Dust Collection Improvements - "Cheapo Gate Complete"

[McRabbet]

I've been working for some time with one 4" PVC duct run from my under-floor Dust Collector (DC) to an outlet behind my Table Saw (see my earlier thread). I have a Chip Separator connected to the outlet, then a longer length of flex duct connected to my saw which I move to my planer or jointer when I use either of them. It has been a major PITA to move that flexible hose. I needed to improve it and started by building my own Blast Gates to segregate exhaust flows. Here's how they are made (mine are 4", but any size can be made this way):

1) 2) 3) 4)

1) Pair of 3/4" Birch Plywood squares with holes cut for 4" PVC Connector and 1/4" Baltic Birch layout with gate and gate socket ready to cut out on bandsaw;

2) PVC Connector outer surfaces roughed up with rasp to provide glue bite surface. Used PRG and glued connector into plywood squares, flush with outside of plywood faces;

3) After glue dries, cut connector in half and rounded edges. Turn squares around, glue and screw together with a gate socket sandwiched in between. Sanded edges of gate and inserted into slot;

4) Normal finished gate has 6-32 x 1/2" bolt in tip of gate to retain gate slide.

At the Dust Collector, the "Y" connector gets two blast gates. I will actuate one or the other from above, so one will open and the other will close. Here's the setup as a Work in Progress:

5) 6) 7)

5) Blast gates are connected to the "Y" with short connector duct and all 3 pieces mounted on a small platform;

6) View from the inlet side, with one gate up and one gate down. Note the nylon cord in the right gate;

7) The "interaction" secret: the 6-32 bolt is removed and left and right gates are interconnected by a nylon cord threaded through a hole in the bottom of each gate and over pulleys mounted under platform -- later, I will connect nylon lines through floor to a control handle in shop. I'll add springs in the lines to keep it under tension.

They may not be "EcoGates", but they should work fine -- hence "Cheapo Gate"! More to come when I install it! Rob

[michaelgarner]

awsome work bro, keep us informed how this works out, where did you get the plan from? something you just made up? I am going to install 6in for my system soon. I plan on upgrading to a cyclone this summer and want to get the duct work out of the way. Great job,,be blessed

[Monty]

Wow! That's a very clever idea... nicely done!

[JohnsonMBrandon]

Thats pretty neat. How much time do you have in each gate? Its always fun to make your own.

[McRabbet]

The blast gates I built are based on Homemade Blast Gates, except I didn't use galvanized HVAC starter flanges, I used 4" S&D (sanitary & drain) connectors. Another similar design to mine is found at this link. The first link is in our Link Library. I made six at once and, except for glue drying time, they took about 20 minutes each to make.

Rob

[Dullblade]

OK, Talk about chepo.. I am master of cheap. I do not have a dust collection sys but I do have a 30 gal. shop vac. Can I use it to collect dust and will it be possible to branch out to more than one tool if I make smaller gates for the size hose that is on the vac? Would PVC main pipe along the ceiling with multiple ports be posible with the shop vac?

[McRabbet]

Unless they are close to a machine, ShopVac's lose much of their flow because of friction in the 2-1/2" diam hoses and then they don't filter very well without more expensive filters or filter bags installed. They don't support enough flow to handle an extensive duct system and small cross section (duct diameter) puts lots of drag on that flow. I use my 16 gallon model with a drywall dust filter whenever I run my Random Orbital Sander to collect the fine dust. Bigger tools require much more flow than a ShopVac can support.

As a firefighter, you know that big hoses carry much more water -- dust collection duct behaves the same. Short runs of large hose carry much more than long runs of small hose. If you really want to improve what you have, spend a few hours reading Bill Pentz's site, considered by many as one of the best sources of dust collection principles for woodworkers.

Rob

[Dullblade]

Thanks thats kinda what I thought but I was just hoping. My shop is only 12 by 12 but I see your point about the friction loss. Thanks

[chris99z71]

Whoops Rob...be careful talking to a firefighter about friction loss...he's liable to get his calculator and pumps handbook out and start running numbers!

[Steve D]

Nice work Rob, did you leave the bottom of the slot open to clear dust from the gate? I'll be curious to hear how the sytem work for you from above once you get it installed.

[McRabbet]

Originally Posted by Steve D

Nice work Rob, did you leave the bottom of the slot open to clear dust from the gate? I'll be curious to hear how the stem work for you from above once you get it installed.

I did not leave the bottom of the slot open like you did on yours for fear of leakage. If you click on the first thumbnail, you will see the profile of the outer piece that get sandwiched -- the "x's" are waste. The gate is about 3/8" wider than the coupling and leaves about a 3/16" gap at the slot, which I hope will not fill with dust. I may try some full length sliders (they'd be about 16" long for my 7" squares) that would be self cleaning. I'll keep you posted on any clogging issues.

Rob

[McRabbet]

I installed the remote blast gates on my Dust Collector this afternoon and it works sweet! Click thumbnails for full-sized pics:

8) 9) 10)

8) The paired blast gates were connected back on the Dust Collector and stabilized with a strap to the overhead joists. Nylon lines were attached with my best Boy Scout bowline and run through 2 sets of pulleys to the floor above. The left gate controls the Table Saw/Miter Saw lines (open) and the right gate will control the Sander/Planer line.

9) The pulleys above the blast gates. Spring helps maintain line tension, but does not pull gate up (remember they are connected underneath).

10) The simple Hand Control in the shop -- 3 wraps of the nylon around a disk and handles on a lag screw axle. Clockwise opens Table Saw gate; counter clockwise open Sander/Planer gate.

It works great and lets my small DC serve multiple tools without long, leaky runs. All of the pipe joints are sealed with HVAC foil tape.

Rob

P.S. -- Check out Dave's new pictures of his Shop Built Blast Gates in his gallery -- his hardboard slide gates won't clog!

[D L Ames]

Great job on those gates Rob. That is an ingenious idea how the blast gates and control arm work together. Superb tutorial also. Thanks for putting it all together and posting it.

D L

[toolferone]

That is so coool! I love it. That is thinking outside the box. Hogwash on cheap. I think yours is better. It has a major coolness factor.