Shop-Made Boom Arms

bruegf said:
If I remember correctly, the one of the dryer engineers at work told me every 90 degree bend in a dryer hose results in a 20% reduction in air flow.  I assume the same is true of a vacuum as opposed to a blower but I'll try to remember to ask at work tomorrow.

Fred
Click to expand...

  Hi,

        While I am sure this is accurate for the dryer pipe. I think there are quite a few variables involved- pipe diameter, material, and tightness of the bend, etc. The three 90 curves in my set up would result in a total of about 50% reduction of flow at 20% each. And there is no way it has been reduced that much. I am sure there is some reduction but it is not enough for me to even perceive when using it. Not knocking your info, I just got thinking about it in relation to my pipe run. 

Seth
 
Sorry about the quick pictures, but this is my poor mans CT with boom (Actually a very elderly shop-vac and some pvc pipe on a janitors cart)
I had the shop vac (lo, these many years), the cart was from (gasp!) Harbor Freight ($50.00) PVC from Home depot, and switching (auto on and off with delay just like the real thing courtesy of a switch box from Woodcraft (About $35.00 I think)

Total investment under $100 - it works, and I get a bonus couple of shelves and a trash bag.

 
Nice project, Steve.  Have you experienced any static buildup?  (Wood dust particles standing up and straight out radially from the outside walls of the hoses and tubing.)  I noticed this when I substituted a length of Craftsman 2 1/2 inch hose in my Festool / Dust Deputy setup.

Dave R.
 
I'm also curious about static.  I'm running about 12 ' of PVC in my shop attic to create a built - in boom.  I'm thinking that I may want to wrap it in copper wire before enclosing the space and insulating.  Any thoughts?

Dan
 
Dan and Dave - no problems with static other than the boom tends to attract your hair when you lean close to it - but in my case that problem is decreasing over time ;D

And as for the chance of my shop vac going WHOOF! sometime - it's old, i'd pay money to see that! (Possibly the price of a Festool Vac)

 
I just hate all the extras saw dust that sticks to the hoses and PVC. Do you get that? Worst case run a grounding wire with a vac grounding kit sold by many places, Grizzly sell  one if you think you need it.

I used PVC in the past and I switched to metal piping. I don't think it will go boom. There are many articles that show PVC up to 3" or 4" in a home shop is safe.

After going to the festool anti-static I will not go back to the other hoses though.
 
Nick, I'll probably end up with a Festool vac sooner or later (Financially speaking it's looking later and later) but with 3 shop vacs and a big dust control system in the shop it's impossible to justify it just yet.

Oddly enough I don't get any dust sticking to the pipes, maybe everything in the shop is dust free enough (dust control has been the first priority while setting up this new shop a year ago) maybe there is simply not enough free floating dust to accumulate.
 
Steve I get it. With six kids and two x-wives and the economy crunch I am hurting financially. I sold 47 old tools on ebay in the last week(some are still listed) and made 5250.00. I used every penny and then some to purchase all the latest Festools. I am glad I purchased good tools to begin with and on some I actually broke even or even made a profit!

Your set up is sweet! I see no reason to run get a Festool at all!

nickao
 
I am very pleased to have switched from a 16 gal. Craftsman shop vacuum to Festool CT 22 E.  I used to get static shocks frequently when using that Craftsman vac with its plastic floor sweep attachments, even somewhat during Ohio's humid summers.  No more!!  I also note that my Fein Turbo II with Fein's stock hose and floor sweep attachments (metal wand, plastic fittings) doesn't build up nearly as much static as the Craftsman.  I notice slight static effects on the Fein hose and fittings during the winter, but it is not a problem to me like the Craftsman was.

Dave R.
 
Hi,

      That cart set up is really slick 8)  If you ever set up  one of the cyclone or , lid type seperators you could put it right on the cart.    A note for those considering the pvc static problem- I have not had any trouble with it on my set up that is posted earlier in the thread.  Don't know why . Maybe the way it is attached or something. Even though the festool hose is not connected to the CT it does not seem to collect dust.  Is it possible that the electrical conduit typeof pvc that I used is anti static?  Then again I have a regular shop vac fiting between them.... so  :-\

Seth
 
john cornett said:
My solution to homemade boom arm. http://picasaweb.google.com/johnhcornett/desktop
Click to expand...

Welcome aboard, John.  Nice boom arm.  I assume the pipe support is free to pivot.

BTW, the URL needs a [/url] after the site address to make it a clickable link.  You should see a Modify button just on top of your post on the right.

I fixed it in the quote above because the flaw was screwing up this post.

Ned
 
Hi,

  Looks good John.    I wonder how many more set ups of this type are lurking out there?  There have been quite  a few posted in this thread and in other threads. But I would like to see what sort of ideas people have that have not been posted. How about all the lurkers with home made boom arms posting them?

Seth
 
Excellent. I love the handle.

Further to Ned's comment, I would even suggest you upload one of the picture directly
into your post so that FOG readers can quickly have a view of the world of
boom arms. I did not dare to do it myself.

Your post helps me to settle the final plans of my home made
sysport, the height of the MFT to serve as an extra work surface,
sys-drawers on one side, the CT on the other side with a couple
of sys-drawers on top of it, and a mast to hook up my detachable
boom arm described earlier.

Thanks to corwin, I will also have a flexible lamp attached to
the mast, connected either to the CT or directly to main power. This
way, I have stable lighting when sanding and the CT can easily be turned
on
 
  • I'm a newbie to the site.. and have succumbed to the allure of Festool.  That being said, I was looking at the boom arm and while it looks great, it seemingly costs way too much in my opinion...especially since you have to spend an extra $70 to make it work with the CT.  So by today's prices that's $310.  That being said, I decided that it didn't look too hard to replicate most of it... So, for a mere $20 and some review of the actual boom arm specs...this is what I came up with.  And all this was done with no glue - all press fit and/or threaded parts.

    I'm pretty pleased with the outcome.  I'll try to explain a little bit of the process I went through, and some improvements I'd probably make a second time through.  All the parts were purchased at my local HD store.  Forgive me if I've got the diameter of the coupling's off...I'm pretty sure these are correct but not positive...it's easy to figure out nonetheless...

    1) Parts:
    • (1) Long piece of 1" PVC pipe
    • (4) 45 degree 1" couplings
    • (2) 1" male threaded couplings
    • (2) 1" Female threaded couplings
    • (1) 1" end cap
    • (1) 1" regular coupling (for the pivot joint)
    • (1) 3/4" regular coupling (for the pivot joint)
    • (1) 1" wooden dowel - approx 3-6 ft depending on what you want to reinforce
    • (1) 1" pipe hanger clamp.

    2) Pivot joint - This was pretty easy.  The pivot is at the first 45deg. bend.  I simply cut out a slot in the 1" coupling (fits on the outer diameter of the 1" pipe) where I could fit a screw through and slide it smoothly.  This can be done either by simply drilling on the side of the coupling if you have the proper clamps on your drill press, or filing as well, among other ways.  The dowel was inserted into this section for rigidity.  I felt the PVC was a bit flimsy the longer it got.  But this had an added benefit of allowing me to screw into the dowel as well for the pivot screw.

    The 3/4" coupling, I found, press fit nicely on one end, but was slightly looser on the other.  This allowed me to press fit the one end into the 1st 45 degree coupling and let the looser end sit in the bigger 1" coupling.  It rotates smoothly without issue.  I suggest putting your slot for the pivot screw in the rear of the assembly to counteract the downward pressure of the end of the boom.  It'll sort of lock it into place since this is a loose part.

    All the other joints should be put together with short pieces of 1" PVC pipe, not the little joiners you can get.  I found them to be too loose...unless you want to glue up your assembly.  The 1" pipe gives a really nice press fit w/out glue!  So you can take this all apart and rework it down the road if you wish.

    3) Handle Clamp - This is simply a hanging pipe clamp.  was perfect for this application.  Drill a hole in your handle and attach and you are done!  Pretty darn sturdy.

    4) Hose and power cord attachment - I didn't do it here because I don't have the right straps, so I just taped them on for testing the boom arm support of the hose and cord.  A little sag but not to bad..and pivots nicely.  You can also tighten the screw to lock it into one place if you wish.  I plan on using KISS.  I'll be getting some Velcro straps and screwing them into the boom arm at regular intervals.  This will make for easy attaching and disassembly...quickly!

    5) Possible improvements:
    • Pivot point - I'm not sure how much more sag will occur as time goes on.  I'd like to see it reinforced a bit better.  I think it might be better to place the pivot point lower, below the 45 deg. elbow...mainly further down the straight section, possibly closer to the screw joint on the handle.  I figure that you've got the stiffness from the dowel inside the pipe, and the threaded portion is also stiffer.  Other options I might try are to place the pivot below top of the handle.  This way the handle clamp supports the boom arm and there is less force on the joint.  The s-bend would also have to drop down a bit lower.  The main shaft would simple rotate within the clamp.  I've tested this and it rotates OK..not too loose, not too tight.
    • Electrical PVC - I might try electrical PVC - the grey stuff.  It seemed to be stiffer to me.  Especially the 45 deg sections they had, which would be great since those are where some of the sag comes in.  I think it's a bit more costly though.
    • The bottom of the boom arm where it's supposed to sit into the black support below the handle... the 1" pipe will need to have the inner diameter increased by sanding or another method in order for it to sit down in the groove nicely.

    Is it worth it ?  I checked out what else I'll need to make this work nicely like the boom arm kit. 
    • Extension cord - no problem - cheap say $10-$13 or so
    • Extension Hose - like the one that comes with the boom arm.  Hmmm - A D50 2.5m antistatic hose is $104 + $70 for the handle +$13 for the connector sleeve + $20 in PVC materials ==> total of approx. $ 217.  So the difference between this way and the easy way is $93.  I guess it all comes down to how much is your time worth, and is the extras and the piece of mind you get from buying the Festool Boom arm worth that $93 ?   Now that I've thought this through... I'm going to say YES for me :)  BUT it was a fun project to do and I hope it's helpful for someone out there.

    I'll also pose this question to folks - how big of a deal would it be to use a non-AS hose as the "extension hose" that connects to the CT ?  This would certainly make it cheaper...or is there a good source for cheaper AS hoses out there that work with Festool's system/hoses ?

    Chad Smith
    Fledgling Woodworker
    Boulder, CO

 
Hi, Chad.  Welcome to the forum :)

    What a great first post! And nice pictures too.   I think you did a great job on that. And I am betting that others will at the very least take ideas from if not copy it exactly.   I can see that the easiest way to save  more on it would be to go with a regular shop vac  extension hose and forgo the AS benefits of the Festool hose.

    Hows that Rotex working out for ya?

Seth
 
Well mine isn't as pretty but it was easy and cheap. I scored an old rolling I.V. pole that was being discarded and the 4 "rings" at the top normally used for hanging the bags allow the 27 mm hose, power cord and a work light to be moved right next to the MFT. It is not too portable however.

Jim

 
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