Thanks Deadshaper, it is getting better and better in there. I also just put in blue foam mats on the floor. No more shoes in the bay. it is kind of small so i am making sure everything has its place. I don’t think i will ever go back to shaping with out a vac system!!
A shaping room that clean & tidy is the sign of a very sick mind!
Thanks Deadshaper, it is getting better and better in there. I also just put in blue foam mats on the floor. No more shoes in the bay. it is kind of small so i am making sure everything has its place. I don’t think i will ever go back to shaping with out a vac system!!
Nice job Dutch, JC's design should be the prototype for all shape shacks. If you drill and tap the bottom elbow, you can screw in a couple of grease fittings (zert) to lube that swingarm. The plywood will support and the arm can freely swing.
I will not be using the PVC along the walls yet - just a vacuum cleaner secured on a shelf and some hoses and adapters. So far, I have most of what I need except
for one adapter that needs to be 1 1/2" OD to 1 1/4" ID? Anyone know if I can get this at Lowe’s or would a Bosch Vac002 do this (this might be available
at Lowe’s since they sell Bosch tools)? I got the below parts at a Hardware store so I haven’t yet even looked at Lowe’s or Home Depot and I almost got it done.
My planer vacuum setup so far is:
HFreight Planer with 1 1/2" ID exit port <-> Adapter 1 (1 1/2" OD to 1 1/2" ID) <-> Adapter 3 (1 1/2" OD to 1 1/2" OD) <-> Slinky (on the way from Surf Source)
(1 1/2" ID to 1 1/2" ID) <-> Adapter 4 (1 1/2" OD to 1 1/4" ID, this I don’t have yet) <-> Adapter 2 (1 1/4" OD to 1 1/4" ID) <-> hose for Shop-vac 2.5HP (1 1/4" OD) <-> shopvac (1 1/4" ID)
Part of the reason I have an extra adapter in there rather than cut the end off Adapter 1 is so I can hook up the vacuum directly if I’m really desperate.
And I DO have an extra hose for the exhaust port of the vacuum if I want to add some ballast or whatever. Funny the exit port is very slightly > 1 1/4" ID
on my vacuum cleaner? Hmpf?
Of course I will need 2 hose clamps for the slinky and a tiny bit of teflon tape or just some ordinary tape/sealer as the pipe at the planer is only almost a perfect seal.
I don’t think this will be a big problem but I will need to deal with it somehow. I have not yet found an angled fitting for that as some of you have found. No big deal.
Thanks if you can think of what to do before I make another trip to the store.
i dig the ballbat in the corner
That bats name is mud.
There’s a song by Primus with a line in it that goes,
“so I cracked him upside his craniun with an aluminum baseball bat, my name is mud.”
Of all the little gadgets and tools in my shaping room, everybody seems to notice my little friend.
After all, it is Oceanside.
Mud?
I found a piece online from Dixon’s in Gainesville, FLA - I measured it - the ratio of the diameter is 0.833 which matches 1.25/1.50 and it’s tapered so in theory, I should be
able to shove one end in my vacuum cleaner’s hose and the other end (1 1/2" OD end) into one end of the slinky (1 1/2" ID). Just have to wait like 5 or 6 days which stinks. So I may just have to hook up my vacuum directly with some other old hoses that don’t slinky until my magic part arrives.
Alowishus Devadander Abercrombie
Well, it took me 35 years of research and development and 6 days waiting for parts but here it is, my Slinkified planer. Tomorrow I will cut a hole in the box
and stick the vacuum cleaner inside - I need the space.
Enjoy!
i have just built myself a similar setup with the only thing missing being the slinky hose. Is there anywhere other than foam ex i can get one of these, are they designed for somthing else, the internet has provived very little help in the searches i have done. many thanks
There are other options for hoses. A bigger diameter hose is best in my opinion, but you need to resize the vac adapters on the planer. A good flexible hose is the kind that is used to pump out RV holding tanks (don’t get a used one!). An off the shelf option is to get the Festool hose which is very flexible, has a rotating cuff, and a built-in ground wire; $90 USD though. Stringer wood often clogs up the hard piping, so leave appropriate sections of the PVC unbonded so you can clear them easily.
I need to build a swing arm for my setup. I thought I’d be able to get away with a long slinky hose from the middle of the ceiling, but it’s annoying as hell. For the pivot, do you just let the pvc corner slide on the vertical pvc pipe?
Not sure what you need or want but I just needed a 3 foot that expands to 15 feet and I’m not as worried yet about rotation - I can always do that later.
Their slinky is nice since it is slightly smaller ID than 1 1/2" so when you put it on a 1 1/2" OD pipe it’s nice and tight - no hose-clamp is even needed. You just
uncoil it a little to increase it’s diameter. They have two standard lengths - one for tiny rooms and one for large rooms. The small one is $26.00 at their website
under I forget which category.
Actually, the entire swingarm is a solid 90 Degree unit.
It rotates freely in the elbow at the end of the horizontal piece.
I have since put a “Tee” in place of the elbow.
I extended it to a collection port on the floor. For sweeping up floor.
Valves are to close one pipe to allow it to vaccum in other pipe.
Arm spins inside “Tee”.
Great thread, such a shame all the early pics disappeared 
I am just learning that PU foam dust isn’t good for lungs. Want to set up a little shaping room for me and kids to shape our own boards, and realised its not just about getting the tools, dust problem is now my biggest focus before working on any blanks. Considering this is a few years old now, does anyone reckon its best to try and make a wind tunnel type system, or is a localised vac system still best? Reason I ask is because I have to build a polythene shaping bay anyway as I am doig it in a workshop where dust will be a problem so I MUST contain all the dust. Sucking most of it away would be best bet, but will have polythene walls and ceiling so anything not sucked away can be swept later. Havijng said that, I would like to build something with the cleanest possible air. Someone is giving me this “farmer vac” - which is a 50gal drum with 3 vacuum motors on it. it needs new motors but these are cheap on fleabay so maybe able to make good use of this after some TLC.
With kids being involved and being in a workshop where I can’t have a coating of dust on everything, I am thinking a combination of a very small shaping bay (JUST big enough to work), plus a localised vac, plus masks - could be enough. But in my ideal view a full wind tunnel would be nice!
