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Thread: Dust Collection Installation Tools

  1. #1

    Dust Collection Installation Tools

    I received most of the duct work for my dust collection system this friday so this weekend is being spent doing the install. I was going to install it using sheet metal screws but I thought I would give pop rivets a try; boy am I glad I did. Anyhow, the photo shows some of the tools I'm using for working with the ductwork. In the upper left hand corner (red handle) is a crimper for making the serated ends like you see on the left side of the wye, very handy for making small extension pieces. In the upper right corner is a rivet gun, I like this thing, slip the nose over the shaft of the rivet, pull trigger, and bam! rivet is popped ! Vastly supperior to using a hand riveter. In the lower right is an air drill, I got this as part of a set (I'm trying out air tools in the shop to see if I like them). It is a bit smaller than a cordless and can get into some tighter places. The last tool is a sheet metal shear, this particular one is an inline version ($25 on sale at HF). This is much handier at cutting metal than a jig saw and leaves a nice flat edge (no curling). I'm becoming a fan of air tools, the riveter and metal shears have really saved a lot of time in preparing and attaching ductwork.
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  2. #2
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    Cool! There have been times that I really wished I had a rivet gun. What does one like that run? Can it pull stainless rivets?
    Please help support the Creek.


    "It's paradoxical that the idea of living a long life appeals to everyone, but the idea of getting old doesn't appeal to anyone."
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  3. #3
    Bruce, that Air Riveter is from Harbor Freight, it's normal price is $52 (on sale $34). It can work with 3/16'', 5/32'', 1/8'', and 3/32''. It says it can pull steel rivets up to 3/16". The very similar Jet model pulls 2000lbs, is that enough for stainless?

  4. #4
    Steven

    You'll like air tools in the shop. Nearly all of my powered tools for assembly are air tools (mostly picked up on e-bay for very little). They are lighter and less cumbersome than electric.

    Regards

    Ian

  5. #5
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    Looking good Dave.
    I fought getting a metal crimping tool for a long time. That handy little bugger has got more use in the past year with the house makeover. Air drills remind me of the dentist , don't know if I'll ever get use to them.

    Why did you choose metal over PVC?
    Oh Steven!!! Able and willing shop aid, extra set of hands, drools only on command. Be glad to help out. Content with standing in the corner and not touching anything.
    Last edited by Tyler Howell; 05-16-2004 at 10:16 AM.
    TJH
    Live Like You Mean It.



    http://www.northhouse.org/

  6. #6
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    Quote Originally Posted by Tyler Howell
    Why did you choose metal over PVC?
    When you get to larger Oneida systems, the inlets are 7" in the case of the 2hp Commercial cyclone and 8" with the 3hp. Metal can accomodate that.

    Steve, that's a pretty neat idea to use the air tools for this job. Make sure you get mastic on those wyes, however, as the spot welds will leak a lot, especially with the air flow your system will be generating. Same goes for the adjustable elbows. Foil tape on the "straight" joints between sections will seal them up nicely although if you are using spiral, mastic works good.

    'Can't wait to see some "installation" pictures!
    --

    The most expensive tool is the one you buy "cheaply" and often...

  7. #7
    Quote Originally Posted by Jim Becker
    ...Make sure you get mastic on those wyes, however, as the spot welds will leak a lot, especially with the air flow your system will be generating. Same goes for the adjustable elbows. Foil tape on the "straight" joints between sections will seal them up nicely although if you are using spiral, mastic works good.
    I'm not planning on this to be a permanent installation so I'm using Silicon calk for sealing. I create subassemblies, rivet them, calk all seems and then install. After a couple of subassemblies are installed, I go back and calk them. Once I get everything installed I plan on taking off the air filter (to keep it from getting colored) and then smoke test each of the connections.

  8. #8
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    Don't forget a little dab of caulk on the pop rivets! <G>
    --

    The most expensive tool is the one you buy "cheaply" and often...

  9. #9
    Quote Originally Posted by Tyler Howell
    Why did you choose metal over PVC?
    There are a couple of reasons why I chose metal over PVC

    • Variety of pipe sizes - metal has more.
    • Availability of appropriately sized fittings (1.5 R or larger elboes, etc).
    • Eventhough this is a hobby, I try to follow code and commercial practice when practical. The use nonconductive ducts (i.e. PVC) is not permitted by the National Fire Protection Association for conveying wood waste.
    • The availability of good engineering data for the various system components. There is a plethora of information on metal dust collection components. It's fairly easy to figure out what the SP drag of each run is likely to be based on the fittings used. This data does not exist, as far as I can tell, for PVC fittings. If you want to use PVC fittings what do you use to figure total system performance or the drag associated with a particular run? If you have the right equipment you can measure the performance but very few of us are likely to do this, so how do you determine if your system is designed correctly or is collecting as efficiently as it could? Metal ductwork is a known commodity and there is a wealth of industry experience designing with it and using it for the conveyance of waste wood (dust, chips), all the information on PVC is antidotal at best and I'm not convinced that it's as good as or better than using metal.
    • Although I agree that static discharge associated with the use of PVC doesn't represent an explosion hazzard in a small shop setting, I dislike getting shocked by a DC system. I have tried methods of disapating the static charge (i.e. grounded wire wrapped on the outside) and although it works somewhat, it doesn't work for me all the time. The use of metal pipe total avoids this.
    • PVC pipes attract dust and that fine layer of dust is a secondary explosion/fire hazzard. If you search a bit on line you'll eventually find a couple of sites that talk about this. It's been awhile since I looked this stuff up so I don't have the links handy. Basically having a layer of dust on your pipes or light fixtures represents a fire hazzard - clean often !
    • Cost. There are many parts shared between a PVC based system and one based on metal pipe; blast gates, flex hose, hose clamps, etc. The main difference is in the cost of pipe and fittings. Through judicious design you can reduce the number of fittings required in the system. This brings the cost differential between PVC and Metal down. What should the cost of a dust collection system be? 1%, 5%, 10%, 20%, 50% of your total machine cost? In my case I figured that %20 of my total machine cost (those that make dust) would be a decent budget number. The 2HP Oneida commercial collector and the duct work will run about %15 of my total machine cost.


    In the end, the cost of going with a properly designed metal pipe based system in my shop, wasn't so high as to make PVC attractive - so I chose metal.

  10. #10
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    Thanks,

    Live and learn,

    TJH
    TJH
    Live Like You Mean It.



    http://www.northhouse.org/

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