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    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
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    Download as pdf
    32 views32 pages

    013 Dust Collector

    Uploaded by

    Lic. Luis Calderón Pérez
    013 Dust Collector

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
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    a Build Your Own DUST COLLECTOR = Router Bit Storage Cabinet = Scroll Saw Blades = Band Saw Blade Set-Up = Six Shop-Tested Tips fF January 1994 Toren Donald B, Pescke swxcunve orren Doulas L, Hicks susacime crrer ‘Terry J. Strohman secooure orn Klchard 8, Peters ‘ssremoe eorron ‘im Robertson covramunme crren. Philip A. Totten ecm oecren ‘The Kralcok amr oiseren Cary Christensen ‘soon tusmaren Kurt Schultz ‘uvernarone Will Niskaven Roger Reiland ‘ark Higdon mworoanarven Crayola Engand sesiotowmoren Ken Muriel souonoesonens Ja Hale Sve Kent Welsh ‘ner umuaen Stove Curtis shorasstoues Sieve Joxsen relation Dirt Li Breen Sberinton “Menage: Paylis ome « Oration Analg Rad Cane Newaetond Sala: Kent A Buon Amocite Bitar Gorton. ais Sr: Craphic Disignr Rober H. Whiter + Grophie Arti: ‘Ghee. Cor Cotroter HobinktttinemeAcssnting Lar ‘Tome « Bokeeping: dae Gretlee + Ino Series Manager Joyee Moore» het. Pub Co- nln: Dougie ME. Liter» Admin. ais tate Chor! Seat, Sa Fah» Reception ‘TeanmeJohioon» Building Maint: Ken Grtk _Merketng Diet: Robert Muy Catalog Art ‘DisectesCy Jackson Fulfilment Manager: | Maori Wie Cetalay Praduce Menage | Bakerrojet pple TindaFoneseTehwical Suppor: Jet Janes» Appliation Spectatt “Linda Monrw Receptions: Cynthia Kerman ‘Stpersor: Jems vee Customer Serre Rep aentaives Jenifer Mampi Jy Isom, Sica Kono, Amt Blashea, Atna Cox, Tana “Alin, Ket Andrews, Stepee Hagen Siperosor: Jem Carson Fulfillment loa Stoo, Doe ete, Chek Carn, yi Caay See Soret a eee, cance SE connec Sonoma, ‘tom ny Ponage Paid at aes A st Snes Schenine Quon 0. son PRINTED IN USA. EDITOR'S NOTE S= I's a problem for every woodworker I know. Itean cause Hnealth problem, It clogs up ma- chinery. And it evertuslly covers every. thing in the shop (and often the rest of the house) witha fine layer of dust. For years, professional woodwork- ing shops have used specially designed collection systems to deal with saw- dust. Unfortunately, these systems are too large and too expensive for most home workshops. USE COLLECTION SYSEM. So we de- cided to design asmaller shop-built ver~ sion ofa professional system. (For more onthis, see page 14.) Like a professional system, cur version uses a special can- ister (eyelone) to separate the large ‘chips from the fine dust. But instead of baying an expensive all-metal eyelono, we built our own, It's a hybrid — part wood, part metal. The ‘woodworking part was essy. However ‘when it came time to making the sheet metal parts, I was a bit apprehensive. (I should have paid more attention in my eighth grade metal shop elass.) SHERT METAL. But armed with a pair of tin snips and a pair of gloves, I decided to try it onee again. T soon found that working with sheet metal ‘wasn't difficult. In fact, much of it was similar to woodworking, Careful layout, andplanning. Anda bitofpatience when cutting. Thats all it takes regardless of the material — metal or wood. PUBLISHER'S STATEMENT. AS you may have noticed, the bottom half of this pageis filled with an official looking document. Every year the post office requires we print a Publisher's State~ ment. It lets them know the number of issues we send out and where they go. The good news is that we're still growing. The average single issue cir- culation is up 129,000 from last year. ‘Thank you, Without your support this growth would not be possible. ‘STATEMENT OF OWNERSHIP, MANAGEMENT AND CIRCULATION (eee 7 SOUS. 2) 1.Ttle ot Pubcon: ShopNotes. 1 Pubintion No: 16562. Date of FiliegSapeenber2, ‘eG. Frequeny fist: Bimontly. 3, No.of ssue publsind eanualy:6(8x 3. Aneal fuhecr-tionprice: 1895.4, Complete malingaddvess one aio pbtion 2290 Grind Avenue Der Mines, Pak Coun), Town S316, 8 Complete ting aires ofthe Ieadqatrter of general sins ofc th paar 2900 Grand Avene, es Mss, ee 512506, € Ful ames nd cumple walingadreseof plier, ely sndmaraging ear Published Edtor Donald BPeotheo 2900 Grand Avene, De Mason, owe 00 Aging itor: Ter J. Sirotman 220) Grand Avena, Des Mains Iova S12 7 Owner Wonderth CCorporstin, 250) Und Avenue, De Maize, lows S051 Donal B: Pesce 2210 Grad ‘Avenue Des Moles, owa503B. 8. Known benders mergagees another sect older ‘aint percent or are total aunt of tans orgages orth ser None (Dots ‘ot appiy) 1, Eaten and nature of redate Average no. copies_Average copes ‘uch lue daring ofa isue precoding 2 months published searest ‘oflingdate ‘A Total no, pee printed net pres ru). 390 215900 B.Paidandior requested creation 1 Sle hh deals ea ee ed otra AS 2st bncapen (jis requests). 39.50 e190 teal scr rte rates 25435 aaa ‘D-Freedistabuton by mal cari or her meas, sanpies, ‘ommpimenary and other fe nie, = » Total dribaon Sadao amps "Of as etre anaes ib er rng «1804, oor 2 Returns tom news agen. oe G. Total a8 315000 i. certify hat he atements mae by me abows are correct an complete. (Gimed) Donald H Peeks PublborRaltor ShopNotes No. 13 e Contents Router Bit Storage Cabinet ___4 ; You can both protect and organize your router biis by building this handy storage cabinet Scroll Saw Blades_ 8 A look at the different types, styles. and sizes of blades that give the best results when using a scroll saw. Band Saw Set-Up ______10 ‘Changing the blade on a band saw is easy when you follow ese siep by step instructions. We'll take you through tracking tensioning, and adjusing the blade guides. Dust Collection System ___ 14 This shop-made dust colctor foaturos a two-stage system. The frst stage removes large chips. And the second stage filters out fine dust particles. Router Bit Storage page s Cyclones ee 5 e Plywood and mela flashing combine to meke the fst stage of the dust collector — a cyclone that funnels (arge chips into a rof-around chip bin. Filternox = = it. ea 522 By wrapping an inexpensive fabric around a sinpie frame, you can form the second stage of the dust collection system which filters out fine dust particles. Pipe & Hook-Ups______ 24 All it takes to connect your power tools to our dust collector cr your existing collector is a system of pipes and these stop-buit nokups. Shop Solutions ________ 28 Sx Shop-Tested Tips: Teggle Clamp Sip Biock, Sop- Mago Dili Knife, Measurement Tip, Tp for Rubbing uta Fish, Sawhorse with Ison. ana Tip for Insta ing a Strike Plate. Plywood Veneers____________ 30 The appearance and cost of a sheet of plywood can vary greatly depending on how the face veneer is cul. @ Goes... Hardware, project supplies, and mail order sources for the projects in this issue. No. 13 ShopNetes 3 JIGS & ACCESSORIES Router Bit Storage Cabinet Protect and organize your router bits with this sturdy storage cabinet. It features a unique bit holding system anda handy pull-out drawer. ‘This cabinet also hns a door to joints are ent, dadoes are ent in keep the bits dean and free from the sides forthe shelves that hold dastand dirt. And I added apull- the bits, see Fig. 1. These dadoes ont drawer inside the cabinet to are %4'-wide and ent across the store and protect large bits, full width (depth) of the sides. ‘wronchos, and othor accessories, RACK. Noxt, to soalup thorear ofthe cabinet, Taddeda back (C), ‘THE GASE see Fig. 1. It just a piece of 4 Winter otmatrnits I started work on the Storage thick plywood that fits into 14’ x ese days, it just makes Cabinet Ly making the case, I's %' grooves cut in the sides and sense to invest the time to pro- just a shallow box consisting of _top/bottom piceos, soe Fig. 1b. tect them. This Storage Cabinet two sides (A) and a toplbotiom ASSEMBLY. With the back cut isdesigned toprotect yourhits— (B), see Fig. 1.Ieut these pieces tosize, the ease can be glued and and keep them organized too. from ¥-thickstock and used box clamped together. When the glue T) keep fiom nicking sharp joints to hold them together, see dries, you'll need to plug the cuttingedges,the bits are spaced Figs. 1 and 1a, (If you haven't small square holes in the top and apartand held upright ina pairof made box joints before, you can bottom of the cabinet left from shelves,see photo. There’sevena find information ard plans fora jig cutting the grooves in the sides. unique eystem to hold the bits. in ShopNotes No. 8.) or detailed instructions onhow (For more on this, see page 5.) «SHELF DADOES. Once the box todothis, see page 6.) aboes Fon. ca curie-oeer ‘Groorero. MATCH THOINESS ‘OF PLYWOOD Sl cl SRR AERA 4 ShopNotes No. 13 Shelves After the ease is assembled, the [> next step is to make the shelves that hold the ronter bits. These [| NOTE: shelvesfit intothedadoes you cut |"frows.crrack | earlier in the ease sides. ‘Tock cur ro rrr. The shelves (D) are me cut to length from 34'-thick stock ‘to fit botweon the sides. As for the width, trim them so they end up fiush with the front edge, see Fig. 2. (In my ease, they're 34" wide and 944" long.) a] We BIT HOLES. After cutting the shelves to size, the holes for the router bits can be laid out, see Fig. 2b. But there’s a problem con ore, here, Ifyou just drill holes in the |] 9RUL "014 Hove shelves‘and insert a bit, you may oy We rot be able to get it out. That's Fe because humidity ean cause the wood to swell and “lock” it in place. SLEEVES. To prevent this from happening, I used nylon sleeves, see photo below. They're just ny- lon spacers found ata localhard- ‘The size of each hole is deter- need. (A hardware kit is avail- ware store. Since the nylon mined by the shank size of the able, see Sourees on page 31.) PORTO, ORL OIA HOLE LOCATIONS ARE SAME Foe Born SHELvES oesn’t swell up like wood does, router bit, see Fig, 2a. ASSEMBLY. Once the holes are your router bits will always slip If you have ¥4"-shank bits, drilled, the next step is to glue in ‘in and out easily. you'll need to drill 4s"-dia holes, the nylon sleeves. To do this, I ‘Twosizes. Although the ley- see Fig. 2a If they're ¥4"-shank squirt “instant” glue in each hole ‘ont for the holes in the shelves is bits, drill 5¢'-dia. holes, Note: Be- and insert asleave. Then to con= the same (see Fig. 2b), the diame- fore you drill, it's a good idea to _pletethe case, glue and clamp the ter of the holes may be different. first buy the nylon sleeves you'll shelves flush with the front edge. Materials OS ta SS A Sides (2) Vex ata-13 B Topleovtom (2) Yex4le-10 C Back (1) a x 12 -Ys plywood D Shelves (2) Sax BY BNe E Drawer Fe/Bk. (2) Vax 2!2 -B%i6 F Drawer Sides (2) Vax 22-39% G Drawer Bostom (1) 2/2x DIM - 4 plywood H Door Stileo (2) Vex tle -18 1 Door Rais (2) Yaxte- Be J Door Panel (1) 79/4 x10% - Va plywood K Cabinst Cleat (1) Yax2¥2-9 L Wall Cleat (1) Vax 212 -B%o © (1)3"dla. Wood Krob w/ocren © (1)%e"-dla. Magnetic Catch wlecrew To make it easy to slip bits in and out, nylon © (2) te" x V4" Braoe Hinges w/screws sleeves fitinto holes ariled in each shelt This © 14" 1D, Ye"long Nylon Spacers way when the humidity changes, the wood © 12", Yo"long Nylon Spacers can't swell and “lock” the bits in place. No.13 ShopNotes 5 Ire ee Drawer After completing the case, I added a small drawer that slides into the bottom opening of the case, see Fig. 3. This makes a handy place to store larger bits, ‘wrenches, and other accessories BOXJOINTS.The drawer is ‘made up of a front. and back (E) and twosides (F),see Fig. 3. Here ‘again Tused box joints. But since the drawer pieces are cut from Y4"-thiek stock, the box joints are Ua! x Vi! Gnstead of Vf x Ye" as with the case), see Fig. 3a. DRAWER PIECES.To find the height (width) of all the drawer pieces, measure the height of the opening 244"), Normally at this point T would subtract a Vie" for dearance. But tis would mess up the M4’ spacing for the box Joints. So instead, Ieut the pieces to full height (212, And then sanded the drawer tofit thoopen- ing after it was assembled. ‘To determine the length of the front and back (E) pieces, meas- ‘ure the width of the drawer open- ing and subtract Yio" for clearance (Gl540", see Fig. 8. Next, since I wanted the drawer to be flush with the front of the case, the sides (F) are cut to match the depth of the opening (8%4"). |= ‘SAND DRAWER 10 FIT ‘HEIGTHOF OPENING ae DRAWER FRONT Yat 0x Jor ‘ee me | a NoTeH.Tomakeasimple“han- tom (@), see Figs. 8 and 2a, Here dle” for the drawer, I cut a cen- again, you'll need to plug these tered notch in thetop edge of the holes after you've glued up the drawer front, see Figs. 3 and 3a, drawer, refer to box below. ‘Once this notch is cut out, box TEST FFT. After filling the holes, {joints ean be eut tojoin the drawer test the fit of the drawer in the pieces together, see Fig. 3 cease. If necessary, sand the top or BOTTOM The next step is to bottom edges of the drawer to cut Ye"deep grooves in all the achieve a fit that’s snug but still drawer pleces fora M'-thick bot- slides in and ou: without binding. OT UT CR TOE TT anexia-iong square plug to it the hole. Then tapor tho sides slightly to got a ‘snug fit, and glue the plug in place. PARE OFF Bicess WiFICHISEL Wor AROUND PLUG TOWARDS CENTER ‘A Whenever you outa full-lenath Step 1: Plug the hole. Start by cutting Step 2: Trim the plug. After the giue you'll end up witha small square has dried, use a chisel (0 pare off ex- hole. But you can fill this with a cess by working around the plug to- small end grain plug and mako wards the center. Then sand it smocth. the hole virtually disappear. groove in project with box joints, ShopNotes No. 13 JIGS & ACCESSORIES Door @ wis tne caer complete, tne next thing is toadd a door tokeep ‘your router bits free from dust and dirt. The door is just a hard- ‘wood frame that fits around ply- ‘wood panel, see Fig. 4 FRAME PIECES. All the frame Tse tie torso wialh Cia), ‘The only difference is their length, ‘The sles (H) are 13" long, And the rails (D are T" long. STUB'TENON & GROOVE, The framo(and panel) is held together witha simple joint—a stub tenon and groove. A3"-deep, V4'-wide groove is eut centered in each piece, see Fig. da. This groove acceptsaY4'-thickplywood panet (J). Andit alsoservesasthe mor. tise for the short (stub) tenons cut on the ends of the rails, see Figs.4 and 4a. ASSEMBLY. After the stub ten- ons are eut, the door ean be glued and clamped up. When the giueis dry, you can mount the door on the case. It attaches to one side with a pair of hinges, see Fig. 5. ‘Note: The hinge mortises are cutin the case to match the thick- ness of one hinge flap. This leaves about Vie" clearance between the door and the ease for a magnetic cateh that’s added later. Note: Gar FRoN i 30EK With the doorin place, thenext step is to add a knob and a mag- neticeatch, see Fig.5a. To keep the ‘gap between the door and case to ‘a minimum, I used a No. 4 x 36° flathead woodscrew instead of the thick strike plate that comes with the eatch, see Fig. 5a. It still pro- vides plenty of “pull” and can be easily adjusted in or out. HANGING SYSTEM. Finally, to ‘mount the case to a wall, Tused a unique two-piece system, see Fig. 5b. A cabinet cleat (K) is ghied to the back ofthe ease, And a wall eleat (L) is screwed to the wall. The advantage af this sys- tem is it allows you to lift off the cabinet and take it wherever you need it in the shop. ‘OF ONE HINGE FLAS 5} sornetifarimces te Oe" ‘CABINET CLEAT (Careaie er ® © WALL CLEAT conse 2409] MAGNENC cate ShopNotes (tens Scroll Saw Blades t first glance, there'snopin,these bladescanbe with the different styles, I've all scroll saw manufactured in very narrow found that each offers one or biades look the same. widths. This is a big advantage more advantages over the tradi- But there's a big difference when you're cutting tight curves tional blades. For more on this, in how they perform."The trick or intricate patterns, see the opposite page. (Mail-or- is to mateh the type, style, and der sources of scroll saw blades size ofthe blade to the job. STTLES can be found on page.) pues Thetype of blade you use (pin or plain end) depends on your saw. Scroll sawblades come intwoba- But the sigle of blade you choose In adition to the style of the sictypes—pinend andplain end, is up to you, There are basically blade, you'l also need to pick a see Fig. 1. The type you use will five styles to choose from. specif size blade to use. The size depend on your sav ofa eral saw blade is do- PINEND.Appinendblade ‘iy, termined by its width, isheldinplace by twosmat “L'V@,found that the number 5, 7, thickness, and the number metal pinsateachend.This and 9 size blades will handle ofteeth perinch. makeait possible toquickly 99% jobs,” Mest blades aresized ac- change blades without ws of mioetecroll sara jobs carding to a numbering ing a wrench or a serew- system that ranges from 0 driver Tomake room for the pin, _Allofthesestyles aremodifica- to 12. Basically, the higher the these blades are wider than plain tions of the traditional scroll number;the fewerthe teeth, And end blades, see Fig.1. This extra blade style. These blades have the fewer the teeth, the coarser width is useful whenever you evenly apaced teeth like a hand the ent willbe. need to cut along a straight line saw, see Fig.2. And foryearsthis Although each siz blade is de- ora gradual eurve. style of blade was all used. signed to eat materials of differ- PLAINEND. Plain end blades But now manufacturers are ent thicknesses (se box below), slip Into slotted damp heads, producing blales with awide va- I've found that the number 5, 7, ‘Then a screw or bol istigntened riety oftocth shapes and spacing and 9 size blades will handle 90% topinch the blade in place. Since patterns. After experimenting of most seroll saw jobs. What size blade should | use? 1 2) F © Veneer: | use blade sizes 1 through 3 when cutting veneer or Shoe other thin stock. The high number of teeth (25 to 20 per inch) La si produces a clean cut with minimal chipout. © %4"-thick or less: As the material gets thicker, | move up to a less fragile blade with ewer teeth, Here, | use numbers 4 through 6 thet range from 18 to 15 teeth per inch. p * Stock up to %4" thick: The blades | use most often are the ‘numbers 7 through 9. These heavier blades break less, yetthe | | rin ~ PLAIN teeth (around 14 per inch) stil leave a smooth cut. END END ‘© Stock thicker than 94’: When I out thick stock, | switch to 2 Soolisawbledeshave & The vacttional sor ‘numbers 10 through 12 (around 12 teeth per inch). These either pinned or plain bladehas evenly spaced! blades also work wall for gradual curves or straight cuts. ‘ends. The type you use teeth that paint down I wrildependion your saw. when mounted in a saw. 8 ShopNotes No. 13, (rT Blade Styles Skin Tooth Skip tooth blades are the most commonly used style of seroll saw | blade. They're available in either ¢ pin end or plain end. ‘As the name implies, ever ‘other tooth on the blade skipped (missing). This ereates a deep gullet between each tooth and provides more room for saw- ‘dust to be carried ont of the kerf. The faster the sawdust is re- ‘moved from the blade, the faster you can cut, and the cooler the blade will be. The end result is a blade that lasts longer. Reverse Tooth With a name like reverse tooth, you'd expert all the teeth on this blade to be reversed. But that’s not the case, Tt only the last few teeth near the bottom of the blade that are ‘reversed (point up). Reversing the last few teeth reduces splintering on the bottom. side of the workpiece. This is par- ticularly important: when you're working with plywood, The thin face veneers are sheared on the J upstroke by the reversed teeth ‘which helps prevent chipout. Ultra Blades ‘The first time used an Ultra blade, I was really impressed. It cut right through aserap of "thick ash in seconds and left the edges satin smooth, T found out from Ron King at Advanced Ma- chinery Imports that the secret to this hlade is the teeth. They're ground (honed) with a grind jing wheel (not stamped out like other blades). ‘This erestes very sharp teeth with a unique tooth pattern to efficiently eject sawdust from the kerf, see Drawing. Another feature of these Dlades 1 they're also reverse tooth — which ‘means minimal chipout on the bottom of a work- piece. (For a mail-order souree, see page 31.) Double Too! The double tooth style blade is similar to a skip tooth blade. The difference is the tooth pattern. Instead of every other tooth being skipped, these blades have two teoth in a row, then a space, and so on. This pattern combines y the smooth cut of a scroll blade and the faster cutting ability of a skip tooth blade. ‘The additional teoth create a very smooth eut with little tear- out, [like to use this style blade whenever I work with very thin stock (such as veneer). Spiral Blade Spiral blades are just scroll saw blades thataretwisted sothe teeth point in different directions. This offers two advantages. First, you ean saw in any direc- tion without rotating the work- pieee. And second, these blades dor’t bow like other blades when you cut thiek stock. ‘The only problems with these blades are they cut a wide kerf, and they tend to follow the grain direction. This means it isn’t as easy to followa pattern lineas it is with the other blades. ULTRA BLADE eiapeis crovne (HoNeD) ‘SKIP-TOOTH BLADE BLADE 18 STAMPED 10 CREATE TEETH A To eject sawoustand create a smooth cut, the teeth on the Ultra blade (top) are spaced much farther apart than a skip tooth blade (bottom), No. 13 ShopNotes 9 a) To help identity ai ferent sizes and styles of scroll saw blades, | color code the ends. Pree Band Saw ° Set-Up ‘ve finally found it. A foolproof way to clear ont the shop on a lazy Friday afternoon. All I have to do issuggest that someone replace the dull biade in the hand saw. Within seeonds, 'mall alone. It's amazing what even experienced woodwork- ers will doto avoid changing a band saw blade. But changing. blades doesn’t have to be a chore. All it takes isa simple routine. And if you stick with this routine, it'll become second nature — just like changing the blade on a table saw, TEN STEPS. Changing and setting up a bandsaw blade can be broken down into a simple ten-step routine. To make it easier to remember, we've con- densed these steps and listed them in sequenee ina handy reference guide, see page 13. The first part to changing a blade in a band saw is toremovethe old one. This ean bebroken down into three easy steps. First, unplug the band saw and remove the guards hat cover the blade, see Step 1 below. Then release the tension that stretches the blade and hiolds it on the band saw wheels, see Step 2 below. ‘And finally, retract the guide assemblies which help to support the blade during a eut, and then remove the blade, see Step 3 below. ‘ADJUSTMENT KNOB BLADE GUARD UPPER GUIDE ‘AUGNMENT PIN LOWER GUIDE ‘ASSEMBLY Changing « blade on the band saw doesn’t have to be a chore. The secret is to break it down into simple steps. And then use the same routine everylime. Removing a Blade SECOND: Ae S80 | | seusicns aoe ws a sos ae "RELEASE TENSION! brsumune THkver COUNTERCLOCRNISE BEARINGS AND GUIDE BLOCKS 1. Remove the Guards: The iirst stop ie to remove the throat plate, the blade guard, and the pin (or fence) that aligns the two halves of the iable. 10 2, Release the Tension: Nox, roloaze tho tension on the blade by tuming the tensioning knob on top of the saw. Now you can safely take off the cover ShopNotes 3. Retract Guide Assemblies: Al that's left isto back off the upper and lower guide assemblies. Then slip the blade off tha wheels and pull itout through the slot No. 13 Installing a Blade After the blade has been removed, the next thing T do is clean the wheels With use, sawdust and gummy resin deposits ean build up and cause the blade to shift and even come off, CLEANING. To prevent this, I lean the rubber tires that are stretched over each wheel, see photo above. And then to keep the tires as clean as possible, T ‘lean the blade, see photo at right. When everything is clean, slip the blade on the wheels so it’s roughly centered. And apply just enough tension to keep it inplace. (Final tensioningis done later) ‘TRACKING ‘With the blade in place, the next eres ~< Clean the wheels: Before you put on a new blade, scrub the wheels with denatured alcohol and a clean rag. If this doesn't get everyihing, try an abrasive pad (like Scotch-Brite). ~< Clean the blade: I's a good idea toclean the blade before you put it on the wheels. This is especialy true for new blades which aro often coated with grease to inhibit mst step is to cheek to see if it tracks (chifts) toward the front or rear ofthe wheals,’To do this, tum one ofthe wheals a couple oftimes by hand, see margin tip at right. If the blade tracks true (doesn't shift), proceed to tensioning. eras wee. fit does shift, its easy to cor- reel. Most band saws have a tracking knob (or serew) that al wheel back if the blade tends to move forward. Or tit it towards the front ifit shifts backwards, Once the blade tracks true, the next step is to apply full tension, ‘This is done by raising the upper wheel to stretch the blade, see Fig. 2. Most saws have a tension gauge which indicates an ap- proximatesetting, But I'vefound these indicators aren't accurate, Tusvally apply more tension to a blade than the gauge suggests. When I put a %' blade in my saw and tension it, the geuge reads as ‘fit would for a 34" blade. ‘Tp tension a blade, slowly in- crease the tension and “pluck” the blade oceasfonally. It should ring with a clear tone, not a dull thud. lows yon to tilt the angle of the | NOTE:TAT!s upper wheel, see Fig. 1. Tit the | FoRcLARITY KNOB } es Shai aR 2 TYonrror None To prevent catch: jing your finger on a sharp edge, use a length of do fo spin the wheel ADJUST TRACKNG 10 No. 13 ShopNotes ul TOOLWORKS Once the blade is tracking and tensioned correctly, the upper and lower guide assemblies that | UPPER GUIDE keep the blade on a steady path ASSEMBLY can be ailjusted, see Fig. 3, Bach assembly consists of a thrust bearing anda pair of guide blocks. THRUST BEARINGS THRUST BEARING ‘SET SCREW ‘The job of the thrust bearings is KNOB ) to prevent a workpiece from { pushing the blade backwards as oseeeatce. you make a cat. This way the tooth ean’t come in eontact with the mide blocksand ruin the blade Aajusting the thrust bearings is simple. The idea is to position themsothey are not touching the lade when you're not cutting (even if the saw is running), ace LOWER GUIDE Fig. 4a. The blade should only ‘ASSEMBLY touch the bearings and cause them to spin when the blade flexes back during a cut. ‘The guide blocks are post Note: On some saws, these cae et tioned in two ways: front to back bearings can be adjusted with a Aftersetting the thrustbearings, and side to side. (Before you knob. Others must be siid in or the guide blodks ean be posi. make any'adjustments it’sa good cout by hand. In either ease,onee tioned. These blocks help keep idea to inspect your guide blocks inposition,they’relocked in place the blade from twisting as you for wear; see margin tip at left.) witha set serew or thumbscrew. makea cut. FRONT'TO BACK. For the guide blocks to do their job, they need 4 Trmuer FIRST: Loosen 7] tosupport asmueh ofthe blade as BEARING iawescew (A possible. The idea is to move Tosmooth a { I< || them onward so the front edge of ‘metal guide block, Nat aousr 5 IT] the block is about ¥49" behind the just nub ton a Hiss SEARING kK] guilets of the teeth, see Fig. 5a. piece af siicon-car- I fl TODLADE ‘Onmost saws, this can be done by ide sarapaper, |ramuer§ | Mt in ee P22) turing ano a the rear ofthe eens a 2 guide assombly. ete reuse ye fi SIDE TO SIDE. The next step is TURN ADJUSTMENT KNOB ee 1 to bring each guide block in close TOBMER SERINE . to, butt not touching the blade. To do this, I use a piece of notebook j : per as a spacer and adjust the 5 SON (a, | Hinde esha ta pais eee 6. e } One way to do this would be to oer insert paper spacers on each side Ce i ofthe blade. Then pinch the guide oP blceks up against them, But this 2 3 5 When you pinch the guide blocks tozether, it’s easy to aeci- dentally shift the bladeslightly to L——) hele orright. And evena small } UK FIRST: .903eN curDe ASBEMBCY THUMBOCREW SS ir can cause a problem. f B ShopNotes No. 13 ere riot: tek BEY REN SPACER THIRD: LKGAINST PAPER AND amount of offset ean cause the blade to bind, overheat, and break prematurely. ADJUST SIDES. So instead of adjusting the upper or lower guide blocks as a par, Tadjust the guide ideofthe blade, then theother, see Fig. 6a This way the blade doesn't get pinched and can't shift out of alignment, To do this, loosen the set serews that hold the guide blocks on one side of the blade. Then insert « piece of paper between each block and the blade, see Fig. 6. Now slide the guide blocks over until they just touch the paper. (Make sure you don’t move the blade as you do this.) ‘Then tighton the set serews. After you've aljusted one side, move to the other side. When you've adjusted all four guide blocks, give the wheels a couple of turns to make sure the blade doesn't bind, DYNAMIC TEST At this point the saw is almost ready (o test under power. But first you'll need to re-install all the safety deviees. Take a mo- ment to attach the blade guard, cover, throat plate, and table alignment pin, see Fig. 7. ‘Now you can plug in the saw and cheek io make sure the blade ‘racks correetiy. To da this, T start by turning the saw on for just a secand, If everything looks good, turn the power on and watch the blade far a couple of minutes. If the blade doesn’t wander, turn off the saw and adjust the upper blade guide assembly for a test cut, see Fig. & ‘To do this, lower it as elose to the workpiece as possible, but still allow enough ID SAW SET-UP STP AIST 1 Bena e throat plat, the blade guard, and the table align- ‘ment pin (or fence). 2, Ratease the tension on the blade bby loosening the tension knob. Then remove the covers of the saw. 3; Beck of the thrust bearing and guide blocks on both the upper and lower guide assembles. Remove the old blade. Then clean the rubber tires on the wheels and clean the new blade. 5 nstalianew blade sos roughly Centered on the ties. Then ap- iy tonsion to keep it in piace. 6 Aces, tasting £0 Keo the blade from shiftngto the iront or back of the wheels, Increase the tension slowly until the blade produces a crisp, lear ione when “plucked.” 8 Lesion she trust bearings jst sighiyy way ffom the back of the blade ard lock them i place. Aju the gulde blocks © sup. pot the blade from side to side &nd keep it rom wandering. (9 stat ne satery devices you removed in Step 1 and then mekea test cut on a scrap of wood. clearance so that you ean see the cat line, Then take a cut and check that the blade just barely touches the thrust bearings as you make the eut. ne REPLACE "AND CAUSES I'TOSPIN (ORFENCE) PoSmON UPPER GUIDE CaN OEE CUT UNE Ruse AGAINST BEARING] WORKPIECE, BUT ALLOW 4 (0 IL wore * => TABLE No. 13 ‘ShopNotes 1B Tue Dust Collection System Spend more time making sawdust and less time cleaning it up with this shop- built dust collection system. VACUUM, INCOMING AR his AND FILTER BOX Pansies THAT Get sub FROM CLONE cycioNe Seana ‘DUST DRAWER cui BIN SHATSETRE OTE BOTTOM ieee Fiter Box: Cotton fabric stretched around a wood frame filters fine lust particles out of the air. Cyclone: The whiring motion set upbythecyclone separates large chips out of the incoming air. Chip Bin: As those chips funnel down, they drop into a bin thet rolls out ior easy empiying. Dust Drawer: Fine dust partiolos sate out of the air into a drawer at the bottom ofthe fier box. 4 ShopNotes sweeping it up at the end of he dag, Bo eeeatiy | the baek burner for some time now —a shop-built dust collection system. What I had in mind was a scaled-down version of a large commercial system. One that: would sit off to one side ofthe shop anduse a vacuum unit anda system of pipes to pick up chips and dust at indiv ual tools. Like commercial dust collectors, this sys- tem has two stages. CYCLONE. The first stage is a metal separstorthat removes large chips from the air by setting up a whirling motion like a cyclone, see Drawing at left. Because the eyelone removes the chips before they pass through the vaewum, you don't get big chunks of material hitting the fan blades inside the vacuum. As axesult the vacuum runs quiet and the {an isntt as likely to get damaged. FILTER BOX. The second stage of this system isa filter box that sereens out the fine dust particles. Sinee only fine dust gets blown into the box, it docen’t fill up very quickly. So thero's more filtor area to do what it’s intended to do — clean the air before it recireulates in the shop. (For more on building the filter box, see page 22.) EASY TO EMPTY. The design of this system also rakes it easy to empty the chips and dast, A roll aroand bin eollects chips under the eyclone. And there’sa dustdrawer tocatch the fine dust particles that settle to the bottom of the filter box. HOOK-UPS But 1o dust collector is complete without & way to connect individual tools into the system. To control the flow of air at each tool and direct chips into the system, we've added several shop-made hook-ups, referto the article on page 24. No. 13 e Cyclone The heart of the dust collection systemis a eyelone that separates the large chips out of the incom- ing air. The eyelone is designed to work together with a vacuum that draws air into the system. VACUUM. There are a couple of options for the vacuum. You ean hook an existing portable dust collector up to the cyclone, refer to photo on page 21. Or you can ‘aya vaeoam. (Toughta vacuam that draws 500 cubie feet of air per minute, see page 31 for sources.) CYCLONE, Regardless of the vacuum, what causes the chips to settle out is the shape of the ey- clone. Thiseydlone is buit up from two shapes — a eylinder and a cone, Bothshapesare formed from sheet metal. I used 20°-wide gal- ‘yanized stee! flashing. (For a com: plete hardware kit, see page 31.) ‘The eylinder and cone are held in place by two plywood frames that are stacked on top of each other like building blocks. The bottom frame houses the cane and a bin for the chips; the top ree es vAcuuM CYLINDER Tor —® TOP CONE ‘SUPPORT STRETCHER © Hardware | © (16) #8x94" Fh Screws © (6) #8 x14" Fh Screws # (68) #8x2"Fh Screw © (30) #8x 1" Rh Screws © fb a" Ring Shank Nails © (15) Fop Rivets © 20"-Wide Gahanized | Sheet Metal 10 Ft, | # Seta tia" Fate Weatherstripping - 7 Fe © (1) 4°x24" Metal Fipe © (1) 6x24" Metal Pipe © (2) 2" Owivel Casters * (2) 2" Fiued Castero © (2) G2" Drawer Palla © (4) S/2"« 1M" Draw Catches * Silicone Caulk Metal Foil Tape frame supports the cylinder and QyERALL DIMENSIONS: the vacuum, 21° Wx 20" D x68" H Materials Cone | 4 Lower Sideo (2) 2044-94 Ply ‘ ae ee B Top Cone Support (1) 20x 20-54 Ply et C Bottom Cone Sppt. (1) 20x20-% Ply -—— | D Stretchers (2) 6x 19/2-%4 Ply ° me /, | Cylinder | Lt 2 | E Bottom Cyl. Spt. (1) 20x20-%% Ply Ly F Cylinder Top (1) 16"-Dia. Disk -/4 Fly Saat hah LLL © Upper Sides (2) 20x24- 54 rly | . i Wi Yeeam Mavorn (9. 20020-9675 Y yy, Sas VALLES Chip Bin iF /Mso READIED: 1 Front/Back Piacoo (2) Wax 22%0-% Ply " 7a ies J. Bin Bottom (1) 112 x 18V2-a Py | a 4 | @ k Sae8 (2) 20 x22% - Ya Masonite L Side Rails (2) S4x2-20 KLLLLLLLA M Stop (1) 6x21-%4 Py 4Bx96-4-THCK PLAWOOD No.13 ShopNotes rf) TET The Cone = = accopt two plywood support To lay out exch piece, you can | pieces, see Fig. 1a make a pattern like the one eee SUPPORTS. The supports are shownatleft. Orthere’safull-size just square pieces of plywood pattern available, see page 81. sore ‘with holes eut in the center to. After cutting’ out the cone ao] \PARUE | cone neces woe serve ae a form for the cone. Be- pieces with a pair of tin snips, FROW UGHT-GAIGE cease the coneis larger at the top they're fastened together along than the bottom, the holes are ore edge. To hold these pieces Afferent sizes, together, I used pop riveis that 1 ‘There's a 16-diameter hole in picked up at the local hardvare the top cone support (B), and a store. (Formore onusing pop #iv- 6'4? diameter hole in the battom ets, s20 the box on page IT) ae cone support (C),see Fig. Be- DRILL HOLES, With the rivets \ [Tze canse the walls ofthe cone taper, in hand, the next step is to dri \ holes with a snbre sew tilted to the pieces out flat 6 there's 1" \ 15%, see Fig. 22. overlap down the center scam, ¥ ASSEMBIX. After sutting the sce Fig 9a, The only problem is, holes, thenextstepistosssemble Keeping the pieces from moving Wistartedwork by makinga ply- the frame. Thisisjustamatzerof while yoa drill the hols. ‘wood frame for the ower half of gluing and serewing the top and ‘Tosolve this T aligned the top thowydonesopsanton To provite betta eoue suppartsto oxides, and bottom. edlges wo: they're room for the chip bin, the lower refer to Fig, 1 ah, aod temporarily taped the sides (A) of this frame are 44” CONE. With the frame assem- seam together, see Fig, 3, Then Tong (tll), see Fig. 1. After eut- bled, work canbegin on theeone. its just a matter of driling a ting the sides to length, Icut a Is ‘made from. two wedge: series of holes and installing the 2 the edges oftheseholes are cutat holes that mateh the diameter of ie an angle. ‘To do this, I cut both the rivets. I foundit easiest to lay @® TO? CONE SUPPORT ® TOP CONE surrorT (a. Stee votes sorrom Excone sbrroRro cone suPpoRT NOTE: 3 onus NOs ror reeves CERF wos ‘a. Roxioneswe wrest cour os 16 ShopNotes No. 18 ENT rivets. Note: I used a scrap 2x4 FIRST: @ a sbectingboard wien driting nemeewerno tthe holes. FORM CONE. Naw you're ready to put the cone in place. At this point, its no big deal if it’s not a eanicheroataas perfect cone. Just as long as it's Sorront or cone rolled up tight enough to tip the \ usH wm ‘metal down through the top ard Dottom cone supports. \ {SECOND The thing to keep in mind here \c sora is where the seam that’s not riv- ected together is located. To en- sure that it faces an open end of the frame (instead of the side), 1 [5 centered the riveted seam on an open end of the cone supports, see Fig. 4. Although this roughly posi- tionsthe metal, you'llstill need to slide it up or downa bit to get the top and bottom edges flush with the cone supports, The trick is to keep both edges aligned while you attach the metal to the supports. [ATTACH METAL. What worked best for me is to tackle a small seam can be riveted. To prevent tape.) Then apply a thin bead of section at atime. So I started at the metal from crampling when silicone eaulk where the metal the riveted seam and worked drilling the holes for these rivets, cone meets the plywood supports, both ways, nailing the top and Tclamped aboard over the inside see Fig. 6. bottom edges in place, see Fig. of the seam, sce Fig. 5. STRETCHERS. Finally, to keep 4a, Note: Iused hardened ring- SEAT.SEAMS. All that’s needed the frame from racking, | added shank nails to punch through tocomplete the cone is toseal the _ two stretehers (D). These are just the metal. seams. To do this, I covered each pieces of plywood that are cut to RIVET SEAM. After nailing the seam with a strip of metal foil fitbetween thesides and serewed cone all the way around, the last tape. (You could also use duct in place, see Fig. 6, — gxnemer || Pop Rivets ) Pop rivets provide a quiek and of the gun, the pin pulls baek and easy way to secarely fasten two draws the ball against the rivet. aie pieces of metal together. After This flares the end of the rivet. ‘Toor woes SECOND: REMOVE BOARD eilucone,.| | drilling a hole to fit the rivet, a Once the rivet is permanently Cove meets | | rivet tool or “gun”is used to com- set, the pin breaks off or “pops.” SurrORtE pressthe rivet, sve photoatright. What makes this work is a pin that passes through a hole in the rivet, see photo above. The long end of this pin is gripped tightly in the gun. The opposite end has a mushroom-shaped “ball” that’s larger than the hole in the rivet. ‘When you squeeze the handles 1 Ly No. 13 ShopNotes Ww FEATURE PROJECT The Cylinder CYLINDER. Now work can he- fn ssinon the eylinder, Basically, it's just a rectangular piece of sheet (CYLINDER PATTERN metal. The only unusual thing isa Spi) teardrop-shaped opening near the top see pattern at lft. (Fora 1ot| fullsize pattern, see page 31.) NOTE: crenoe ‘The reason for this opening is Mabe ton, simple. Once the metal is formed oe into a cylinder, it allows an inlet Hy pipe tofit tightly inside, The thing to be aware of is the tip of the opening is located on a line that's centered on thelength ofthe met al. Later; this provides a refer After completing the cone, the has a 16-diameter hole eat init, ence for pastioning the eylinder. ext step is to add the cylinder see Figs. 7 and 8, And the round FORM CYLINDER. After cutting aboveit, Hereagzin, thecylnder disk that removed is the perfect the metal to shape, youcan form is made from a piece of light- size forthe eylinder top (F). the eylinder: Start by wrapping gauge sheet motal thet's sup- To cut out the top, I drilled © themetal aroundthetop (F), nail ported by a plywood frame. series ofsmallholes alengthecir- ing it in place as you work your FORMS. As with the cone, I cleasanentry point forthessbre way around, sce Fig. 9 used two plywood piewes as a saw blade, see Fig. 8a, While I Now the metal ean be itn the “form” for the cylinder, To match was atit, [also cuta 6'diameter opening in the bottom support theopeninginthetop ofthecone, opening foranoxtlet pipe intothe (B), Ths is just a matter of the bottom cylinder support (E) vacuum, sce Fig. 8 matching the’ centerline drawn 7 rh, Fomomerrre | |S z oe core kx ee Acuae ore mus sens PLATFORM fo notes eae” wien | OQ woobcxtw CYLINDER (oor 20" CYLINDER 4-DIA iere we BOTTOM rd CYLINDER SUFFORT 0 > UPPER SIDE —__ NOTE: cur ye-veer Rapeer ro Pit Sie PLYWOOD NOTE: ser saoxe SUPPORT (ere DFA) Sh siAbe ro a0" FIRST: wan wera D | Aebono'WiiNbe tor SoToreborisFLusH ‘AND Nall CYUNDES 18 ‘ShopNotes No. 13 RTT earlier witha line centered on the Support, then nailing the metal in place, seo Fig. 9. RIVET SEAM. The next stepis to rivet the seam. As with the cone, Tused a backing board to support ‘the metal when drilling the holes. ‘Then, after installing the rivets, seal the seam with a strip of metal fol tape, see Fig. 9a, ‘TOP FRAME. At this point, the ‘top frame can be builtaround the cylinder. This frame consists of two uppor sides (G) and a vac nm platfora (A), refer to Fig. 7.Each sideisrabbeted atthe top and bottom ends to accept the ‘vacuum platform and the bottom cylinder support. ‘To allow the inlet pipe to pass through theframe,there'’sa4-

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