Shop Vac for the Mill

[Hopsteiner]

As anyone who has looked at any of the pictures of my shop, the clutter is unacceptable. I have a small space I work in with numerous projects in various stages of progress. Well, as anyone knows, organization saves time. One thing at a time, I looked at my small vac I use to clean my mill. Giving it some thought, I decided the best route would be to go vertical. Get it off the floor where its a trip hazard. As the project worked itself out in my head, different approaches to solving this problem appeared. I have a large laminated beam crossing the ceiling of my shop. I could mount the vac aerially from the beam. Another thing the apparatus needed. It had to rotate for better access to different parts of the shop. Here is my solution. The first photo is of the 10 inch lazy Susan mechanism. The other Is the mounting plate which will be lagged to the beam. The third is of my 220volt heater which I also plan on putting on a “lazy Susan mechanism. And the fourth is of the vac mounted. The plus is that all of this project is being built with ”clutter” laying around the shop.

 

[GailInNM]

Looks like a good solution to your floor space problem. As an addition to make it even more convenient to use I will suggest that you add a remote wireless on/off switch at the nozzle. I did this about 10 years ago and it really makes life easier. Here is a link to the thread I did on it.

https://www.homemodelenginemachinist.com/threads/remote-ac-switch-for-vacuum-cleaner.18862/
Since I did the thread I have changed the type of switch to one with a single button on the control. Push to turn ON and push again to turn OFF. Much easier to use than the multiple buttons shown where I had to look to find the right button. I have also added a remote switch to two other shop vacs in different locations. One small vac is on my laser cutter/engraver where I located the vac under it and just have the hose coming out to clean up slugs on the table from cutting holes. The other romes around the house for general cleaning.

GailInNM

 

[Hopsteiner]

Thank you very much, Gail. I’ve been debating on the on-off switch. Sounds like a solution. That’s what I like about this web site. The heater isn‘t a problem because I leave it in the on position and turn it on at the garage sub box.

 

[Hopsteiner]

Went to the web site you suggested, it’s a perfect solution. Much better then having the cord drape down with an in-line switch. Thanks.

 

[Courierdog]

I have a suggestion, as the SWARF coming off can be very hot, a metal wand feeding into a metal cyclone separator to keep physical separation between any metal SWARF and the Shop Vac components. I use a similar arrangement on my grinder, but my shop vac / Cyclone are on a separate wheeled dolly.
The high speed of the vortex created in the Cyclone ie Oneida’s Dust Deputy,
They make a metal version or you can create your own Cyclone to meet your requirements

 

[Hopsteiner]

Do you have picture of your set up?

 

[Courierdog]

No!
And currently the workshop is all torn down, due to a flood in the basement which included the workshop.
I used the oneida dust collector as the base unit. It works well but when there is hot SWARF involved it plays havoc with the plastic Hoses and the Plastic Cyclone. I suggest using older Vacuum Cleaner metal wands and attachments into a metal Cyclone. Any SWARF at this point will be sufficiently cooled to allow the use of plastic catch pans etc.

 

[Hopsteiner]

There is nothing worse then a flood in your basement. I have a driveway that slopes gently towards my garage shop. When the township repaved the street, they raised my approach. This helped but heavy rains still created a problem. I wound up buying 10-50 pound sand bags and laid them across the entrance to my garage. This has pretty much eliminated the problem. The optics are terrible. The actual solution would be a new driveway with a cut in gutter grate drain all the way across the entrance. Good luck with your clean up.

 

[Courierdog]

Well you are talking Ground Water. Ours was sewage. While the Engineering inspection of the house stated yes it had a back up valve.
No body had inspected it. It turned out it was installed backwards. So you can imagine what happened.

 

[Hopsteiner]

Sounds like some things needed to be disposed of rather then just cleaned. I certainly don’t envy that situation. Similar situation happened to my daughter, she wound up tossing a lot of things. Unfinished basement, no drywall.

 

[Courierdog]

Anything that could not be steam cleaned was trashed.
The entire basement was stripped down to the bare floor and bare walls and Disinfected 3 times Air dried for a week, then it was steam cleaned 4 times and air dried for another week. It had to be inspected by City, Provincial and insurance Safety officials. When they were all ready to sign off, I found mould, called the inspectors to inspect. They had to start all over again.
This time it passed.
Then the sewer people came sing-off on the Sewer Line.
OOPS! Not only did they find the defective (Wrong Way) installed back flow valve. They found undersized and incorrect fitting which all had to be replaced. This meant opening up a huge trench in the basement floor, to replace all incorrect and defective components. An inspection by the City to certify the installation as being correct (This Time)
Then the new Sewer Line, BackFlow Valve and all internal sewage Line back to the main stack of the house.
Then it was found another internal Drain was undersized, this now had to be replaced. Another City Inspection.
Then the trench had to be refilled and tamped down, Another City Inspection.
Leave stand for another week. Another City Inspection.
Call in a contractor to do the Cement work and finish the floor.
The Floor had to cure for a month. Then It could be sealed and painted.
Again another week to cure.
andThen it was a month long reconstruction of the basement.
I still have not finished the reassembly of the workshop.
At my age I am in no hurray, but I would lie to finish it up so I can work on my projects again. This experience is not something I recommend. It did provide a learning tool. The initial Home inspection while on paper was all certified and signed off. A physical inspection using a scope did not uncover the FACT the Back Flow Valve was installed backwards.

 

[Hopsteiner]

A home inspection does not guarantee anything. I also found this out when we bought our house. Nothing however, that approaches what you went through. Unbelievable.

 

[TSutrina]

There is nothing worse then a flood in your basement. I have a driveway that slopes gently towards my garage shop. When the township repaved the street, they raised my approach. This helped but heavy rains still created a problem. I wound up buying 10-50 pound sand bags and laid them across the entrance to my garage. This has pretty much eliminated the problem. The optics are terrible. The actual solution would be a new driveway with a cut in gutter grate drain all the way across the entrance. Good luck with your clean up.

Freezing of fluid in the gutter drain will make it useless for a rain while the drain discharge pipe is frozen. Raising the driveway in front of the door so water flows away from the garage would at least minimize the amount of water.

 

[Hopsteiner]

This driveway has been a pain since we moved in.

 

[awake]

Anything that could not be steam cleaned was trashed.
The entire basement was stripped down to the bare floor and bare walls and Disinfected 3 times Air dried for a week, then it was steam cleaned 4 times and air dried for another week. It had to be inspected by City, Provincial and insurance Safety officials. When they were all ready to sign off, I found mould, called the inspectors to inspect. They had to start all over again.
This time it passed.
Then the sewer people came sing-off on the Sewer Line.
OOPS! Not only did they find the defective (Wrong Way) installed back flow valve. They found undersized and incorrect fitting which all had to be replaced. This meant opening up a huge trench in the basement floor, to replace all incorrect and defective components. An inspection by the City to certify the installation as being correct (This Time)
Then the new Sewer Line, BackFlow Valve and all internal sewage Line back to the main stack of the house.
Then it was found another internal Drain was undersized, this now had to be replaced. Another City Inspection.
Then the trench had to be refilled and tamped down, Another City Inspection.
Leave stand for another week. Another City Inspection.
Call in a contractor to do the Cement work and finish the floor.
The Floor had to cure for a month. Then It could be sealed and painted.
Again another week to cure.
andThen it was a month long reconstruction of the basement.
I still have not finished the reassembly of the workshop.
At my age I am in no hurray, but I would lie to finish it up so I can work on my projects again. This experience is not something I recommend. It did provide a learning tool. The initial Home inspection while on paper was all certified and signed off. A physical inspection using a scope did not uncover the FACT the Back Flow Valve was installed backwards.

Oh my - this made my head hurt just reading it. Must have been horrible to go through it all!

 

[TSutrina]

This driveway has been a pain since we moved in.

This is an unusual solution. How about raising the floor in the garage? Lay down 1" concrete squares. Need more bricks. Big box store near me have two thicknesses. A can pour self leveling concrete if the floor isn't flat. How much loss in the door opening can you loose. May have to do some adjustment of the guides for the garage door. Likely the door height into the garage is set above the floor in the garage.

 

[Hopsteiner]

I’ve thought of that solution. A project of that magnitude, I would need another garage to empty the garage I’m working on. I just don‘t have that kind of energy any more. As we get older, we measure our accomplishments in smaller quantities. Thanks for the ideas though.

 

[Hopsteiner]

I think this conversation, shows we all suffer from some of the same problem. Too many tools and not enough space! I walk through a “corn maze” to get from one side of my shop to the other. But will I stop buying? I’ll probably slow down, but not stop. I was talking to a friend yesterday who offered me an old belt driven South Bend lathe. I was tempted, but I’m not crazy. I told him to get me a picture. I’m sure there’s someone on this site who needs a project.

 

[TSutrina]

I’ve thought of that solution. A project of that magnitude, I would need another garage to empty the garage I’m working on. I just don‘t have that kind of energy any more. As we get older, we measure our accomplishments in smaller quantities. Thanks for the ideas though.

At 71 I agree this is not the first thing I want to do. But I do not want to have a few inches of water in my garage and my tools sitting in the water. rust. That I think would be a bigger job to clean up after a flood or adapt the shop.
I once owned a house that lucky had a basement where my shop was before the heavy tools arrived. The house was built in the middle of a shallow trough. So in a very very hard rain the house was an island for half an hour in the middle of a stream. Had three inches of water in the garage at least every other year. Everything was kept half a foot off the floor. At that height water would be coming into the front door. The city put in a 2 ft diameter storm drain finally to replace the 6 inch drain a few years before I moved.
The choice of bricks and some chipping of bricks to make drainage groove against the floor can be broke into a process that can be done over the spring, summer, and fall. Every garage collects junk and could use a cleaning and painting. So the two efforts can be combined. If the brick is a general stock item then a skid a month can be delivered once a month.

 

[Richard Carlstedt]

Do you have picture of your set up?

I Thought you may wish to see the setup I have .
My former shop ( former house) had a shop vac outside and the suction line went to the eaves and into the shop and then my vacuum hose dropped down from the center of the ceiling . It worked OK, bur needed a separator, So when we moved to a new home and shop, I had a 2 inch PVC Pipe buried in the concrete floor ( similar to a drain ) , and going from the center of the floor to the outside wall.
Pic 1
I installed my vac outside with a remote control on and off , and made a separator out of a 20 gallon drum . I have a doghouse protecting the Vac from rain or snow and removed the doghouse for the picture . None of the pipes are glued, they all use friction fit and work fine for disassembly.
Pic 3
Shows the yellow chip collector drum. The vertical white PVC pipe (2") goes into the floor pipe connection and is fastened to the center of the "Ring Locked" lid. To the left you can see a copper pipe soldered to the drum Tangentially about 1" below the top and it has my shop vac hose.
The black pipe at the back is just a extention for the hose and is stored behind the drum and not part of it.
Pic 2
Take the ring clamp off and you see the inside. I took a coffee can with both ends removed and fastened it to the bottom of the lid. When chips/dirt/dust come into the drum, they spin around and fall to the bottom while the air moves to the center and goes up the inside of the coffee can and into the PVC Suction pipe. To stop chips and dust from swirling in the bottom, I made a "Flag" with a steel block (weight) and Aluminum and you can see it at the bottom. When cleaning , I just grab the flag and pull it out , then dump the chips in the garbage. I find very very little dust outside in the vac itself, and never any chips .
Rich