Sycamore67 Posted April 7, 2019 Report Share Posted April 7, 2019 There is a current topic on blast gates and the problems with them accumulating dust in them and jamming. I initially had this same problem and also the gates never sealed well. I tried clipping the corners of the gates to get them to clear the dust and that worked a little. However, the gates were just not strong enough and some of them whistled because they leaked. Eventually, I made my own gates. I have a large dust collection system and needed both 6" and 4" gates and several of each. My cust collection is plumbed with 4" and 6" PVC and DWV plastic pipe. The gates are made of baltic birch with a slide thru part that is 1/4" baltic birch. All of the parts are finished with orange shellac and then waxed to provide smooth action and no leakage. I made a couple of varieties as I have different size flexible hose coming off the main dust collection branch. Because I was making a number of them, I set up a jig with my router to be able to make the various parts easily. I have the jigs to make the 4" and 6" gates and want to make some for 2-1/2" gates. This is a look at the ceiling in my shop with one of the gates and you can see the ceiling hangers that I made of the pipe. RabidAlien, tomsteve, JTTHECLOCKMAN and 2 others 3 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rockytime Posted April 7, 2019 Report Share Posted April 7, 2019 WOW, you have an impressive DC system and the gates are beautiful. I only need three gates so I guess I'll live with what I have. Thanks for a great post. OCtoolguy 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tgiro Posted April 7, 2019 Report Share Posted April 7, 2019 Those are really neat gates. Maybe sometime, when I have time . . . . OCtoolguy 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sycamore67 Posted April 7, 2019 Author Report Share Posted April 7, 2019 It is so unfortunate that dust collection pipes, gates, hoses,etc are not standard sizes. Also, the quality is not good in many cases. With people so interested in dust collection, you would think someone would make parts that actually fit. Even the same company does not have parts that fit well together. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rockytime Posted April 8, 2019 Report Share Posted April 8, 2019 Thank goodness for duct tape. I learned that from the Red and Green show. OCtoolguy 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JTTHECLOCKMAN Posted April 8, 2019 Report Share Posted April 8, 2019 Larry you are not alone. There have been many people who have made their own to suit their needs and they made out of wood or plastics As I had mentioned there are many videos on the subject out there. You did a nice job with those and saving the air is big deal if you have powerful equipment. Scrollsaws not so much. I used metal duct but did use the plastic gates and I was suppose to change to metal ones but never made it high on the list of things to do. Still on the list though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Woodmaster1 Posted April 8, 2019 Report Share Posted April 8, 2019 Great job on the blast gates. I am switching to metal grates but if I need more gates I might make wood ones. I will have to add a limit switch to the wood ones because of the new setup. I am adding a switched blast gate system to turn on dust collector on when a gate is open. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lawson56 Posted April 8, 2019 Report Share Posted April 8, 2019 Very Impressive.That kinda makes me glad I have a small shop with a box fan and filter,with a window. JimErn 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sycamore67 Posted April 8, 2019 Author Report Share Posted April 8, 2019 I do not use a dust collector on my scroll saw. I use a vacuum because it has more powerful suction which is important when using smaller diameter hoses or pipe. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JTTHECLOCKMAN Posted April 8, 2019 Report Share Posted April 8, 2019 5 hours ago, Sycamore67 said: I do not use a dust collector on my scroll saw. I use a vacuum because it has more powerful suction which is important when using smaller diameter hoses or pipe. I don't use a dust collector on my scrollsaw either and in fact I use nothing. Clean up at end of day with vac. Been doing that for years. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sycamore67 Posted April 8, 2019 Author Report Share Posted April 8, 2019 Everyone treats dust differently and I believe in collecting it at the source and not letting it go everywhere and try to clean up later. Some of the exotics I have cut are not good to breath. Also, collecting it at the source keeps it off my clothes. JTTHECLOCKMAN 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JTTHECLOCKMAN Posted April 8, 2019 Report Share Posted April 8, 2019 53 minutes ago, Sycamore67 said: Everyone treats dust differently and I believe in collecting it at the source and not letting it go everywhere and try to clean up later. Some of the exotics I have cut are not good to breath. Also, collecting it at the source keeps it off my clothes. No dust is good to breathe. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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