Hi,
I’ve heard that it is kind of difficult to get used to shape with a vac/dust collector system…is that true? Is it worth to have one? Pros and cons? Need feedback …
How do you place or hang vacum hoses so they don’t get in your way when planing up and down the board?
Thanks
if you’re talking about having a vacuum hooked up to your planer, I am all for it – much less mess, much less foam dust in your eyes. Yes, the hoses get in the way, a little bit. But it’s well worth it, in my opinion.
Yes Keith I’m talking about a vacum connected to my planer…
The thing is that my Grandfather has a woodworking factory with a medium size dust vacum collector, he knew I shape surfboards but never saw my shaping room… it was last week when he saw it for the first time and was impressed of the amount of foam dust all over the shaping room…
I found out that he was planning on giving me his vac/dust collector for my birthday (may, 26)… I have no idea how to adapt the system to my shaping room… one advantage is that I’m building a new shaping room so i’m just in time for any changes in design for adapting this system… any suggestions?
Thanks for your opinion…I will try to install it…
This will be the first shaping room with vac/dust collector system in Costa Rica …cool !!
First thing you need to do is figure out a good way to hang your vacuum-to-planer hose overhead, above your shaping racks so that it doesn’t get in your way. Pay particular attention to how it works near where the nose & tail of a longboard would be on your racks! Overhead tracks or wires, bungee cords, & pulleys can all help here (remember that your power cord will go up & thru the same system).
As an improvement to that basic set-up, I would suggest putting a “T” or “Y” into your vacuum system so that you can use it both attached to your planer, and another arm of it for general clean up (eg after working with hand tools, screen, sandpaper.) You can put “blast doors” in or just rig up a way to plug up the second hose when not in use.
Finally, there are all sorts of cool things you can do with a system like this if you look into it. E.g., there are “sweep into” floor fittings that you can rig up, separation fittings that allow big chunks to drop out into a bucket (and dust to continue on to the vaccum), etc. etc. If you are building a new shaping room & are lucky enough to have this stuff given to you for free, I would definitely spend some time looking at your equipment, and planning how to incorporate it into your shaping area…
Hey Cabeto,
I don’t know how your building is set up but in an ideal situation you’ll have your vac motor/bag located in a seperate room, closet, or outside with door for easy emptying. You can run your pvc, or metal piping to a good dust collection system pretty far with no problems. Some have warned about using pvc piping because of possible static electrical sparking, but my research shows it’s less of a chance than being hit by lightning while surfing in Antartica. If you have a portable smaller dust collection system you can roll it to the location of whatever machine or tool you like, then roll it away when the machine work is completed.
Maybe it’s just an old age, purist, agro, thing, but when shaping a surfboard I feel the dust and shavings everywhere is just part of the trip. When the machining is done, clean everything up, then get into the fine shaping, hand-work, sanding, touchy-feely stuff. That said however, there’s good arguement for dust collection systems in any shop. Enjoy the Ride!
Thanks for your recommendation RichardMc…
Yes I have plenty of room outside my shaping bay, I will put the vac/motor bag outside as you suggest (it’s about a 55gal drum size… and heavy).
I will use pvc piping for sure, with a T or Y joint, one arm for attaching my planer, and the other arm for general clean up as suggested by KeithMelville…
Thanks a lot guys… I’m really stoked with my new project!
I will post some photos when finished.
Hey Cabeto, are you shaping boards in Costa Rica, and if so is there any trouble getting blanks and glass and resin.
Hey thomas, yes I shape surfboards (as a hobby) down here in Costa Rica…
8 years ago when I started shaping, I had to import my Clark blanks from Florida but now I bought them here from a friend of mine who has a surfline distribution company, he imports foams on a weekly basis…
Never have problem with resin and glass… there are a couple of resin and fiberglas shops who always have Silmar and Reichold resin in stock, also they have 4oz and 6oz fiberglas cloth…
However I was thinking on importing my materials… I’m planing on shaping more surfboards…
Cabeto
Cabeto, Forgot to ask where you’re located in CR? Glad you’re stoked about the vac system - hope it all works out.
I live in Ciudad Cariari which is located in Heredia province… About 1 1/2 hour car drive from Jaco and Hermosa beach…
Thanks RichardMc…
Hey Keith… have you heard about the Clark Foam Slinky Hose? …they say that with it I will not need overhead wires, pulleys and stuff… and it’s not expensive ($16 or so)… I was planning on buying one but want some feedback first…
I already have my vacuum system I still need to install all the tubing and hoses… This system is heavy…really heavy… it has a thick metal base an a 220volt 4 horsepower motor…
All feedback regarding CF Slinky Hose will be greatly appreciated…
Thanks
Cabeto
Cabeto- I have the clark foam system installed in my shaping room. The slinky hose works killer. I highly recomend it, it works far better than any other system I have seen/tried, I can’t live without it now! -Carl
Thanks for your feedback Carl …I will buy it today… COOL!!
Cabeto
hey Cabeto, have heard nothing but good feedback, and am planning on trying it myself. Seems like the right approach to me…
pura vida & aloha, (ain’t surfing great with concepts like these…)
K
i hooked up a device called “the long ranger” to my vac and it is soooooo nice. it is basically just a remote control system so you don’t have to leave the vac running all the time. it is around $80 for a 110v and a bit more for a 220v, many woodworking supply houses carry it, try Amazon.com or Woodcraft, Woodcraft for sure that is where i bought mine. I just wear the remote on my apron, and hit on and off as needed. really keeps the noise down. it goes through walls no problem if your dust collector is in another room. i also heard that Clark Foam makes a trigger controlled unit (when you trigger your planer the vac turns on). check out this company for some great dust collection info www.oneida-air.com…
Hey Keith… I already bought the slinky hose yesterday… just waiting for the shipment to get here to Costa Rica, it might take a couple of weeks…
I think I will finish my new shaping room this weekend … meanwhile I will have to shape without the vac system…
Thanks man…
Cabeto
Cool. Hey, next time I get down to CR (which won’t be soon, unfortunately) I’d love to see your shop, or get together for a surf. My wife spent a couple months down there once, and I have been there but would love to see more of the country. We may even retire there some year…
Swaylocks is getting truly world-wide these days.
Pura Vida!!
K
Pura vida !!.. just let me know and we can arrange something…
Costa Rica is an excellent choice for retirement…
By the way Keith I’ve finished my shaping room this weekend… All thats left is the painting, my old shaping bay was completely black and with only one fluorescent light in each side… would you suggest painting it black also, what color do you use? …In this one I’ve installed two 8’ fluorescent bulbs on each side so now I have much more illumination and I’ve set the light boxes 50’’ from the ground, about 13’’ higher than the top of my racks… hope this measurements are ok…
Cabeto
Here are some pics of my new shaping bay… I’m still working on the vacuum dust collector installation…
