DIY piston blower

[Dirtywoody]

I recently bought a second-hand scroll saw (Clarke) for my first foray into this part of woodworking. Old but barely used. Of course the bladder for the blower was shot. I can get replacements from the UK but at nearly 4 pounds they're expensive for what they are and getting them to South Africa makes it out of the question. I saw that people use aquarium pumps but came up with another solution I haven't seen elsewhere. Maybe it's been tried of done before, I don't know. I attached a bolt to the saw arm going through the hole in the metal cover to which is bolted a tap washer going into a short piece of PVC pipe with a plastic bottle top and pipe attached. What can I saw? It moves plenty of air. I can't say about longevity yet, but it's cheap and uses stuff I had lying around. 

Here's a short (un)professional video (hope this works). If you want to know more just ask, I'm happy with it and it will do the job. And, no, it doesn't suck

[stoney]

That is an interesting concept.   Just wondering are you making contact with the washer on the side of the pipe if so is the washer rubber or some other material?  It sure wouldn't be cost prohibitive.   Just kidding thanks for showing us.   I will be sure to follow this thread.

Edited December 20, 2018 by stoney

[Rockytime]

Thanks for the video. Can you show what you did woth the bottle and how that works. You are certainly thinking out of the box!

[OCtoolguy]

24 minutes ago, Rockytime said:

Thanks for the video. Can you show what you did woth the bottle and how that works. You are certainly thinking out of the box!

I was going to ask the same question Les. I'd like to see the piston/chamber.

[Dirtywoody]

1 hour ago, stoney said:

That is an interesting concept.   Just wondering are you making contact with the washer on the side of the pipe if so is the washer rubber or some other material?  It sure wouldn't be cost prohibitive.   Just kidding thanks for showing us.   I will be sure to follow this thread.

It's a conical tap washer, that does make contact but certainly not tight - a bit sloppy, which is what I wanted. When I started these are what I first took out to look at doing the job. I'll take it apart and post pics tomorrow to show the final version.

[Rockytime]

Thanks. I'm looking forward to seeing them. Love too see things others have made.

[Dirtywoody]

Here's the pics of the blower that's simplicity itself. There's a bolt attached to a trimmed washer I drilled a concave hole in and held on with twisted cable ties. These won't last and I need to figure a more permanent solution (suggestions welcome). I don't want to drill the arm itself and would like the bolt to be able to flex a bit rather than be rigid because the arm travels in an arc. Replace the cover and attach a conical washer, round side down. This is just the right size that the cylinder from a roll of double sided tape slips on easily. The washer flexes inwards on the down stroke to let in air and out on the up to push out the air. If you're going to use a normal flat rubber washer you'd need a smaller diameter metal washer underneath to achieve the same result.  The cylinder is epoxied to a piece of ply that screws into the existing holes in the frame and I found a bottle top in the kitchen that is the exact size to clip on. The hose connector is a cut off rawl plug that's also epoxied in place.

[Sycamore67]

Dirtwoody.....well done and ingenious idea.

[Rockytime]

Doggone good thinking. I think it looks great. Good job.

[loftyhermes]

When the blower packed up on my Delta, I used a dogs squeaky toy (with the squeak removed) glued under the bottom arm, the pipe was just pushed into the hole left by the squeaker. 

[OCtoolguy]

12 hours ago, loftyhermes said:

When the blower packed up on my Delta, I used a dogs squeaky toy (with the squeak removed) glued under the bottom arm, the pipe was just pushed into the hole left by the squeaker. 

I'll bet the dog wasn't happy about that. LOL

[loftyhermes]

He wasn't Ray, one thing I will say to anyone who does this is, don't let the dog see where you put it's squeaky, else it will come into the shed and just sit there looking at the saw.

[Dirtywoody]

To update on this little project, I've now attached a cheap Loc Line rip-off with a speaker magnet to the arm to direct the airflow. I can also swivel it out of the way, so I'm more than happy with it as it stands.

[OCtoolguy]

1 hour ago, Dirtywoody said:

To update on this little project, I've now attached a cheap Loc Line rip-off with a speaker magnet to the arm to direct the airflow. I can also swivel it out of the way, so I'm more than happy with it as it stands.

I love ingenuity and creativity. You have done well.