RogerS
Established Member
This is as far as I've got. The box is a temporary feature to 'convince' myself that a cyclone is worth the effort.
Once the box was properly sealed then the cyclone did what it says on the tin. But....a big but.. I am asking myself the question now 'Why?'. There were three problems that I had/have.
1) The fine cartridge filter on my Axi 2200 needed replacing because fine dust had filled the pores (and I could no longer easily knock it off and into the bag) and suction was reduced. But if I replaced it then how long before it got 'blinded' again? And being a retro-fit, it's siliconed on to an MDF plate that sits on top of the 2200 and so replacement isn't a simple fix'n'forget. A cyclone will 'solve' this as nearly all the dust and chippings will drop out before hitting the filter.
2) Prepping lots of sawn timber on a daily basis resulted in the bags on the Axi 2200 getting filled up very quickly...easily filling two a day. Which meant that getting rid of the waste (essentially chippings from the p/t) was a problem. The high number of waste bags too infrequent to warrant a regular trade waste collection service but equally at times too many to get rid of by other means. But a cyclone isn't going to fix this.
3) I thought of offering the chippings to local stables but many aren't interested because of the relatively high dust content....high dust content because I used the Axi 2200 on all my machines. But I've now got a twin motor Camvac off eBay and that is used for my table saw, router table, mitre saw, drum sander and small bandsaw...ie all the machines that make most dust.
4) And a benefit of the Camvac is that I have now significantly reduced the dust going into the 2200 chip extractor which means that (1) is probably not so much of a problem.
To progress the cyclone is going to need a not-insignificant amount of time, effort and money.
a) I will need to source an oil-drum....only ones I can find with a removeable lid are ex-bio-diesel ones...smelly? Cost about £50 delivered. Drawn a blank locally sourcing a 'freebie'.
b) Cut the hole in the lid...not too much of a problem
c) Get the local engineering one-man band to make me up two flanges ...one to fix to the bottom of the cyclone so I can add a short length of pipe ( I like Bob's suggestion on this so you can see when the bag gets full) and the other to connect the pipe to the lid.
d) Maybe combine the top flange with some sort of support for the cyclone to make it free-standing as I don't have any wall that I can conveniently fix the cyclone to. It will need to be tall enough for me to undo the drum lid and remove a full sack of waste. Topple over problem, maybe?
e) Try and find a way of reducing the footprint as I still have the 2200 to drive the cyclone.
So the question really is this...how much dust comes off a p/t and a spindle moulder? I'm thinking that perhaps the cyclone, for me, is redundant now.
All comments welcome.
Once the box was properly sealed then the cyclone did what it says on the tin. But....a big but.. I am asking myself the question now 'Why?'. There were three problems that I had/have.
1) The fine cartridge filter on my Axi 2200 needed replacing because fine dust had filled the pores (and I could no longer easily knock it off and into the bag) and suction was reduced. But if I replaced it then how long before it got 'blinded' again? And being a retro-fit, it's siliconed on to an MDF plate that sits on top of the 2200 and so replacement isn't a simple fix'n'forget. A cyclone will 'solve' this as nearly all the dust and chippings will drop out before hitting the filter.
2) Prepping lots of sawn timber on a daily basis resulted in the bags on the Axi 2200 getting filled up very quickly...easily filling two a day. Which meant that getting rid of the waste (essentially chippings from the p/t) was a problem. The high number of waste bags too infrequent to warrant a regular trade waste collection service but equally at times too many to get rid of by other means. But a cyclone isn't going to fix this.
3) I thought of offering the chippings to local stables but many aren't interested because of the relatively high dust content....high dust content because I used the Axi 2200 on all my machines. But I've now got a twin motor Camvac off eBay and that is used for my table saw, router table, mitre saw, drum sander and small bandsaw...ie all the machines that make most dust.
4) And a benefit of the Camvac is that I have now significantly reduced the dust going into the 2200 chip extractor which means that (1) is probably not so much of a problem.
To progress the cyclone is going to need a not-insignificant amount of time, effort and money.
a) I will need to source an oil-drum....only ones I can find with a removeable lid are ex-bio-diesel ones...smelly? Cost about £50 delivered. Drawn a blank locally sourcing a 'freebie'.
b) Cut the hole in the lid...not too much of a problem
c) Get the local engineering one-man band to make me up two flanges ...one to fix to the bottom of the cyclone so I can add a short length of pipe ( I like Bob's suggestion on this so you can see when the bag gets full) and the other to connect the pipe to the lid.
d) Maybe combine the top flange with some sort of support for the cyclone to make it free-standing as I don't have any wall that I can conveniently fix the cyclone to. It will need to be tall enough for me to undo the drum lid and remove a full sack of waste. Topple over problem, maybe?
e) Try and find a way of reducing the footprint as I still have the 2200 to drive the cyclone.
So the question really is this...how much dust comes off a p/t and a spindle moulder? I'm thinking that perhaps the cyclone, for me, is redundant now.
All comments welcome.
