Knowledge You Can Build On — Est. 1998
old man tinker toys, or Erector set
john lucas
I've been putting together my dust collection system out of 6" and 4" metal pipe. It reminds me of all the years I spent making things from Tinker toys, lincoln logs, and then an Erector set. I guess todays version is Leggo's I"ll post photos when I get it done. Gotta stop and take some photos of pieces for my friend Pat Matranga. Should be fun.
Re: old man tinker toys, or Erector set
Mike Peace
Tinker toys. Yeah, John. that is probably an apt name since we tend to keep playing with that DC system.
Yeah, but....
Barry Irby
I never customized my Tinker Toys. (Now I am wondering why I didn't?)
A question. You mentioned reducing to 2" pipe. I did not go lower than four inch. Do you have experience? I am wondering about the air flow. My DC is in a way much less powerful than my shop vac and I don't think it would move much air through a two inch hose. Especially through a long run. How has yours worked for you?
Re: Yeah, but....
John K Jordan
I can't speak for that John, but this John has one 2" connection on my dust collector that I use with a hose to clean up the floor around my lathe and what gets away from the bandsaw pickups. It works pretty well, not as strong as a big shop vac but still does the job. I do leave another blast gate open for good airflow down the duct to the DC room.
I have 4" and 6" connections elsewhere at the moment but may run another small hose or two later. My DC is a 5 hp cyclone with 6" main ducts in the ceiling.
BTW, my favorite vac for general cleaning is an industrial backpack - so easy to cover a big area full of tools (obstructions) without dragging the shop vac. Not that I am often caught using it...
JKJ
Re: Yeah, but....
john lucas
I have most of the duct work as 6" but decided to go 4" for some runs to cut down on money. Those machines don't need a lot of power. Most of my machines work of 4".
I have several sanders and a grinder that take 2" inlets. I'm also going to use a 2" pipe at my workbench because the hose is lighter for my orbital sanders and belt sanders. I did leave that particular pipe close to the bench so I can easily remove the 2" switch to 4" if I do any power carving there.
I'm probably going to go to one of the quick release hose adaptors for that purpose. I also have 3 machines that don't get a lot of use and are never used at the same time. They will have quick release adaptors and will use the same hose from the ceiling. They will be stored out of the way most of the time and positioned when needed.
I'm planning on building a dedicated carving bench and it will have some built in dust extraction as well as a way to hold a 4" hose closer to the work for power carving.
Re: Yeah, but....
Robert Lalonde
I did the same as John L. Main trunk is 6" reduced to 4" at each station including the lathe. I have two 2" runs for sanders and band saw clean up. The floor gets a good old fashioned broom. I did build a stationary floor sweep into the system that loves to clean up the broom bunnies.
