Source of Metal 4" Ducting

[AndyG]

Evening all,
I'm looking for some pointers in sourcing some metal 4" ducting and accessories.
At the North of England Woodwork Show last week I bought a new dust collector (at a bargain price) and am now looking to plumb it in to my various machines.
I know that Axminster do a very good range. But it's not really exhaustive. For example, I'm after the type of T-Junctions where the outlet is slightly skewed, halfway between a Y and a T. They do them in plastic but not in metal.
I'd rather go the metal route as grounding is easier, and to be honest, I rekcon it does look better ;-) (Why does form over function always creep in).
Anyway, has anyone found any good companies (preferably online) that sell such bits n bobs?
Many thanks
Andy

 

[OLD]

I use these:-http://www.cclveloduct.com/
if you visit you get discount.

 

[Freetochat]

Try this thread

https://www.ukworkshop.co.uk/forums/viewtopic.php?t=7352

 

[AndyG]

OLD, Freetochat,
Thanks for the links. Acutally CCL was the one other company that I'd spotted (Sorry, should have mentioned that). As far as I can see they don't sell blastgates. I can't find any guide to prices either. Probably best to drop them an email on Monday.

Andy

 

[Newbie_Neil]

Hi Andy

All of the Camvac fittings fit perfectly into the 100mm pipe.

Cheers
Neil

 

[ProShop]

Same as Neil & Old, ie:- Spirolux, easy to fit and cheap,(well.... cheaper than soil pipe).

 

[humanfish]

probably not much good for you being so far south but i used a company called Abbey Air Systems in Eastliegh which i would recommend to anyone. I found them on a thread on hear somewhere

http://www.abbeyairsystems.co.uk/index.html

I was able to get all the pieces i needed from them and they very helpfull

 

[OLD]

I have two metal blast gates on my small system same as picture above that came from CCL best to phone or visit there not to good on email.
http://www.cclveloduct.com/Default.aspx?Page=Products&CategoryID=34

 

[Freetochat]

You could always get metal blastgates from Axminster if you struggle from elsewhere.

 

[Alf]

Humph, I wish you guys wouldn't show off your plumbed-in systems like this. After re-attaching the hose to my dust-ex for the umpteenth time this morning (kept knocking it off with the timber I was planing #-o ) I'm just a teeny, weeny bit jealous... :mrgreen:

Cheers, Alf

 

[woodshavings]

After re-attaching the hose to my dust-ex for the umpteenth time this morning (kept knocking it off with the timber I was planing #-o )

Cheers, Alf

Gosh Alf, I didn't notice the dust extractor port on my LV smoother .. :twisted:

OK, I'm going....

John

 

[Alf]

Gosh Alf, I didn't notice the dust extractor port on my LV smoother .. :twisted:

Must have just been on the pre-production model... 8-[

Cheers, Alf

 

[Newbie_Neil]

Hi John

They've even added a dust port to the Kreg pocket hole jig.

Cheers
Neil

 

[woodshavings]

:lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:

 

[AndyG]

Never ceases to amaze me the number of responses you get on this forum!! Thanks all. OLD, thanks for the pointer to the blast gates.

I do have another question though. Wasn't sure whether to pollute the forum with another thread as it is related.
It comes down to whether an angled T junction is going to give much better air flow versus a standard T. The image below shows what I've got planned for distributing my dust collection.

I can get the standard Ts in metal (and everything else I need) from Axminster. Is it going to be worth the effort finding compatible angled Ts from elsewhere?

 

[Newbie_Neil]

Is it going to be worth the effort finding compatible angled Ts from elsewhere?

IMHO, yes.

Cheers
Neil

 

[Freetochat]

All the information recommends an angled 'T' as opposed to a 90 'T'. I changed my small bore system from 90 to 45 and the improved flow was noticable. I also get no hang ups on the T junction now, whereas before I used to. The only other thing I done with blast gates which may have improved the system was to install them to reduce pipe run lengths as much as possible, instead of being close to the machine connection.

 

[Woodythepecker]

Andy, i wouldn't buy the ducting from Axminster. They want £3.20 for 0.5m or £6.37 per metre, yet the company (ccl) that old and Felderman recommended only want £3.50 for 1m.

Good luck with you system.

Regards

Woody

 

[ProShop]

Andy, I would avoid the T's if possible and use Y's if you can, the're much, much softer angled you can make them even softer by using 2 X 45% and a short length of pipe in between, Using the T's the air & dust are sandblasting the back of the main ducting before deciding which way they need to travel in the tube creating a fair bit of turbulance. The result will be a fair loss of suction imho.

looking at your drawing I'm not sure that putting the T's at an angle is going to acheive much IMHO, unless I'm missing something.


hope this helps, good luck

 

[Scrit]

Andy

As FelderMan said Tees are a lot less efficient than Wyes, i.e. they cause a higher loss of SP (static pressure) = more air resistance and much more likely to plug. I'd always suggest looking at using 5in or even 6in ductwork if you possibly can as there is LESS "drag" inside a larger diameter pipe (calculate the circumference over the cross sectional area to see what I mean). If you want a good site on dust extraction, however, the absolute best is Bill Pentz's site - well researched and well informed unlike most (and should be made compulsory reading for woodworkers :shock: :lol: ). You don't have to build Bill's cyclone extractor, but there's plenty on there about ductwork (including friction coefficients) and system design, too, as well as a design for a home-made blast gate.

As you can't be too far from Bradford I'll suggest buying local and trying Adams Sheet Metal. Their quality is spot on, they make their own stuff (and might even show you their CNC plasma cutter running) and their prices are comparable, I feel. They do on-line ordering these days, too.

Scrit