The other day
a friend came over and we talked about me adding onto the DC system I have.
I
had bought some
more clear 4" tubing at Rockler, but he told me about a better solution
for the runs.
Seems that 4" sewer drain pipe [white outside and black on the inside]
was only $5.48
for a 10' length.
The connectors were also very cheap, so off to Home Depot I went.
I'll be taking
back the Rockler 4" tubing next week. The system is now 150% more efficient
and I got to
work in all my
tools [the planer is a part timer and will share the table saw's connection
when in use].
First step was
to swap places with the small bench that holds my drill press [which I
rarely use, hence the crowded spot], my grinder and my vise. This allowed
me to locate the runs perfectly to cross the ceiling
and go under
the stairs to the RAS bench. Then I moved the storage for my tools around
on the south wall
and made a new
bench for the part-time location for my new miter saw and miter saw table
I made
last month. When
the miter saw and table are on the job I have another assembly bench and
tool rest area.
I buil;t new hoods for both the RAS and CMS [man that thing is huge]! The hood for the CMS is attached to the wall so that when the bench goes to the jobsite the hood remains. It will make a nice area for doing anything that raises dust like drilling and sanding small objects.
I can't believe how much better the DC pulls. I also worked in a floor sweep. A small frame was made to keep the vertical run plumb.
Here are
the two main run gates...the bottom one goes to the RAs and the left one
goes to
the table
saw, router table, CMS, planer and floor sweep. As you can see, large zip
ties locate
the new pipes
to the wall and ceiling.
The RAS
'hood' needed a tube behind the blade as the RAs spits out dust with the
best of them. While not
being the best
looking solution, this setup works like a charm....very little gets past
the vacuum!
Here's the
new CMS table on the new bench. Only two screws hold it down. On the jobsite,
the table is
held up by two sawhorses and the table bolts to it via two threaded rods
for stability.
As expected the
big hood is not perfect for dust collection at the CMS, but it does prevent
a lot of fallout around the saw. It is contained so that what does not
go up the tube does get
coralled until
the shop vac can pick it up. The gate for the CMS is located above the
floor sweep for ease of reach [my ceiling is about 7' 9"]. All of my jobsite
tools [in bags] fit below the new bench and there's storage above for other
tools behind the CMS table.
Next up
will be a new planer stand and conversion of the assembly bench into one
that has
an air exchanger
in the center cavity.