The on going Cyclone tale

[DaveL]

Many moons ago I started to make a cyclone. I bought a set of plans from Wood Magazine in the states and a sheet of 3/4" MDF. Having just checked my old pictures I had cut up the MDF in the summer of 2002 and the cyclone is still not finished (Hum not sure I have time to make a box for the competition, which year does it close :wink: )

An way I have gone back to this project now I have more power tools that full the dust bag, the bin on the cyclone should be easier to deal with. Also I get a bit more space back in the workshop which would be good

I managed to get the central frame screwed to the wall last weekend.

I have assembled the cone, and made a set of wooden rings to fit the hose adaptor.

The next step was to make the cylinder and fit the inlet pipe, one of my friends produced the shape of the hole require for my pipe and cylinder sizes. So armed with a jig saw fitted with a hacksaw blade and a half round file I thought I would soon have the next part done and fitted.

I cut the hole and spent some time filing to try and make the pipe fit better. In the end I assembled it thinking I would just cut a couple of filler strips and use lots of sealer

The pipe was still a disappointing fit

Well I went out the to the workshop this evening to make it fit. I took the pipe to the router table and rounded the ends and on offering it back up to the cylinder the fit was much better :shock:

Yes well no prizes for guessing that I had spent ages trying to fit the pipe in to the from the wrong direction :x

I have rolled the cylinder up inside out :roll: I think I will just cut a new hole in a spare bit of steel and rivet it on as I cannot face taking the thing to bits and trying to re-roll it the other way.

As they say the best laid plains of mice and men....and what have men got to do with it.

 

[Noel]

Dave, interesting project. What blower are you going to use?
I think the curve and angle hassle is familiar to quite a few of us.......Always find cardboard rolled into a 4" cylinder helpful. Keep us up to date on progress.

Rgds

Noel

 

[Chris Knight]

Dave,

How frustrating!! I have never done any sheet metal work - it looks like another thing one could spend ages studying/practising before getting it right. The sort of pipe/cone union you are making looks so simple in a blow moulded plastic fitting but making one that size in metal illustrates the fact that someone has done a lot of thinking/hard work to make the plastic jobbie look simple.

Good luck in finishing it before next year!

 

[johnelliott]

Dave, excellent, how soon before you are ready to market them? I for one am definitely interested
John

 

[Bean]

DaveL Facinating I look forward to hearing how well it works.
I work with a few fabricators who make very simular mistakes and they do metal bashing for a living, so dont worry :wink:


Bean

 

[ike]

it looks like another thing one could spend ages studying/practising before getting it right.

Too right - it took James Dyson around 2500 prototypes to get it right. Not that any of us will be worth £750 mil by the end of it !.

 

[Alf]

Dave,

D'oh! Never mind; personally I think you're brave to tackle making it at all - I'd be far too chicken. It's looking very good anyway.

Cheers, Alf

 

[Rattie]

I don't know how the instructions suggest forming the transition between inlet pipe and cone, but I've found the Isopon (or similar) glass fibre filler very good for that kind of stuff. The stuff I mean is a gunge of short fibres in resin, rather than sheet matting and a bottle of resin. You just gaffer tape over the inside of the join, to form a rough mold, then apply the gunge to the outside, nice and thick.

The resin sticks to most things pretty well, but if a test doesn't adhere too well, you can put release agent (e.g. silicone spray or petroleum gel) on the faces you're applying it to , then crack it off once set. Once you've cleaned release agent off the metal, pipe and filler section you can epoxy them together for a really strong bond.

Hope that helps someone.

Martyn

 

[Bean]

Good Idea Rattie

Bean

 

[DaveL]

What blower are you going to use?

I am going to try the 1HP motor and fan from the Nutool dust collector that I have been using. I am not sure that its going to have enough suck when mounted on the cyclone so I may be looking around for something a bit meatier :shock:

 

[DaveL]

Dave, excellent, how soon before you are ready to market them? I for one am definitely interested
John

What even with a 2 year production time

 

[DaveL]

personally I think you're brave to tackle making it at all - I'd be far too chicken.

Brave, oh no fool hardy is a better description I think :roll:

 

[DaveL]

Rattie,

Thanks for that idea, I may well use it.

 

[Bean]

DaveL You cannot rush quality :wink:


Bean

 

[DaveL]

Hi Bean,

I have made good progress today.

IT WORKS

not that I am surprised or anything :shock:

Still got a couple of things to sort out but it is definitely a goer

See you tomorrow 8)

 

[DaveL]

OK then I have spent a good part of today working on the cyclone.
First I cut a new hole.

Then I had to square up the mis-cut one in the cylinder.

And even if I do say so my self I was pleased with the fit.

I then took Ratties advice to seal the join.

So on to the wall with the rest of it.

Well I just dropped the blower on the top, joined the dust bin and ran it up, bit of a disappointment the dust did appear in the hose to the dust bin but just as must came out the top. Then I remembered that I hadn't sealed the top of the dust bin to the lid. So a ring of draft excluder foam and try it again.

The dust now all goes down the tube into the bin.
IT WORKS well I had to calm the dog down, I suppose I did shout quiet loudly when it did what I wanted

There is one small thing I need to do, The Nutool blower has a NVR mounted on the motor, really good for such a cheap DC and useful when its on a floor stand but a pian in the bum when the switch is 7'6" up at the back of the unit :shock:

 

[Woodythepecker]

Dave, what a excellent job you have made of it, real professional.

I have heard the cyclone mentioned before but what makes it so special? How does it differ from other extractors?

If you don't mind me asking but how much did it cost to make?

Well done.

Cheers

Woody

 

[Chris Knight]

Dave,

Congratulations! It looks the business there in the corner of your workshop. I shall be very interested to hear in due course how much fine dust "goes the wrong way" and ends up in the felt bag.

Emptying the dustbin will be a lot easier than the hassle associated with plastic bags.

 

[Alf]

Dave,

Vunderbar! Where do we place our orders...? :wink:

Cheers, Alf

 

[DaveL]

Dave,

Vunderbar! Where do we place our orders...? :wink:

Cheers, Alf

Come on now Alf, how many of your tools have dust collection fittings that don't involve the use of a net to catch the gossamer shavings as they float of across the workshop :shock: :wink: