Dust extraction system DX5000

Hi all

This is my extraction system started the last yr, now just about finished all but for crossing the t.s and dotting the I.s

I wanted to get the best from my system, I didn't want to spend a heap of money and time fitting all this equipment and then not to be able to get the best from it, I first spent a heap of time planning where machines and pipe runs would go then slowly a plan came together, first I wanted as much suck as possible so decided to keep pipe runs to a minimum, but with each machine requiring a piped run to the blast chamber at first it was a nightmare I didn’t want all those pipes running overhead like a spiders web going off at all different directions from one blast chamber that you see in so many workshops. I decided on one hard pipe run feeding all machine, which in turn had to feed the two system that I had decided on, it would also mean a long length of pipe connecting all machine possible running from machine to machine, this I didn’t like either.

The system incorporates two sizes of pipework.

50mm for dust, 100mm for machinery.

50mm for hoovering and handheld power tools to cope with MDF dust, MDF is lethal, hence why I decided to design my own system in the first place.

This bought about my final plan to keep hard pipe runs to a bare minimum I decided to split the workshop down the length with machinery on one side and working area on the other, giving me what I wanted the shortest possible hard pipe run of 1.9m including the blast chamber, the air/lift for all debris/dust being a short distance of 800mm to the inlet port on the extractor.

In the blast chamber, there are three blast gates, the blast chamber is 600mm long from the left black blast gates to the right steel blast gate and there is one 50mm blast gate connected via the 50mm pipework which is 300mm above the 100mm hard pipework, plus one 50mm Hoover point.

I also designed it for a minimum lift for all wood debris & dust hence why I didn’t want to go overhead unless I really had to, and then (only) if it was to be sucking dust, so decided to drop as much pipework to within(600mm) from the floor level. (Minimum lift).

After I got to this stage I could not find a blast gate to fit the 50mm pipework So I set about designing and making my own blast gates, this is a good starting point for this Post.

50MM PVC BLAST GATES

All the 50mm blast gate were made from PVC piping which all came from a company called FLOPLAST here in Weymouth on the trading estate as did all the material for the 50mm and  100mm. I’m sure this product can be purchased elsewhere from your local dealer merchants.

The blast gates are made from two straight couplings, two short lengths of pipe, glue together and then glued into some off cut of 3/8” plywood left over from when I constructed my workshop, the short lengths of pipe are first glued into one end (only) of both couplings and then the coupling glue into the suction hole in the plywood which are shown as follows.

The glue used is just normal PVC piping glue (as shown below) the sort used to glue a sink wast or plumb in a washing machine, (don't let anyone tell you it won't stick, believe me, it does)on plywood, not sure how it would work on MDF seeing that a bit oily, try it and let me know if it's OK.

LH photo showing a short length of pipework before glueing. RH photo Showing suction hole



LH photo Showing glue bottle and hand grips to be glued. RH photo The dark areas are wet glue beforehand grips were the glue



LH photo here shown with a double hand grips (inner)open/closed stops (outer) push/pull hand grips glued in position, but that was changed, I didn’t like it, so I cut off the outer hand push/pulls grips and combined the two remaining open/closed stops into hand grips as well, dual-purpose, all the other gates were then made this way.



The metal strip is shown on edge of a completed blast gate so it can be fixed to the wall and secure pipework in position.

These two photos here show the blast gates in the vertical position closed and opened, just kept simple with a length of cord and a screw, or dowel rod glued into MDF.



These shots are showing the assemble blast gates from various views.



That just about covers how I went about making these blast gates.

The 100mm blast gates I decided to buy only because I could not find 100mm straight couplers at the time, and partly because of so many other things going on in my life at that time, but in hindsight, I wish I had researched for them a little longer. I used 100mm black plastic ones from AXMINSTER which also can be purchased from just about any good merchants, these get blocked with sawdust in the corners and then the gate won’t close properly so you lose suction, three has broken all replaced with metal blast gates.

50mm and 100mm ducting.

As mentioned, the main hard pipe machine ducting run is a total of 1.9m including the blast chamber of 600mm, so let’s start from the chamber and inlet pipe to the extraction inlet pipe which is 1.4 mm above floor level.

The three photos show the entire length of hard pipe ducting run (left) 1.1m. (Middle) is the blast chamber 600mm width 800mm height. (RH ) the entire lengths of hard pipe ducting run 1.9m including blast chamber.



FLEXI pipework.

From the blast gates, these run to all machines independently in 100mm Flexi.

Circular saw.

I have the saw mounted to on a turntable so no matter what position I lock the turntable in the Flexi remains connected at all times along with the overhead saw guard.

LH photo 90 degrees across the workshop. Rhphoto turned90degrees to the right



Planer

This again has a 100mm pipe fitted permanently so I can easily change from overhead planing by simple opening the Planer beds and changing to thickness mode the Flexi length is 2.5m. I have stated that I split the workshop down the length with all machine to one side of the shop, not quite correct with the one exception of the band saw 100mm and 50 mm Hoover point which I had to go overhead with both pipes runs, this pipes can be seen rising vertically in the centre of the right-hand photo of the ducting hard pipe.



50MM DUCTING

I fitted this for the extraction of dust from all power tools i.e.: router sanders and of course a Hoover system so I could get rid of all portable Hoovers and dust bucket plus leads and flexing pipes everywhere, I found this company CVCDIRECT and bought three Hoover socket and a seven-meter hose which when I plug into two of the sockets I can reach all corners of the shop from both sides of the shop for cleaning dust, the third socket still to be fitted which will be used outside the shop but plumbed through the wall into existing pipework, so on those warm sunny day when I get to work outside to work I can Hoover all the decks and keep them clean as well.

Showing pipe runs crossing the shop.



Bits and bobs

Still to complete, the placement of a couple more rodding eyes in the 50mm system and the fitting of one more Hoover point.

Well guys and girls hope you have enjoyed and it may be of help to someone out there, I know I enjoyed putting it all together, it’s taken a long time and a lot of money but well worth the effort it’s now finally has come together.
Now, what do I do now, ah yes complete my infill planes, my tool cabinet, and then ah yes, start my new bench? hc




Hi matt

As promised, some photos of the parts you wanted to see,



You will need the pipe shown on the (right) which is glued into the holder pipe (centre) which in turn is glued into the white 50mm ducting pipe

length of hose with some brushes



with faceplate fitted, it just a tight push in with screw hole if needed, faceplate fitted to hose connection just a push-fit remove the faceplate to back holder and throw away



first hoover point fitted into 50mm ducting run
in this photo, it shows two brass electric 12v point so if you want to connect it up, it will switch on the motor of hoover these were designed for when you plug in hose to socket.

and finally, hose plugged in. Hope this of some help to you.

My old tool chest

Made, well back in the early seventies when I first went into the joiners shop at Portland Naval Base clearly seen to be now overflowing with so many tools, so many in fact I've had to place others elsewhere in the shop to make room to close the lid.



It has three sliding drawers which have so many tools jammed into them that they no longer slide any longer, it was designed with a lower section to house my many planes, The upper drawers two on a top-level that is supposed to slide over the middle section single drawer. Upper left showing all my numerous Marple's chisel which consist of sets of firmer, bevel edge, bevel-edged paring chisel, mortise chisel, and gouges.

This photo shows the lower section which houses all of my Stanley planes ranging down from no 7, 6, 5.5, 5, 4.5 4, & No3 + a 10.5 rebate plane, no 71, no 55, no 112, no93 shoulder plane, no 130 and two No 60.

LH photo one of the upper drawers with mortise and marking gauges, pliers, pincher's and callipers plus many other tools. As can be seen in a center photo from this top drawer full to overflowing with all my Marple's chisel sets of the mortise, paring, bevel-edged, firmer and a small set of gouges. RH photo Middle drawer again full with other tools.




Finally, the last photo showing saws hanging up for now.

As you now probably well aware I have no space left in My old tool chest.
I simple have outgrown it, hence I have been designing My new tool cabinet please keep visiting my blog as I am to shortly do a post here on the construction I have in mind and do feel free to leave any comments good or bad .hc

It all started here.

It started as an apprentice carpenter and joiner back in 1964 I served a five-year apprenticeship with a small building firm here at Portland in Dorset.

I was taught ever thing there was to know about woodworking in house construction.

We constructed our houses from the ground up, we did it all, my boss would not use contractors so all the apprentices were taught about ever thing. This included digging the footing and concreting them as well. I did all the marking-out with site square & dumpy level plus height levelling rods for the foundation, then it was all hands to pick and shovel, till concrete was mixed, poured & levelled, then back to your own trades.

There were five apprentices myself the carpenter/joiner,1 bricklayer, plumber, painter, electrician.

I was taught by the boss himself Nobby Clark, a really nice old guy now dead and gone (Sadly), anyway as I said, I was taught everything from marking out, hand saw cutting and pitching all roofs including felting battening and tiling. first fixing, second fixing, the first & second fixing would also include the manufacture of all exterior & interior door, windows frames, staircase and then fix all on-site we also manufactured all our own kitchen units as well in those days mostly wooden t/g floor boarding upstairs and oak floor downstairs so all in all a good all-round trade training, we had to learn all other trades as and when we wear needed elsewhere.

Shortly after completing my apprenticeship I left and went into Portland dockyard to join the joiner shop there where I spent seventeen years, worked on all sort of ships joinery mainly the backup service to the Royal Navy R.M.A.S. Royal Maritime Auxiliary Service and the R.F.A. Royal Fleet auxiliary, plus on the odd occasion when she visited Portland The Royal Yacht Britannia.

Then two sets of the promotion first to TG1 officer whilst still working for
P.A.R.U. Port Auxiliary repair unit which was basically to clock in and out all my workforce which consisted of the shipwright's painters and joiners all in all about 60 tradesmen which I had to record all time worked on all there individual jobs for costing of refits and payment of wages which I did for two years.

My second promotion was as the assistant Property Manager working for the navy in there Property managers department for F.O.S.T. ( Flag officer sea training) F.o.s.t was the main employers of all civilians employed in the dockyard The property manager were employed to run the naval base whilst F.O.S.T. controlled all Naval ship movements in the Western world and played there war games giving vital training to naval personnel.

My job was day-day maintenance of the entire NATO naval base and all of its individual departments within it.

When I first started this job property managers were phasing out term contractors which basically was just one large contractor to do all maintenance which proved too costly. when I arrived we switched over to self-employed contractors usually one man and his van, this is where I came in.

It was my job to liaison with heads of departments and the captain of the naval base to arrange for any day to day maintenance work to be carried out as not to interfere with fleet operational requirements and to ensure work started on time but most importantly finished on time and to my required standards.

Once the new system was up and running it proved to be very successful with some really good contractors working under my control, I had two budgets to work from one being £250,000 for day to day maintenance and one for £2.5 million this was for much bigger jobs up-to £2,500 or more for each individual job worked.

This was the highlight of my working carrier I enjoyed every single solitary second of it, right up to the closure of the base in April 1997 when everyone was made redundant, by then I had served there for 22 years.

My ancestors were there when it opened back in the early 18Th century it was then known as Portland roads an anchorage for the old sailing galleons and then the new metal battled ships names like HMS Hood the prince of whales this was when it became HM Dockyard not till much later was it known as HM naval base Portland, I was the fifth generation of my family who helped close it. (sadly)

Now with all my trade training and now five years in management after redundancy I went self-employed so started my own company MJM Property Maintenance Ltd. which I ran successfully up-to early 2004 for nearly eight years when both my wife and myself decided it was time for me to retire after spending nearly two years popping in and out of the hospital with a recurring kidney infection which has eventually come under control. ( thank god)

Now at last my workshop construction is completed which I had to keep abandoning because of my illness, so here we are now in April 2009 and this year I hopefully intend to start fitting it out with my own machine so I can at last start completing my own home and just potter about enjoying life.

I joined this forum just out of interest and to help kill time when I was recovering from my many hospital visits and now I really enjoy trying to help other workers of wood if I can, so if anyone needs help, please feel free to contact me either post here, or PM me, or e-mail, can't guarantee I'll know the answers you wish to know but if I can I'll try. 

upgrading a Stanley planes No 5

Hi

I did this to my planes IMHO it's was needed for this particular plan a newish jack no 5 which had a lot of slack around the y lever and pin which was bent and out of square with the frog gullets there was also slack on the adjuster wheel nut as well.

Primarily I wanted to remove as much slack from the plane as possible, I wanted to adjust my plane whilst using it with the slightest touch in either direction when I took the frog to pieces it was easy to see what the problems were, bent securing pin, out of square with the frog gullets, and a lot of slack around the y lever hole where the pin slips through, and slack in the yoke lobes.

So I sat and thought about how to remove as much slack as I could. The two other threads on this subject dealt only with the nose of the y lever to take into account the extra length needed to cope with the thicker blade from lie Nielsen, which in itself is fine, as I know works OK.

When you look at the y lever it like a nodding donkey in an oilfield with three-point of contact
1. the nose 2. the pin 3. the yoke lobes on the y lever poorly engineering)

The main work will be to the y level itself, which the metal quality to it in itself is very poor so do be careful how you handle them whilst working on it, First, I started by drilling the hole through the new larger centre pin to accept the old-style centre pin which has to be a snug fit.

LH photo This is the offending plane. RH photo old chuck set in vice whilst drilling.



LH photo the y lever before and after being drilled

MIDphoto drilled with the new short centre bar still to be drilled

RH photo assembled temp in Y lever



Both LEFT & RIGHT PHOTO temporarily assembled in the frog in these two photos, here the y lever is still to be lengthened to fit the thickness of the lie Nielsen blade.


Photo showing y lever recess in old Stanley chip breaker, with new thicker lie Nielsen blade behind, it can clearly be seen the y lever nose now need to lengthen and made slightly thinker to fill recess in chip breaker to eliminate any judder or backlash in blade movement.



Preparation of the y lever, its fiddle buy can be done by now you should be asking your self do I have the skills to do this if you don't feel right about doing it your self then ask someone else.

Be very careful with the heat you won't need much, flux the job well and the solder itself, it will help it to run easier, I couldn't manage to solder and take a photo at the same time so I'm sorry no photo of the job being done.

various stages of construction of new shape to nose on the y lever.



LH photo This Photo showing fine shavings coming from the plane which I'm sure I can improve on a little more.

RH photo offending plane AFTER the finished plane with the lie Nielsen blade fitted.

my workshop

Hi all

This is my workshop ,which I built with my son Ian, a lifelong friend Pip, and my future son in law Edwin a Dutchman who all helped me get it all erected in one day with tarpaulin covering the roof . My daughter Louise, Wife Pam , Annie Pipes wife and little Ryan my Grandson all helped with the bacon sandwiches and kept the beer coming all day long .

looking down to the decking area where we spend the summer months with security light on these also double up when were there in the evenings, nice place to barbecue and just general hang out,sun trap,lovely, still got to run an extra power line for the fridge for those lovely cool beers on the long summer days till you gentle nod off in the sun.



Showing water butts that catch all our rain for those long summer days when my plants need a nice cool drink and an over flow when full returning all excess water to the ground soak away . late September with the wisteria in full leaf it's beginning to get well established now in it third year, with hanging basket of fuchsia gone past there best.



Just finished the roof in green fibreglass and all the exterior feather edge boarding coated with thee coat of natural pine Sadolin. I located it as far from any neighbours as i could so it's not close enough to cause a nuisance with the noise from machines.