extracting mdf dust

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If there's enough friction to create fire, you won't have a very good cyclone. Well ... not for long anyway :lol:
 
See my earlier post about painting on Slip Plate, and follow the link. Smoother than a mouses' ear...
 
I am as happy as a pig in sh**. Connected the cheapie up this morning and no visible dust or chips go to the extractor. On the 6" pipe to the extractor there is some fine MDF dust at the cyclone connection. It works- tested 30 litres of dust - no loss of suction and no leaks with the cyclone

CycloneMark12.jpg
 
n1 barry looks great
you have yet again enspired me to get my but into gear and source the parts for my cyclone.

\:D/ \:D/

cheers

shaun
 
nickson71":1lh7oafq said:
Hi Barry .... quick question what did you use for the air ramp was it some metal sheet or something else

thanks

Ian
Masonite with the smooth side down as the air ramp goes from the top of the inlet to the bottom. Siliconed it to the side of the drum and used two self tapping screws to fix it to the top & bottom of the inlet
 
right Barry, could you knock one up for me please? :wink:
 
nickson71":3qav5o3m said:
I guess you could also minimise wear at key locations in a cyclone like the point where the dust stream first hits the inside of the cyclone by using a more resistance liner in this area.
I'd suggest HDPE (high density polyethylene = UHMW plastic) - low on resistance, too. This is actually used for some elbow linings on road sweepers (which use large aerofoil fans and multiple mesh filters) as a durability enhancer. Another possibility might be to sand then spray with an epoxy.....

Barry

Nice job!

Scrit
 
It's alive! =D>
I'm not originally from Essex but that is a 'pukka job mate'.
i must make a trip to ikea and find out where i can get those drums locally.
Thanks Barry for keeping us posted.

Julian
 
Just to let you guys know after a weekend's work in the workshop there was no dust in either of the plastic dust bags so it all ended up in the cyclone. I have now tried to clean out by banging against the side of the filter - some dust fell into the bags but I have not done that since I installed the filters - I will do the same again next weekend. hope for more of the same.
 
Barry and all others following this thread.

I'm glade your new cyclone is working well. One of the few times in life when you can be happy that something you've done "sucks".

I have an improvement suggestion to your system if you're interested. If you reduce the length of the 6" flex hose you would increase the airflow in the system. Take the entire "dusty" and turn it upside down and hang it off the wall/ceiling/or mount it on it's own stand. This will put the inlet of the blower close to the outlet of the cyclone and reduce the 6" flex hose to a few feet, and if positioned right may eliminate all the bends in the hose too. repositioning the unit will also require flipping the canister/bag/mounting ring assembly to keep the canisters on top, but that is only 4 bolts at the top on the square flanged pipe coming off the blower.

For those with height issues in their shop, On another forum I suggested that the cyclone be mounted on an angle instead of vertically. (A 60" cyclone on 45 degrees takes up about 45 1/2" of vertical assuming no loss for corners etc.) It could allow putting a larger collection bin under or mounting in the roof space. Before anyone starts to say that it won't work, another poster said that he had talked to Clear Vue. They had done tests at various angles including horizontal that showed the cyclone separating the dust the same as in the vertical. The exception being that chunks of wood stayed in the cyclone because they couldn't go up the cone when in the flattest positions.

A couple points about using wood for a cyclone as I was the one to suggest the idea on the 10th or so page of this thread.

Friction causing a fire. If that were the case the all of us that have various wood fences on our router tables and a hose attached are in danger of burning down their shops. I have at different times seen pictures of ducts/manifolds made of ply wood/MDF in peoples shops. My father remembers a shop in Denmark when he was young that had big square wooden ducts running the length of the building with the branches of metal pipes.And somewhere in my magazine pile, I have an issue of a US mag called Woodwork that had an article about a guy that used the heavy cardboard tubes that carpets etc., come on for his collection pipes. There is a far greater possibility of a fire starting from a dull sawblade or router bit cutting hardwoods. (If you've never scorched any wood it's only a matter of time before you do.) than one starting from friction.

Wood isn't smooth enough. I never suggested that the wood be as sawn by the mill. A sanded surface with an oil, and if you want, waxed finish will be more than smooth enough. Bumps on the surface (screws, pop rivets, welds, and sealant) on the seams cause more turbulence in the airstream. That's the reason flush rivets were developed for aircraft.

How would you make the cone of wood? Tapered staves with bird mouths like the link shows will work nicely. Of course you will need to 'round" the inside, but if that requires instructions on how to accomplish then perhaps the project is beyond ones abilities at this time. It was pointed out earlier by another how to do it with bending ply, thin birch, or other sheet material. Unless I got my posters mixed up Barry used Masonite for his ramp in his.

http://www.leevalley.com/wood/page.aspx ... at=1,46168

Durability. If after many years a portion of the collector is eroded through, it wont take much to repair. I think by then dust producing machines will come with molecular constructors that recycle the dust fibers back into wood to make more with, and the cyclone will be redundant.:)

My comments and suggestions are not intended as an insult to anyone, merely to stimulate some more thinking in different directions.
 
Inspector":3iwu6h5v said:
How would you make the cone of wood? Tapered staves with bird mouths like the link shows will work nicely. Of course you will need to 'round" the inside, but if that requires instructions on how to accomplish then perhaps the project is beyond ones abilities at this time. It was pointed out earlier by another how to do it with bending ply, thin birch, or other sheet material. Unless I got my posters mixed up Barry used Masonite for his ramp in his.
The spreadsheet on Bill Pentz's site will actually calculate the top and bottom diameters for you together with the side length. The cone needs a couple of round, slightly tapered "plugs" to lay it up - the taper would be easy to do on a belt/disc sander with a tilting table, although doing a full-blown vacuum veneering jig would be a bit more work.

I also see no objection to using wood for ductwork etc - it is the metal in conventional systems which is more likely to cause sparking as inclusions or abrasive particles strike it. Of course this won't happen with timber products.

Scrit
 
Inspector":1abyy3bk said:
Friction causing a fire. If that were the case the all of us that have various wood fences on our router tables and a hose attached are in danger of burning down their shops. I have at different times seen pictures of ducts/manifolds made of ply wood/MDF in peoples shops. My father remembers a shop in Denmark when he was young that had big square wooden ducts running the length of the building with the branches of metal pipes.And somewhere in my magazine pile, I have an issue of a US mag called Woodwork that had an article about a guy that used the heavy cardboard tubes that carpets etc., come on for his collection pipes. There is a far greater possibility of a fire starting from a dull sawblade or router bit cutting hardwoods. (If you've never scorched any wood it's only a matter of time before you do.) than one starting from friction.

I don't think that the wood shavings being moved past a wooden fence in less than a second, are anything comparable to the large amount of shavings that will be constantly moving against a larger surface area within the cyclone. Scorching with dull cutters in hardwoods is caused by the friction of those dull cutters against hardwood.

Personally, I don't think that there is a great possibility that it can cause a fire. However, as far as I know no one has built such a cyclone, so there is no experience to tell us if it is a concern. I just know that wood against wood can build up heat. Given the right conditions, it can start a fire. As there are so many variables in a cyclone; I think it would take a physicist to tell us if there's any possibility of one starting in there. Again, I don't think the probability is high. I was just posing the question as something to be considered.

Brad
 

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