Secret Mens Business Pt 2 - Dust Extraction and Compressors

So the dust extraction sytem is built entirely from 100mm and 40mm PVC tube, with 50mm ag-line to the individual suction points.

Bits:

The state of play as at Thursday night;


More bits! Friday night: Still More Bits!!!! Saturday afternoon:
Bits cut free from the old pipe they were glued to;

Martin burning the poo out of the fittings. We learned a lesson here, stay away from yellow fittings, the glue in them has a higher melting point, and it's much harder to reclaim them whole and un-melted.

The suction line from the router table (the grey hose going up), connection to the main workshop space riser, curving around to the very heavy particle drop out point. The theory here is that any particle too heavy to make it to the cyclone, will drop into a bin here and not cause a blockage in the line. It seems to work too.
The connections to and from the fan. Made with gaffer tape as they are completely temporary. The fan still needs to be bolted down, and a sound proof box made up for it to save my (and the neighbors) ears. The fan will be bolted down through high density engine mounts.
Me testing the suction line on the floor. God what a noise! When we fired up the fan, the ag-line lengths set up an unbelievably loud tone, at their resonant frequency. They absolutely screamed! Ear plugs all round.
This is so cool!! It works perfectly!!
The return outside the shed, where the cyclone will go, and then heading into the fan at the bottom.
The vent line from the fan, note the white soap stone dust that has shot out of the fan, and has covered the plants in the bottom of the pic.
While Martin made the holes for the return line and vent line, Andrew and Noel set to work assembling the new compressor. Again, this seems to work (two plans in one weekend!!!), but it needs a more appropriate belt. Andrew (expert in all things hydraulic, pneumatic and power transmission) sized and specced this. I will pick on up in the next few weeks. This will be going outside in a weather proof and sound proof boxed and will be plumber back into the shed. This will be the long running compressor, with a higher start and stop pressure, than the secondary direct drive unit.
The dust extraction project has so far cost me about $400, this will increase a little when I buy the perspex to make the cyclone, but it really is a several thousand dollar result for a stupidly low cost.

The compressor so far weighs in at about $60, but only because I managed to foreigner in the base for it.