Shop vacuum

Terry, thanks for asking. Yep, I snow bird for a while. BUT there ain't no shop in the FL rented apartment. I have to come back and make chips. I was have serious "shop withdrawal" problems.

I guess I'm going to pick up a regular shop vac from one of the big box stores. then curse it, cause its not made like they used to. Bet I end up buying one every other year vs. the used one I bought 30 years ago.
 
I can relate to the shop withdrawal issue! Had surgery on right arm and shoulder, entire right arm is currently paralyzed, but nerves should recover in a couple days. Will not have any use of my right arm at all for the next six to eight weeks. That might slow me down a bit, but the cold weather is what keeps me out of the shop more than anything.

I've had very good luck with a Craftsman shop vac that I purchased quite a few years ago. The motor unit is removable and can be used as a leaf blower. It sees quite a bit of use but I really avoid vacuuming anything wet. I also have a Dust Deputy ahead of it which really saves on the filters when doing dusty work. I hope it continues to last for a while yet. Good luck in your search!

PS: I might have to take a trip up your way and drop in for a visit while I am off work. Keep your eyes peeled for a message before I come up!
 
Wow, Terry, must have taken you some time to type all of that with your left hand!
 
Actually it was quite easy. Windows has a speech to text feature similar to the one on my cell phone. I dictate most of the message and then go back and manually edit things that the computer does not understand properly. The more I use it, the better it gets.

Here is an example of a dictated line without any editing:
For some reason has a hard time with super talent for Angeles take ex PLO indulgence (super-califragilstic-expialidocious) :chemist:
 
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Sorry to hear about your medical issues. I got a couple of my own, as well. Gettin' old ain't for pussies.

Plenty of room up here for an 18 wheeler, take deliveries all the time. BUT its a steep hill, if its snow covered those big trucks just go, "slip sliding away" <Paul Simon>
 
You are so right about getting old. It might not be for cowards or the tender-hearted, but it is an opportunity that far too many never get to experience.

I would be stopping by in the car, no big trucks for me for a while, much less work of any kind. We never had a lot of chance to talk when we last saw each other at Uglydog's place.

Anyway, I'm leading this too far off-topic. :oops2:
 
I was tired of trashing my shop vac filter vacuuming chips, coolant and oil so a few months ago I built my own cyclone filter. This is not my design. There was an article in either The Home Shop Machinist or Machinist Workshop that I copied.

Materials are a handful of 2" ABS fittings and a 5 gallon bucket. IIRC I have about $30 invested. About 2 hours later I ended up with what is pictured below. I haven't replaced the filter since I made the cyclone and suction is much better.

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KEWL!

Can you show a pic of the inside? You must be turning the airflow to make it swirl.
 
I have a homemade cyclone separator too, sometimes called a "Thien Separator". Mine's made with a large pool chlorine plastic bucket, 50 lb. size IIRC, and being cheap I used a piece of wood with the appropriate sized holes on the top instead of buying special vacuum ports shown on the Thien website. It definitely makes the shop vac filter last longer, especially with sawdust.

We have a lot of the little air powered vacuums at work, but they're more for spot cleaning than general cleanup... at work they use them mostly to pick up the small parts we make; it's easy to unzip the bag and dump them out. Getting sharp chips out of the bag would likely be a PITA.

IMG_20180222_172642173.jpgIMG_20180222_172713590.jpg
 
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