Cyclone Up and Sucking Wind

K

kentdvm

New member
Ed,
Just wanted to let you know I've got my Clear Vue Cyclone installed and it's fantastic. So far I've got my tablesaw, bandsaw, router, and mitersaw connected and simply can't believe the vacuum. What a difference to not have a fog of dust in the shop. I have to admit, I was holding a piece of 6" flex hose the first time I turned it on and almost lost my shirt!

Tried to follow your and Bill's advice with ducting, hoods, etc. Used the 6" S&D pipe and ran it all the way to the saws. Seriously moves some air. As a veterinarian, I would recommend keeping small mammals and cats away from this thing. I was concerned about noise, but I am surprised at how relatively quiet it is. I think the PVC pipe and the acoustical ceiling must help because it seems about 1/2 as loud as my shop-vac. I also used some insulated duct between the transition and the filter to knock down noise. I had originally planned on building a closet, but don't see the need now. And it's too much fun watching the dust and other debris swirl in the cyclone - very entertaining.

I absolutely could not be more pleased and would recommend your cyclones highly to anyone considering serious dust collecting. Honestly, the money I've spent on a top-notch DC is nothing compared to a couple trips to the ER. And that's where I was headed if I didn't quit breathing MDF dust. Thanks for all your efforts in making these cyclones available.

Plan on listing some photos when I get a chance.
Kent :D
 
Kent,
Thank you so much for taking the time to write your glowing report. As a new company we really need and appreciate this. I'll be looking forward to seeing some pictures.


Ed
 
Finally getting around to posting some photos of my cyclone installation. My woodshop is in the basement of our house with a 7' suspended ceiling. The floor joists, however, are at 8' so was able to fit the motor between joists after removing a section of the tile. It took 2 of us to get the motor up there without taking out more ceiling. With one of the 2x4 brackets secured, I positioned & held the motor and impeller while a friend screwed the other bracket to the wall. Fortunately, he was very quick with the screw gun. I'm only using one filter, so I ran a left-over piece of 10" insulated duct down to it. Makes a good muffler. To knock out vibration, I used a short piece of flex hose to connect the main duct to the cyclone intake (upper right of photo). The inside of the trash can lid has 1/4" foam insulation to seal it. Since the lid of the can collapses in when I turn on the DC, I think it's pretty tight. Might need to reinforce my lid.
 
Here's my tribute to the ClearVue Cyclone. A "ClearVue" miter sawdust collection shield. Works great and was fun to build.
 
Another view. The 6" port provides the volume and velocity of air to draw the dust straight down through the table. 5/8" threaded rod and regular plexiglass were used. A very functional hood without being in the dark.
 
Duct running to router and bandsaw. Ended up needing to move bandsaw so the flex-duct makes a 180 that concerned me. In reality, the 6" duct makes the bandsaw sound like a 747 taking off unless I open another blast gate. So doesn't seem to be effecting performance.

One of the real benefits for me in designing my DC system was finally rearranging my shop. Caused me to evaluate how I work, the kind of work I do, and where I'd like to have my equipment for the forseeable future. Not there yet, as the shop is pretty much a wreck. But I've got plan now and can do a little at a time.

Really love using the router table now that dust and chips are out of my way. Piped another 6" to run over to my drill press and bench. Visible in upper right of photo.
 
I ran 4" flex-duct to the router's bottom cabinet and 4" to the fence off a 6" branch. I basicly modified the openings to increase them from 2.5" to 4" and was amazed at how well it worked. Unfortunately, it worked so well it tried to sucked up the metal insert plate from around the bit. A little good luck in that the back of the plate went up and the front down avoiding the bit. Also was using a small diameter bit at the time. So I added a hold-down until I can reconfigure the fence or decrease the duct size. Maybe too much suction on top compared to the larger cabinet space below.

Since this didn't happen during my test runs with the router on and off, I'm guessing the wood blocking the opening as it passed the bit created a surge of air that lifted the plate once the board cleared the fence opening. The angle of the duct also should be changed so it's not so steep which should prevent "lift-off". What are your thoughts Ed?

I've read posts on other sites where folks questioned Bill Pentz's recommendations for running large duct all the way to your machines. I don't doubt him now. 8" of duct merging into a 6" line that's 20 ft from the cyclone and it lifts this metal plate off. Very pleased with my cyclone and believe I've installed the cyclone and ducting correctly by following Bill and Ed's recommendations. Probably should have spent more time reading the collection hood section though.

Unfortunately, my picture of the router table top and port was slightly too large a file too post. <_<
 
Ok, cropped it down. Obviously, I wasn't using this round-over bit and plate together, but this is the size plate it lifted. Just too lazy to change the bit for this photo. KB
 
Ducts running to planer and disk/belt sander combo. If you look at the back of the router cabinet in this photo, you can see a white duct port. This is a toilet flange I purchased at Lowe's. Can't remember off the top of my head, but it's a reducer fitting. Not your normal toilet fitting. Anyway, stood there measuring in the store until I found one the flex-duct would easily fit over.

To build the 4" blast gates, I used the link Bill provided. http://www.benchmark.20m.com/articles/Blas...tebuilding.html
Work great. After getting my machines hooked up, I realized I could have simply taken half a blast gate and screwed it my machines as a port for connecting the flex-duct. Very simple to make any size you want. If you need a 45, can use a strett 45 elbow and cut the wood to fit.
 
Branch running down to tablesaw. Plumbed a 4" wye to be used for tabletop collection when I get it installed.
 
To suspended the ducts, I placed hanger screws in the floor joists. These are the screws with an eye hole used for hanging suspended ceilings. Ran 12 ga wire through 1/4" vinyl tubing and secured to the duct. Simply poked the wire through the ceiling tile and secured it too the hanger screw after positioning the duct flush with the ceiling. This photo shows a wire running down the 2nd 45 elbow in the branch to the table saw.
 
Closed in the back of my saw with 1/2 plywood to which I epoxied metal flashing. At Lowe's, I purchased a couple of the magnetic sheets used for blocking off AC vents. About 5"x14" in size. Cut them up and notched the pieces to block remaining hole in the back. See photo next post.
 
When I need to change the blade angle, I simply pull off the magnetic sheets and reposition. With 3 or 4 of the pieces, I can block off the back easily at any angle. Very quick as well. I used more pieces to block off opening in the front of the saw. If I remember correctly, a package of 3 magnetic sheets costs $7-8 bucks.
 
If you can find the light weight S&D pipe, use it. The green stuff is pretty heavy. It's also impossible to get flex-duct onto it without some alterations. I built this jig to trim down the outside diameter of the duct to accept the flex-duct. Makes a huge mess, but works great. Set the depth of the bit and slowly turn the pipe from the rear while advancing. The PVC shapes very easily, however you must do it in one pass with this jig. Once you trim off some of the outside diameter, you can't go back because the pipe will dropped away from the bit and it will be at an angle. Orginally built the jig for 6" pipe and then clamped a block with a hole to the front and back for 4" pipe. Don't make the openings too tight or it gets difficult to turn the pipe. However, too loose and the pipe will want to jump around on you. The bit will also grab the pipe and jerk it forward if you advance it too quickly. Very exciting. :eek:
 
Here's the finished product. Flex-duct slips on and off easily when necessary. I ended up taking off about 2/3 of the wall thickness without any problem. Takes just a few minutes to trim a 2-3" section of the pipe.
 
Will try and post more photos as I get more done. Next project is designing and building a downdraft table. Comments & suggestions greatly appreciated. Thanks, Kent
 
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