Could one use successfully a CT vac with a bandsaw?
- Thread starter RC
- Start date
Would work a little better than having nothing, but you really want a higher volume than the ct can deliver. Bandsaws don't create a lot of dust and don't generally spread it everywhere, so you could make your cuts on the bandsaw and then unplug it, open it up and use the CT to clean it out when you're done cutting. [wink]
Chris...
Chris...
yes and no.. depends on your approach
Bandsaw extraction is generally very inefficient in that it works by creating a high volume low pressure vacuum in the whole bottom cabinet usually. In thsi case a CT is a waste of time. However, you can use a CT if you can localise the vacuum to where you really need it, which is just under the table around the blade.. have a look at this link for the sort of thing I am talking about
http://ollypj.wordpress.com/2009/12/30/improved-bandsaw-extraction/
you will need to do a bit of fiddling and get some UPVC plumbing pipe components etc
Bandsaw extraction is generally very inefficient in that it works by creating a high volume low pressure vacuum in the whole bottom cabinet usually. In thsi case a CT is a waste of time. However, you can use a CT if you can localise the vacuum to where you really need it, which is just under the table around the blade.. have a look at this link for the sort of thing I am talking about
http://ollypj.wordpress.com/2009/12/30/improved-bandsaw-extraction/
you will need to do a bit of fiddling and get some UPVC plumbing pipe components etc
Kev
Member
- Joined
- Nov 7, 2011
- Messages
- 7,698
A bit left of topic, but this is something I tripped over the other day.
http://www.decd.sa.gov.au/docs/documents/1/GuidelinesfortheSafeUse-1.pdf
I'd love to have a bandsaw - but it's one piece of equipment i haven't used since school and I remember them being a little scary back then!
http://www.decd.sa.gov.au/docs/documents/1/GuidelinesfortheSafeUse-1.pdf
I'd love to have a bandsaw - but it's one piece of equipment i haven't used since school and I remember them being a little scary back then!
Hi Reiska
Chris is right about needing an HVLP unit and Matt has hit the nail on the head. Dust extraction on bandsaws is dreadful but the sawdust tends not to be very fine. If the Festool guys had to sort it out they would do something along the lines of the example in Matt's link.
If you do make a mod to your bandsaw, make a little video so we all can see but watch your choice of music!
Take care,
Peter
Chris is right about needing an HVLP unit and Matt has hit the nail on the head. Dust extraction on bandsaws is dreadful but the sawdust tends not to be very fine. If the Festool guys had to sort it out they would do something along the lines of the example in Matt's link.
If you do make a mod to your bandsaw, make a little video so we all can see but watch your choice of music!
Take care,
Peter
im in the process of upgrading the dc on my bandsaw(started 12months ago) the dc is very bad. a lot of dust builds upunder the table where the guides are. eventually the pile overflows down into the dc port. im reluctant to cut out the piece holding the dust but it would help.
i use my compressor to blow the dust out of the bearing guide area.
i think a 50mm shop vac hose would colect a lot of that dust
i use my compressor to blow the dust out of the bearing guide area.
i think a 50mm shop vac hose would colect a lot of that dust
Alan m said:
Hi Alan
Are you mainly cutting soft wood? I am in the process of doing an up-market shed for a customer and I have noticed quite a bit of dust build-up on the rubber dust shroud of my Kapex. It is not a design issue but due to the sticky nature of the soft wood. At the end of each day I wipe things off with a rag splashed with meths.
Peter
i know what you mean about the soft woods ( they are stringy etc).
it happens with both as but probably marginally better with hard woods. , under the table is the tilting mechanism(3-4") and the guides. the blade then goes through a 1/4 " slot . the dust builds up on either side until it overflows the slot and is pulled down by the blade
it happens with both as but probably marginally better with hard woods. , under the table is the tilting mechanism(3-4") and the guides. the blade then goes through a 1/4 " slot . the dust builds up on either side until it overflows the slot and is pulled down by the blade
Jesse Cloud
Member
- Joined
- Jan 23, 2007
- Messages
- 1,746
A machinist friend saw me do that and freaked out. He said it was likely to force dust into the bearings and ruin them. On the other hand, they don't seem to put very good bearings on bandsaws, at least on the lower to mid range ones. Replacements are cheap.Alan m said:
ccarrolladams
Member
- Joined
- Apr 14, 2010
- Messages
- 1,451
My experience with the many of them I have owned over the decades is that seldom are they designed for actual effective dust collection.
One of the very best 16" bandsaws I have owned was a 1930's style Davis & Wells that was built circa 1950 and was still new in a crate when I bought it in 1959. Of course the dealer replaced the blade tires and the belt. The bearings and guides accomplished just about everything as on a 2012 bandsaw, except that D&W had no provision for dust collection. The nature of bandsawing is that the narrow blade does not create the volume of dust, relatively coarse dust, as do other woodworking tools. Right after a session sawing I would use a shop vac with a long tapered nozzle to clean all those places below the table where dust would cake.
In 1960 I opened a precision machine shop, for which I bought Do-All metal cutting bandsaws. They had blade welders, but no kind of dust collection ports.
For my current cabinet shop I own 2 Agazzani conventional bandsaws, which have about as good dust collection as I have found on any woodworking bandsaws. The thing is having the high velocity of a Festool CT is not going to help. Bandsaws with dust collection need the low velocity very high volume of traditional plant DC systems. I have seen demonstrations of 20" Agazzani doing re-sawing at trade shows where a 1.5 hp portable DC was keeping pace, using a 100mm hose. Both of mine have 150mm hose connecting them to my plant DC. Still when we finish with a bandsaw operation, or at the end of a shift, we use a CT22 with cleaning nozzles to remove residual dust under the tables.
My other bandsaw is a lumber mill-style Baker horizontal. By the time we receive rough lumber it has been carefully dried. In use it creates a lot of dust and chips, probably more than our CNC nested routers. It has three areas with 150mm DC connections and we use all of those.
One of the very best 16" bandsaws I have owned was a 1930's style Davis & Wells that was built circa 1950 and was still new in a crate when I bought it in 1959. Of course the dealer replaced the blade tires and the belt. The bearings and guides accomplished just about everything as on a 2012 bandsaw, except that D&W had no provision for dust collection. The nature of bandsawing is that the narrow blade does not create the volume of dust, relatively coarse dust, as do other woodworking tools. Right after a session sawing I would use a shop vac with a long tapered nozzle to clean all those places below the table where dust would cake.
In 1960 I opened a precision machine shop, for which I bought Do-All metal cutting bandsaws. They had blade welders, but no kind of dust collection ports.
For my current cabinet shop I own 2 Agazzani conventional bandsaws, which have about as good dust collection as I have found on any woodworking bandsaws. The thing is having the high velocity of a Festool CT is not going to help. Bandsaws with dust collection need the low velocity very high volume of traditional plant DC systems. I have seen demonstrations of 20" Agazzani doing re-sawing at trade shows where a 1.5 hp portable DC was keeping pace, using a 100mm hose. Both of mine have 150mm hose connecting them to my plant DC. Still when we finish with a bandsaw operation, or at the end of a shift, we use a CT22 with cleaning nozzles to remove residual dust under the tables.
My other bandsaw is a lumber mill-style Baker horizontal. By the time we receive rough lumber it has been carefully dried. In use it creates a lot of dust and chips, probably more than our CNC nested routers. It has three areas with 150mm DC connections and we use all of those.
Reiska said:
That gives me an idea!
