Dust & chip extraction for shop

[loply]

Hi folks,

Getting sick of cleaning up filings, chips, swarf, grinding dust and the odd bit of saw dust!

Thinking of investing in a proper workshop vacuum to take care of it.

I had a look on Axminster and they sell some big ones that look like a bin for £180 upwards.  I gather they are mainly meant for woodworking though.

Am I going to knacker it if I start sucking up drill/mill/lathe byproducts? Do I need to build one of those cyclonic extractor things to go with?

Would appreciate any input on what others have done about this.

Cheers,
Rich

[spuddevans]

Hi Rich,

I have an axminster extractor in my dad's woodwork workshop, and hands down is the most useful power tool in that workshop. It is one of the dual-bag types (with a filter bag on top, and a collection bag underneath)

That being said, if I was to use it with metal shavings and swarf, I'd def' want a cyclone seperator unit before it, just to protect the impeller blades ( metal on mine ) from the heavier stuff.

You can easily build your own seperator, if I recall, Axminster used to sell a cyclone lid to fit a standard dustbin.

The other problem might be when you use cutting oils, it might not do the filter's/filter bag too much good.


Tim

[ausdier]

I use a magnetic wand to pickup most of the swarf to start with, even in coolant.
Does iron fileings with ease and saves the vac a bit.
https://www.machineryhouse.com.au/L300

[loply]

I have various magnetic tools but I find them a bit frustrating- They obviously don't work for some types of chippings/byproducts, and they magnetise everything!

Does anybody know if I use one of those cyclone kits (eg from cyclone central) is there any reason to buy an expensive 'workshop vacuum'? I have a spare domestic vacuum cleaner, 2200w, sucks like mad. If it's not going to be seeing what I'm sucking up I don't see the difference?

Cheers,
Rich

[Jonny]

Rich i bought one of these on a vat free day some years ago to double up as a wet and dry pickup tool but also with the filter to plumb in to the bead blaster.
http://www.machinemart.co.uk/shop/product/details/cvac25ss-wet-dry-vacuum-cleaner

Obviously long clumpy steel strands will lodge in the hose. Turn power off and shake it, out they come. Pretty good for the car as well.
Give you some idea it lives outside uncovered in rain, snow etc last two years and never fails. Parts are available locally as well.
In fact the only thing you may need to buy are the bags for dry cleaning and foam.

[SwarfnStuff]

Hi Loply, I have a small vac under one of my shelf units and made my own cyclonic separator (also small), but I get very little stuff through to the actual vac bag - only the lightest fluff as a rule. They are not difficult to knock up really. And, yes, the long spiral stuff does get stuck in the hose at times.

[kwackers]

If you're picking up mainly metal then you don't need to bother with a real cyclone.

Find yourself a metal bin/bucket or whatever and fit two connections to the lid, inside you place two deflectors (or elbows) to angle the flow in some arbitrary direction (e.g. clockwise).

You'll find this will be effective at removing 99% of everything that comes in (even works fairly well with wood / chippings etc) leaving a small amount of dust to get through to the vacuum bag.
You can then use whatever vacuum you fancy, I just use an 'Henry' since they're very 'sucky'...

(You could use plastic for the container, but bear in mind a vacuum pressure of 3 or 4 lbs/sq in mounts up over the surface area, so make sure it can handle it without collapsing).

[philf]

If you're picking up mainly metal then you don't need to bother with a real cyclone.

Find yourself a metal bin/bucket or whatever and fit two connections to the lid, inside you place two deflectors (or elbows) to angle the flow in some arbitrary direction (e.g. clockwise).

You'll find this will be effective at removing 99% of everything that comes in (even works fairly well with wood / chippings etc) leaving a small amount of dust to get through to the vacuum bag.
You can then use whatever vacuum you fancy, I just use an 'Henry' since they're very 'sucky'...

(You could use plastic for the container, but bear in mind a vacuum pressure of 3 or 4 lbs/sq in mounts up over the surface area, so make sure it can handle it without collapsing).

Aldi have such a beast coming up this Sunday: http://www.aldi.co.uk/uk/html/offers/special_buys3_26897.htm

Not worth making your own at £15.99

Not sure if it's at all cyclonic but as kwackers says that doesn't really matter for swarf.

Phil.

[andyf]

Hi Phil,

A pal of mine bought a cheap one of those to clean out his woodburner. It collapsed inwards under the vacuum the first time he used it. It wasn't from Aldi; theirs may be stronger. If it isn't, they are very good on refunds. 

Andy

[Fergus OMore]

Perhaps he forgot to let things cool down

I bought a quite efficient vacuum cleaner( not a bit o'spare piping) from either Lidl or Aldi last year. It was designed for 'barbees'- whatever they are.
Not a bit of bother, it not only cleans up turnings but grinding dust, odd pebbles from cars which my wife insists on carrying into my cars and grass and so on.

For those who want a pretty decent tool, a second hand wet and dry 'Vax' from a second hand market works remarkably well - for a £10 or less outlay.

[Darren]

Henry does it for me, swarf and everything ...

[trevoratxtal]

This thread on my local club site may interest any one looking to clean up the shop.
http://www.swhag.info/forum/index.php/topic,81.0.html
the pdf link gives details as to make the separator.
http://www.swhag.info/forum/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=81.0;attach=112
I have seen it work, it is very good.
Trev

[S. Heslop]

I'm quite fond of this guy's website. http://woodgears.ca/dust_collector/index.html

Something like that blower is definitely on my list of things to do in the near future. If you could easily build the replacement parts it also wouldn't matter so much if debris did erode the impeller.

[Fergus OMore]

it also wouldn't matter so much if debris did erode the impeller.

It's all in the mind or not
We prattle on and on about avoiding swarf getting in motors which are used- every full moon or when Boxing Day fell on a Good Friday

If most of us look at our lathes or the back of them, there is a fan working merrily away- WITHOUT EVEN A COVER. 

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

My visit to Aldi today reveals that this drum thing will be the thing that I bought---minus the suction unit.

Ah well????????????????????????????????

[Fergus OMore]

More news

According to my Lidl store in Newcastle upon Tyne they will be selling wet and  dry vacuums for £50 from 18th October.

Actually, I saw them in my 'local'  Lidl in Menorca in July but that   is quite another story where the beer is about 0.69 Euros   a litre 

[andyf]

Being a cheapskate, I use a 30 year old Electrolux cylinder vac, with a homemade push-on nozzle, like a crevice tool with a 90 degree bend in it to get into T-slots. The bodywork is now held together with chewing gum and string/coathanger wire but it still works. Being even more of a cheapskate, got tired of buying paper bags (getting hard to find for this model) so 5 years back I cut the sleeve off an old shirt and stapled/glued it to the cardboard fitment from a used paper bag. The open end of the sleeve has a clip on it, so it can be closed up again after the contents have been dumped.

Andy

[modeng200023]

One thing that bothers me when using the shop vac to pick up swarf from the lathe and mill is the cutting oil that gets sucked up as well. When the pickup hose is hanging over the vac waiting for the next suck the cutting oil can drip back out onto the floor. I know I could put the end in a tray or something like that but what do other folk do about this, or perhaps it doesn't happen for them?

John