Cheap boom arm

[Woodwork Wizard]

At about 7'6" height I have a chrome tube the full length of my workbench that's about 20" in from the front of the bench. The extraction hose just drapes over it without the need for any fastenings so it is not a dedicated hose like a Festool boom arm kit, it can slide to one side when not in use and with a squirt of PTFE the hose glides effortlessly over the entire length of the work table. I will even ground the steel tube so any static will have an extra path to earth. I don't bother hanging the power cable with it as that is far less unwieldy than the hose.

 

[Doug B]

Funnily enough woodwork wizard I had a similar idea this weekend, great minds & all that malarkey.  I used an 8' pine dowel, a couple of pipe clips & a piece of plastic waste pipe.
This is my effort.

Seems to work well & considerably cheaper than a boom arm

 

[Gerald OAS]

I like both ideas. Thanks for the inspiration.

Still need to think about "my" final solution.

 

[Mitchewd]

This weekend I installed a hook in the rafters of my garage. I simply looped a piece of bungee around the hose and added a clip. I need a sliding solution like yours I'll probably consider this design. Thank you.

 

[John H]

For less than $20 - you should be able to pickup a piece of "superstrut" in the electrical section of Lowes or Home Depot  (U shaped channel used to mount electrical lines, etc.  Also called unistrut)  If you really want to get fancy you can buy a  "trolley"  from McMaster Carr

http://www.mcmaster.com/#strut-channel-trolleys/=vmzg0v

 

[TomMcMillan]

I was in the hospital pre-op getting ready for a new knee last week and started thinking that the curtain tracks they used in the hospital would work pretty well for hanging a hose if one hung 2" loops (see http://www.ebay.com/itm/221201054258?_trksid=p2055119.m1438.l2649&var=520137334370&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT and http://www.ebay.com/itm/261269020244?_trksid=p2055119.m1438.l2648&var=560220477899&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT )

 

[roundbarn]

Here is a pic of my jury rigged boom arm. It is made using two 6 inch hinges and a two pieces of pipe. One pipe telescopes over the other to provide more length when needed. It reaches 12 feet. It is positioned in the centre of my shop and can feed the vacuum hose to every almost every working surface. I have a 7 meter 36 mm festool hose attached with metal wire.

 

[jbasen]

Nice simple design. I wish my hose was close to that long

 

[marty schlosser]

I really like how you've set this up and I think I'll copy it for my shop.

BTW, I'm also impressed with your workbench, especially the traveller you've made to support the free end of whatever it is you're working on.  Can you describe the hardware you used on it?

Here is a pic of my jury rigged boom arm. It is made using two 6 inch hinges and a two pieces of pipe. One pipe telescopes over the other to provide more length when needed. It reaches 12 feet. It is positioned in the centre of my shop and can feed the vacuum hose to every almost every working surface. I have a 7 meter 36 mm festool hose attached with metal wire.

 

[roundbarn]

If you are asking about my workbench hardware, it is Benchcrafted. It is my take on their split top Roubo design.  I can imagine working without it now. Handiest  tool in the shop.

 

[4thisguy]

I've been thinking about a similar idea for my shop. Would like an arm/rail I can hang the hose/power cable from and pivot to the work area.  One question, what are people using for hose extension?  I see there are festool options in different lengths available, so I'm sure that would work, but they are fairly expensive for a hobbyist such as myself. Any good budget options out there for an extension section of hose?
Thanks,
Guy

 

[Shavings]

Here was a quick solution that I put together:

It is made from 1/2" EMT conduit pipe that I had left over which I bent at a 90 degree bend with a conduit bender and added a couple of u-bolts.
[attachimg=4]

The plywood support attaches to the MFT with toilet bolts and a shaft is held to the plywood with two beam clamps.  I had some 3/4" threaded stock that I turned down to about 15.5 mm for the shaft.  The EMT pipe then slides over the shaft.
[attachimg=3]

I made another shaft that fits into a small hole in garage housing that sits on top the dust extractor.  It starts with 15.5 mm portion (6") for the EMT pipe to slide over; then a section (6") is turned down to about 7 mm that fits through the hole in garage housing; and then a short section (1") is turned down to about 5 mm which fits the hole in the dust extractor.  I inserted the shaft through a washer before putting it into the garage housing.
[attachimg=2]

Final assembly on dust extractor:
[attachimg=1]

 

[Shavings]

For some reason, the first picture didn't post:
[attachimg=1]

 

[Mr Heavy]

I've seen the OP's setup in the flesh, so to speak and the whole point is its simplicity. Chuck a hose over it, it reaches stuff without being snarled up. When finished, chuck the hose back down - it's not "dedicated" to the rig in any way and attaching or removing takes less than two seconds. There are no fastenings, ties, loops or cords to get diverted with and it is functional and elegant in a way that no boom or articulated device could _ever_ be. It's a stick, held horizontally. Being linear, it's always in the right place, without adjustment.
It cost hardly anything and it's not in the way.

This is Occam's razor instead of a five-bladed independently-sprung arthropoidally-contoured facial dehirsuitizing grooming accessory. Why complicate something and in the process make it less functional?

The Festool boom arm is a compromise solution for those needing a flying hose support for portable "out and about" use. It's attached to the dc to avoid attaching it to your customer's (etc.) ceiling. If you're using it in the workshop, using any sort of boom arrangement is surely missing the point by a mile?

Get thee a pole - a ROUND pole - and mount it at arm's length above your MFT, running from left to right. Chuck your hose over it when you want to use it, slide it off when you want the hose somewhere else.
If you want to make a super fancy deluxe version, put a length of drainpipe over the pole so it spins freely; simple, perfect, elegant, cheap, maintenance-free.

~Enjoy!!!