J. Phil Thien's Projects

Quote from: backsaw13 on January 08, 2009, 07:16:10 AM
I will grab some pictures of the progress tonight.

As promissed:






This last picture shows that the can gets propped up to meet the lid which will be attached to the dc inlet. The can will drop down to be emptied. I am still thinking of an easy way to raise and lower the can. Also, the cross member on the legs of the DC may need to be removed, as it is difficult to maneuver the can in and out of place.

I still need to create the baffle. I will mount a couple support brackets along the flush portion of the baffle to attach to the side of the can. I will also add a vertical support that will extend from the baffle to the bottom of the can.

I am having problems posting ... it seems that my picture is too big.  Phil, Maybe I could send my pictures to you and you could post them.

Here is my progress.  I used the A/C duct that I mentioned earlier.  I cut the trash can with my Dremel.  I used tin snips to cut the duct so that I could bend it and shape it to the trash can.  I used a hammer to bend the duct to the shape of the circumference of the trash can.  I used door/window sealing strips to get a good seal between the trash can and the duct and used rivets to attach the duct.  I used washers with the rivets -- on both sides -- to get extra surface area on the attachment.  I was very suprised at how strong and rigid the connection is. 

I have two steps remaining:
1.  Attach new dowels to the baffle -- the current ones are too thin to give good support strength, and the new ones have to be adjusted in length for the depth of the inlet.
2.  I have to get and install a 5 inch A/C pipe into the top of the baffle. 

I should be able to do both of those things this weekend, so I hope to be sucking sawdust by EOD tomorrow!

Ray

Quote from: rsquest on January 10, 2009, 01:26:42 PM
I should be able to do both of those things this weekend, so I hope to be sucking sawdust by EOD tomorrow!

Ray

Yep, I'll resize and post the pictures for ya.

I've already seen pics at sawmillcreek.  It really looks outstanding.

If you transition to rectangular before the entrance it will make the hole a LOT easier to cut with a good fit.
   ...lew...( use to do a little HVAC work ) :-)

Another senior moment.
Okay, I'll say it, I don't quite understand what you mean.
Can you explain it a little better, because
I'll be attempting the same thing as soon as I can purchase the parts.

Thanks,
Deb

Deb,

I am not sure what you don't understand, and if you are saying that to me or someone else. 

The part that I don't think you understand is the rectangular piece.  When Phil gets the pictures up for me, it will probably be more evident, but I will try to explain.

I used a floor duct ... the kind that is a tube at one end, takes a 90 degree turn and is a rectangle at the other  The long axis of the rectangle is the same as the long axis of the cylinder.  I used the rectangle end to attach to the trash can. 

I will wait for the pictures and for your response to see if you still have questions.

Ray

Quote from: Lew Hartswick on January 11, 2009, 09:35:19 AM
If you transition to rectangular before the entrance it will make the hole a LOT easier to cut with a good fit.
   ...lew...( use to do a little HVAC work ) :-)

I didn't quite understand what Lew meant by the above.

Yeah, I guess I don't understand either.  ... the piece I installed did transition to rectangular before the entrance. 

I am currently building a baffle top for my trash can, and the pictures might clarify the idea of converting from a round duct to a rectangular one for entry into the cyclone chamber. The one thing that I did wrong was assuming that I would have the same cross sectional area in the rectangular end as on the round end. I had forgotten that although the perimeter is the same, the area is not. The result was going from a 6" round (28 sq. in.) to a 7" x 2.5" rectangle (17.5 sq. in.). Since I will be reducing the 6" duct to a 4" one to connect to my existing system, I decided to proceed. If I later decide to go to a 6" duct system, I will have to increase the size of my rectangular end.

To accomplish the transition, I decided to make one dimension 7" and cut some pieces of MDF to 7" x 10", and stuffed them into one end of the 6" duct and gently hammered the square corners in. I screwed through the duct to the boards with short sheet metal screws to hold them in place, and sealed the holes later. After getting two 7" wide boards in, and fastening them to opposite sides of the duct, and beginning to hammer out the corners, I forced in some smaller pieces of MDF so I had 3 widths in the hole. (I could have used a single  7" wide piece here). Then, with only a little ways to go, I hammered in wooden (or plastic) shim stock to force the duct out to the final width, and finished hammering the square corners. The it was time to remove the screws and force the MDF forms out of the hole.

To determine the size and placement of the opening in the round chamber, I just sort of eyeballed where I wanted the duct to go, drew some lines, and cut out an opening, leaving tabs for fastening, using a dremel cutoff wheel (actually several, as the wear down quickly, and shatter easily if they get caught in the kerf :-[.

I attached the duct with pop rivets, and sealed the joints with silicone. I taped over the screw holes with 3M metal tape (perhaps find it at auto supplies that cater to body shops?).

Here are some pictures that I hope will clarify things. Sorry I did not document the forming process.

RBOETTCHER,

I like what you have done so far. Looks great.
More pics as you get farther along....

Quote from: rsquest on January 12, 2009, 09:34:35 AM
Yeah, I guess I don't understand either.  ... the piece I installed did transition to rectangular before the entrance. 

That is one way to do the transition. Just what I meant. You just said it was 6" round duct before.
The other way would be a round to square "adaptor" in the piping just as it comes to the can.
   ...lew...