on the back of an orbital sander - one hand holding the
sander and the other holding the vacuum cleaner pipe just before the
metal bit. I kept feeling this shooting pain in thumb of one hand. It
took a while to work out what was going on, but I could see this two
inch spark jumping from the metal section of the pipe to my thumb every
4 or 5 seconds! I had happened upon a Van de Graff generator powered by
polyfiller dust! Taking firm hold of the metal bit of the pipe fixed the
problem.

What you need then is rubber soled shoes and a spare hand so you can zap
passers by.

Peter

--
Peter Ashby
School of Life Sciences, University of Dundee, Scotland
To assume that I speak for the University of Dundee is to be deluded.
Reverse the Spam and remove to email me.

On Sat, 6 Sep 2003 12:52:52 +0000 (UTC), Woodspoiler wrote:

Blockages can't do the vac motor much good either - it chucks out
tons of heat when working.

True enough but when blocked it's not working so hard, if you notice
the RPM will increase when blocked. Admitedly it could probably do
with some cooling air flow but prehaps not as much as you think.

--
Cheers
Dave. pam is missing e-mail

PoP wrote:

http://www.internode.ltd.uk/cyclone/


I used your design to create my first-ever cyclone earlier today.
First impressions very positive.

I made a minor design change during construction. I put a 90 degree
elbow thru the intake hole, then a short piece of 40mm pipe inside to
direct the airflow slightly upward and around the top of the dustbin.
This was instead of trying to cut a strange oval hole in the side of
the dustbin and then marrying up the 40mm pipe.

No idea if that has affected the performance at all, but so far so
good.

I have also read (since making my one) that you really want a long
straight run into the cyclone so that you get as little air turbulence
as possible. Not sure if your elbow would increase turbulence or not.
Chances are it will only affect the performance for collection of the
finest dust either way. Since you have a vacuum cleaner with fine dust
filtration built in, that is less of an issue than if you were relying
solely on the cyclone.

I may modify my one a little to extend the pipe into the bin an inch or
so - I have read that this change may improve fine dust collection.

Another mod that occurred to me was to introduce a second entrance pipe
of a different diameter (on the opposite side of the bin for example) -
hence you could support two different sized collection hoses (you would
need to put a bung in the one you are currently not using obviously ;-)
Not sure if the vac would be able to generate the air flow for a bigger
hose however....

--
Cheers,

John.

/================================================== ===============\
| Internode Ltd - http://www.internode.co.uk |
|-----------------------------------------------------------------|
| John Rumm - john(at)internode(dot)co(dot)uk |
\================================================= ================/

On Fri, 19 Sep 2003 01:07:22 +0100, John Rumm
wrote:

I have also read (since making my one) that you really want a long
straight run into the cyclone so that you get as little air turbulence
as possible. Not sure if your elbow would increase turbulence or not.
Chances are it will only affect the performance for collection of the
finest dust either way.

Must admit this has been troubling me a little since I did it.

I picked up some fine brick dust a couple of days ago, caused by
drilling into brickwork with my trusty SDS drill to put up some new
shelves.

Some of the brick dust was black in colour so easily spotted on the
internal cyclone bucket. Was a bit surprised to fine black streaks on
the inside and outside of the cyclone. Not sure if this is relevant or
not, haven't checked the vacuum cleaner bag yet.

It isn't a disaster if I have to re-implement the incoming feed to the
dustbin. One of the great things about hot melt glue is that you can
get rid of it easily. Might have to do a bit of surgery with some
glass fibre or something.

In fact the glass fibre might be a good idea anyway - I can put a
wrapper around the dustbin to stop it collapsing when the vacuum
cleaner is switched on

PoP

In article ,
John Rumm wrote:

Another mod that occurred to me was to introduce a second entrance pipe
of a different diameter (on the opposite side of the bin for example) -
hence you could support two different sized collection hoses (you would
need to put a bung in the one you are currently not using obviously ;-)
Not sure if the vac would be able to generate the air flow for a bigger
hose however....

My Earlex jobbie came with a small section pipe but I bought the large
section kit too. The fittings on the ends mean they both connect direct
to the inlet port with no adapter. One end of the thinner pipe has a
larger diameter fitting for the purpose.

Following Andy's good advice I keep the other pipe (whichever that may
be) attached to the outlet port as this means I can use it without
needing ear protection. When I build a cyclone for it I suppose I will
need a third pipe. I'll make sure the diameters are such as to give me
the same flexibility.

I use the small section pipe for tool extraction (router, sander, circ
saw) and the larger one fits directly into the dust port on my router
table and is great for vacuuming up plane shavings, especially those
that get into places my brush can't reach.

Peter

--
Peter Ashby
School of Life Sciences, University of Dundee, Scotland
To assume that I speak for the University of Dundee is to be deluded.
Reverse the Spam and remove to email me.

On Mon, 22 Sep 2003 12:09:15 +0100, Peter Ashby
wrote:

I use the small section pipe for tool extraction (router, sander, circ
saw)

My router connection pipe is from another vacuum, picked up at the
dump. It belonged to an upright, where the optional hose was normally
stored compressed in the body of the cleaner. It has a certain
tendency to telescope when blocked, but it's much more flexible than
the usual rigid hose. For freehand routing, this is useful.

--
Smert' spamionam