kimnach.org

clearvue cyclone installation, august 2006

I'm in the process of mounting my Clearvue cyclone and have a few observations for those considering buying one. (Yes, I do recommend it highly, but there is always a "but"....)

1) As you know, you do have to buy a number of items in order to install the "basic" cyclone. these are the things needed for the cyclone-proper, not the duct work. you will have to buy a trash can (chip bin), caulk, some lumber/plywood to mount the unit, weather-stripping to seal the joints, a switch (I opted for an elk-9100 x-10 compatible switch), and FILTERS. granted, with clearvue you do get six 6" blast gates which you wouldn't with a grizzly, Oneida, or other system. it is still substantially cheaper than others' 5hp cyclones. it only requires our time and patience--but we're woodworkers so we have those in abundance. And we all know about these "buts" from the Clearview website. I'm just reiterating. Reminding. Stressing. Emphasizing....

2) The mdf motor mount should be reinforced with a 2x4 in the front and the back. In the evening I installed the motor on the mounting plate and installed the cyclone. The following evening I found, much to my dismay, that the mdf had sagged roughly 1/4" in the center. So I reinforced the front and back with a 2x4. Speaking of the motor mount: either my threaded rods were too short (unlikely) or the rubber hoses/bushings were cut too long. I had to cut these down to 1/2" to get the first nut started--let alone have room for a locking-nut.

3) Seams and taper: getting the flex hose onto the cone's bottom proves to be a problem because it is still conical and (mine) has an open seam running upward of roughly 1". The unit should either ship with a cylindrical extension or you need to install one. This again is not a biggie, but a detail which Ed should address. Similarly at the inlet: there too is a seam of roughly 3/4" and it is a tapered inlet. This also is not a problem since you must slide the 6" ductwork into it. (Perhaps Ed did this one as a "relief" to allow the s&d/2729 pipe to fit?)

I am including a slideshow of my dust collection installation progress. a couple of points that some of you may catch in the slideshow:

Unfortunately, the under-slab duct is 4" pvc. I did this before I knew better and assumed that 4" ports on machines meant that 4" pipe is all that's required. My Grizzly "dust collector" and all of my tools had 4" ports. You should use 6" ducting, as recommended by Bill Pentz.
I'm all over the place and work on whatever I have time or desire to: a bit on the cyclone, a bit on fitting a port to the shaper, a bit on the overarm guard, etc. the pictures are more or less chronologically inserted, so it looks like a hodgepodge.
I did not take many pictures of the filter box construction, but it's a simple box with windows. The bottom, sides, and back are glued and screwed together; the top edges of the side and back have weather stripping and 1/4" threaded inserts; the top bolts onto this. Tightening the bolts compresses the weather stripping and the gaskets on the filters. (I used the 9E300BL from http://www.wynnenv.com/cartridge_filters.htm.) Once the top is bolted down, the filter-box inlet tube assembly is pushed up and clamped to the exhaust transition. (The inlet tube bottom is sealed; furthermore, the pvc inlet tube has 1/4" wide slits cut along its length and only facing away from the filter media to prevent direct hits of any large objects, which may pass. Very large objects will get trapped within the tube.) the filter-box front is then bolted onto the front, which also has weather-stripping and threaded inserts.
The overarm blade guard+dust collection system uses three telescoping segments of 6" s&d pvc pipe. My motivation is not safety, but cleanliness (blood may count, right). I've not used a blade guard/splitter in years because it has always proved to be a hindrance, and I always make sure to pay attention to what I am doing. To me the most dangerous tool is the radial arm saw: the blade moves toward the operator!