Thread: Cyclone - deciding whether to buy from interstate or build in Adelaide

What size rolls would you be looking for Neil?
Kryn

Neil, you could buy the three phase motor locally, just make sure it is dual voltage 240/415 unless you have three phase to plug into. The VFD can be added from whatever source you want. The only decision then is the impeller size if buying from CV.

Originally Posted by KBs PensNmore

What size rolls would you be looking for Neil?
Kryn

Kryn, the widest roll is 1550 mm with the 3:1 ratio cone. The shorter 1.64:1 cone only needs to roll 877 mm wide.

Originally Posted by Chris Parks

Neil, you could buy the three phase motor locally, just make sure it is dual voltage 240/415 unless you have three phase to plug into. The VFD can be added from whatever source you want. The only decision then is the impeller size if buying from CV.

Chris - I have taken careful note of your comment.

I acknowledge your expertise in this matter and may need to consult with you further.

Email your sketch / drawing for a quote to as many sheet metal places that you can find, it won't cost you anything apart from a bit of time.
I'm sure there will be quite a range of prices for what would be a simple job for a sheet metal company. They would be doing this type of fabrication on a regular basis for the air conditioning and restaurant exhaust industries.
Have a chat with a local air conditioning installer to find out who they use for their fabrications.
Sounds like an interesting project, I will follow with interest.

Alan...

Originally Posted by Uncle Al

Email your sketch / drawing for a quote to as many sheet metal places that you can find, it won't cost you anything apart from a bit of time.

....

Alan...

Good suggestions, thanks, Alan.

Thanks....will be keeping an eye on this

interested but dont let the wife know

Please keep us updated. In the past I toyed with the idea of a cyclone but shed time has been limited of late so it’s not a high priority. Keen to hear how it progresses and depending what comes out of the wash I will see if I can participate.

Cheers

Stinky

Curious, what did you end up doing with this project?

Originally Posted by johnredl

Curious, what did you end up doing with this project?

Hi John

as I said back when I started this post...

You would think that I would have learnt by now not to launch myself into such projects!

It's a long story, but only a bit shorter in the re-telling here (apologies - just jump to the last paragraph for the very short answer), the sheet metal shop where I took my plans were too busy at the time to give me a quote. Their main business is constructing flue ducting for wood heaters and it was high season for them being mid-winter. So, I decided to not go shopping around and wait until spring to give it another go.

But, then my better half ended up in hospital and was very unwell for a time. But, thankfully now recovered, however, as many of you will know, the bounce back takes a bit longer when you are north of 70.

This event then caused me to re-evaluate whether I have enough turning years left in me to get full value from setting up another fully equipped turning workshop.

I already have a fully setup workshop that I expect will be available for at least another ten years (at my old home, but now owned by my sister-in-law) that might see me out, but it is a seven minute drive away (15 mins round rip). Too far to nip around too many times to do something for just 5 mins and also getting a bit crowded with hundreds of blanks and even more rough turned pieces waiting to be reworked. The plan was to make the old workshop a dedicated green turning shop and the new one at my current home would be my finishing workshop, which I could readily duck in and out of to take a cup of tea break or go do a 5 min follow up job.

I've also been talking to my gallery owner where I sell most of my work to get a feel for how the market for the type of work I make is going. It's tight at the moment. People are keeping their plastic cards in their wallets. And, there is no guarantee that will improve significantly in the medium future. A number of galleries have recently closed down indicating how tight things are.

Mine is a paying hobby; ie, it pays for itself. At the current rate it would take me 8-10 years of surplus income to fully setup the second workshop to the level I require (electrical wiring upgrade, full cyclone DE, ducting, +ive pressure breathing air supply, high end lathe, full set of turning tools, multiple chucks and drives, tool rests, CBN grinders and jigs, big bandsaw, duplicate set of hand tools, etc). It might be cheaper for me to just buy a gyrocopter to get to and from my old workshop a bit quicker... : ~}

I know, it's a nice dilemma to have.

Anyway, at this stage I haven't quite decided whether I will go ahead with the second workshop or not. So, I haven't got back to chasing up the sheet metal shop for a quote.

I'll post here if and when I get a quote.

Originally Posted by NeilS

I already have a fully setup workshop that I expect will be available for at least another ten years (at my old home, but now owned by my sister-in-law) that might see me out, but it is a seven minute drive away (15 mins round rip). Too far to nip around too many times to do something for just 5 mins (SNIP. . . . ) and the new one at my current home would be my finishing workshop, which I could readily duck in and out of to take a cup of tea break or go do a 5 min follow up job.

The ability to duck into my shed for 5 minutes is a key requirement for me especially when I was employed full time. I thought that would not be so critical when I retired but it did not take long for me to realize I still liked this aspect so much I did not want to lose it and is the main reason I never made anything for myself at the mens shed which was about the same distance away as your other shed.

My question is, if the new workshop is only a finishing shop then do you really need a cyclone? I'm not sure how big your second shed is but a 3HP DC (maybe with a couple of PFs) and 6" ducting might be good enough? That's all I had for a while and my particle detectors told me I was always breathing air of the same dust levels as background.

A couple of years ago i tried contacting a sheet metal fabricator to get a quote for a cyclone. My only advice is find one that has made one before and knows what you're trying to achieve.

Long story short my experience resulted in loads of frustration and me demanding my money back which thankfully i did get it back and ended up buying a 3hp DC which other than the occasional empty and clean has been worth every penny.

Originally Posted by BobL

My question is, if the new workshop is only a finishing shop then do you really need a cyclone? I'm not sure how big your second shed is but a 3HP DC (maybe with a couple of PFs) and 6" ducting might be good enough? That's all I had for a while and my particle detectors told me I was always breathing air of the same dust levels as background.

Bob, I probably should have described the two possible workshops better than I did. If I go ahead with the idea, my original workshop would be better called the 'wet turning' workshop and the new one at home as the 'dry turning' workshop.

My experience has been that wet (green) turning creates very little airborne fine dust if you clean up the floor before the shavings dry out and don't pulverize them by tramping through the shavings once they are dry. In contrast, it is the dry turning that creates the most harmful small particle airborne wood dust, particularly from sanding.

A high percentage of my output is pre-turned green, dried slowly and returned later when dry.

So, it would be the 'dry turning' workshop where I need the best DC I can achieve. I have been very pleased with the performance of the Pentz cyclone system in my current 'old' workshop and that is the level of performance I would need in a new 'dry turning' workshop. Unfortunately my current Pentz cyclone system was custom built to fit into the 'old' workshop and wouldn't readily transfer to the new workshop, besides having to convert it to run on single phase.

Your suggested 3HP DC (without cyclone) would probably do the job in a dedicated 'wet turning' workshop, but I think I'm saddled with what I have there now. A 3HP DC with double PF, but no cyclone, may also do an adequate job in a 'dry turning' workshop, but being an asthmatic I aim to achieve the cleanest air I can. As my lungs deteriorate with age this will become even more important for me.

I think I have reported previously that I get much cleaner air readings inside my workshop with the Pentz cyclone (3:1 cone ratio) running than the background particulate readings outside the workshop, even after a long session of power sanding bowls on the lathe (one of the most dust producing things you can do in woodworking).

I might have to move into the workshop the next time there is a bushfire near us in the Adelaide Hills...