Hegner dust extraction mod

[bodgerbaz]

I've got one of the older Hegner scroll saws that uses a transparent plastic tube to blow away the dust. The trouble is that it's blowing the dust straight at me, is not very accurate and gives me very cold hands. So, I did a search on the internet to see if I could retro-fit a good dust blowing system and came up trumps.

You may already have a good dust blower so can ignore this but if you're looking to upgrade your saw, for minimal outlay, stay tuned.

I found on our old friend Steve Good's forum the following article which was exactly what I was looking for http://stevedgood.com/community/index.p ... pic=6412.0

I then tracked down the exact goods on eBay for a measly £12.91 (incl postage) http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Loc-line-Cool ... 417ee0fb11

The difference is amazing and worth every penny. I have used a couple of plastic cable ties to fix it to my arm and the result is a solid, robust and accurate blower that blows away from me and I don't have cold hands any more . . . . ah, bless

 

[martinka]

Nice one Barry, I think that was the first mod I made to my Jet saw, and then to the Hegner.
I bought these. Cheaper, but you have to wait for them coming from China.
Got suction now instead, which is much better than a blower if you are in a position to fit it, but it puts your electricity bill up a bit.

 

[Roughcut]

Thanks for this Baz.
Funny enough a couple of weeks ago I was mulling over doing the same modification and had found the blower tube on ebay and saved in my watchlist but forgot to order it.
I will get round to ordering it now though as I think it's definitely worth doing as the original set-up I have isn't great at blowing dust away.
Cheers.

 

[bodgerbaz]

I bought these. Cheaper, but you have to wait for them coming from China.
Got suction now instead, which is much better than a blower if you are in a position to fit it, but it puts your electricity bill up a bit.

Blimey that's a lot cheaper. Good link Martin. I wish I'd seen those before as I could have saved a few quid.

"Got suction". Where does it suck to Martin? Does it go into a big bag under your bench? Pity we couldn't plug into the other side of the bellows so it sucked instead of blew :shock:

Barry

 

[bodgerbaz]

Thanks for this Baz.

I was surprised how brilliantly it worked.

When you join the two blue parts together put the female end into a cup of boiling water for a few minutes to heat it up a bit otherwise it's almost impossible to join them together . . . . unless you're built like Garth!!

I also heated up the end of the existing plastic tubing in the same way. It gives just enough play to allow you to be able to thread on the closest diameter orange connector.

Good luck

Barry

 

[martinka]

"Got suction". Where does it suck to Martin? Does it go into a big bag under your bench? Pity we couldn't plug into the other side of the bellows so it sucked instead of blew :shock:
Barry

I bought a vac from Lidl last year. I has a socket which the Hegner is plugged into and when the Hegner is started, the vac starts at the same time. You probably seen the pipework for the suction on a previous post. Thanks go to ChippyGeoff for the idea.

When you join the two blue parts together put the female end into a cup of boiling water for a few minutes to heat it up a bit otherwise it's almost impossible to join them together
Barry

I made a little jig from a couple of bits of 1/8" plate, each with a slot. One is held in the vice with one part of the pipe and other part is delicately applied to it using the other piece of steel and an 1/2 ounce toffee hammer. A photograph would be much simpler but I'm not going into the garage at this time. The same bits could be used to take them apart too, which I did a fair bit of as I changed stuff around. Only problem was when I tapped them a little too hard and the blue plastic shattered. I never thought of heating them first.

 

[bodgerbaz]

I bought a vac from Lidl last year. I has a socket which the Hegner is plugged into and when the Hegner is started, the vac starts at the same time.

That's ingenious to get them both to start at the same time.

I never thought of heating them first.

Ah, we used to heat plastic a lot when I plumbed in a previous life 8)

 

[Roughcut]

I hope Barry doesn't mind me adding to this post, but I have managed to do the same modification to my old Hegner.
Bearing in mind that the original dust tube on my old machine is 6mm I/d and 8mm o/d (I believe the newer Hegner's use 10mm o/d).
These are the parts I ordered:
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/321172760794? ... 1497.l2649
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/131114184887? ... 1497.l2649

So a total cost of around £7 plus a couple of cable ties to attach it to the top arm.
The only problem was I then noticed the Bellows on my machine have started to split, so another order has been placed with Hegner for a new one. :roll:

 

[bodgerbaz]

Great contribution and a bargain at around £7. Doesn't it make an enormous difference in shifting that pesky dust.

 

[Roughcut]

Yes it certainly allows precise adjustment of the air nozzle and is definitely a modification worth doing.
Alas mine is not working at full potential at the moment until I receive the new bellows.

 

[bodgerbaz]

Outta puff huh. It'll be great when you're back to full lungs!!!

 

[martinka]

Yes it certainly allows precise adjustment of the air nozzle and is definitely a modification worth doing.
Alas mine is not working at full potential at the moment until I receive the new bellows.

You could have saved a few bob by buying a CV joint boot from the local discount car shop. In fact my original bellows is sat here doing nothing as I use dust extraction instead of blowing it all the place.

 

[Bryan Bennett]

I agree with Martin that it is better if the dust is sucked away rather than being blown away.Most of the projects that I do involves a lot of internal cuts with reverse tooth blades,which bring dust to the top,with the idea of Geoff's the dust is sucked up immediately and keeps the cutting line free of dust.
I thank Geoff every time I use the Hegner for making it easier to cut on the line without having the dust cover the pattern. :roll:


Bryan

 

[bodgerbaz]

But don't you have the additional noise of an extractor running at the same time as the saw?

 

[Bryan Bennett]

To be honest I have got used yo the sound of the Little Henry being on,I also have Classic FM on at the same time on the Head Set.It may cost in the electricity bill,but if I am happy so what. :wink:


Bryan

 

[martinka]

But don't you have the additional noise of an extractor running at the same time as the saw?

Yes, you do, but what's bad for your hearing is good for your lungs. I have my vac enclosed under the bench which cuts the noise down enough so I can listen to the radio/mp3/whatever while I am working. I don't have a Henry vac, but having heard one, I am sure I wouldn't need it enclosing. If I didn't have extraction, all my tools, motorbike and car would all be covered in dust, so it's worth the extra electric bill to me just to keep it down.

 

[Roughcut]

Yes it certainly allows precise adjustment of the air nozzle and is definitely a modification worth doing.
Alas mine is not working at full potential at the moment until I receive the new bellows.

You could have saved a few bob by buying a CV joint boot from the local discount car shop. In fact my original bellows is sat here doing nothing as I use dust extraction instead of blowing it all the place.

I never considered the CV boot, great idea and completely obvious now when you look at it but I have already placed the order now. #-o