Scrollnado update

[GregBennett]

I had considerable issues with the Scrollnado I bought from Amazon, but they've since been ironed out. The system is far from perfect, particularly the plastic flex straw like sections that are the final stage of dust collection. I've since replaced them with  1/4" White Polyethylene tubing I got at Lowes.

 

 

It took some time to train it from curving using a copper wire and manually working on it. I found that the hose clamps didn't adhere very well and have duct taped them in place. One of the biggest struggles I had was noise from the vacuum. I tried putting it in an enclosure and covering it with a large pillow without much success. I bought sound cancelling headphones, but they were somewhat uncomfortable and less than effective at deadening much of the noise of the vacuum. I listen to music while cutting and that affected by the earphones even when plugged in. My daughter gives me  Lowes  gift cards for birthdays and Christmas and I found a much quieter vacuum that was on sale-DEWALT Stealthsonic Quiet 12-Gallon 5.5 HP Corded Wet/Dry Shop Vacuum. It turned out to be a game changer.

Shopvac offers a quiet vac too. Another piece of the puzzle was air leakage where the two black hoses tie into the larger hose that runs from the collection unit. I wrapped insulation foam between the hoses and duck taped the connection. The final modification I made was a holder for the collection unit. It wanted to be sideways so I put it in a dollar Walmart trash can held down with a 10 lb. barbell plate.

I'm now very pleased with the outcome. It's so much healthier than blowing the dust around the shop. The final cost was about $200 for the Scrollnado and the vacuum.

[Gonzo]

I’m curious as to how your setup looks. Could you please post a picture or two?

[OCtoolguy]

Yes, a pic is worth a thousand words. 

[GregBennett]

I've attached a few photos to show the DeWalt vacuum and scrollnado in trashcan, the hoses and duct tape and the replacement hose to the dust collection. 

I recently purchased a 1967 used copy of Patrick Spielman and Dan Kihl's Artistic Scroll Saw Patterns and Projects and the piece on the table is taken from that book. I've found a few patterns worth cutting and the one I'm working on now is I call Flowers with Dragonfly. It's not particularly difficult, but I've found it to be a joy to cut. I've found over time that my greatest joy in scrolling is the actual cutting. It's nice to have finished work that ordinary people admire, but I think that's secondary to the actual work.

[rjweb]

Very nice, what brand of saw do you have, RJ 

[Mike Crosa]

Thanks for the tips. I recently purchased the scrollnado from Amazon but have not been able to do anything as about the same time, January 20, I had reverse shoulder surgery and cannot do much in the mechanical field.  As some of you know, my shop is my patio and a garden shed.  I have been using a vacuum cleaner but not having great sucess with collecting saw dust.  I did install the vacuum outside of the storage shed (4 x 6 by 4.5 high), and it is ouside the shed and I am protected by the shed wall.  Also it is a small vacuum 3 peak HP. So I am looking forward to installing it. Hopefully by Mid March.  

[GregBennett]

RJ Web: I have a Bauer scroll saw that I bought in June at Harbor Freight. So far so good. It replaced a DeWalt that I'd had for years.

I took the DeWalt to their service center in Charlotte and paid almost $300 to have it serviced. The shipped it back to me and it was dropped which broke the table off. It hasn't been right since. I replaced it, but both of the saws I got were defective so I ended up with the Bauer. Unlike some of the high end saws, it doesn't have a dust port.

 

Mike: I had seen a demonstration video by Steve Good about the Scrollnado, and he used a small vacuum like you have. Hopefully it's placement will keep the noise from disturbing you while cutting. My shop is an unheated, nu-insulated  outbuilding so I have to heat it with a kerosene heater in cold weather. I use a mounted hair dryer to warm up the scroll saw. Necessity is the mother of invention.

[Mike Crosa]

Greg you are absolutely right about Necessity being the mother of invention.  It makes the world go around.

[Roberta Moreton]

I have the separator thing attached to one leg of my saw. The top hose is fastened to the saw arm with wire ties. And to the blower with a rubber band.  I have the bottom hose attached to the bottom of the table with a magnet on the holder. 

[GregBennett]

Great idea. I tried that with zip ties but there isn't a great place to put it on my scroll saw table legs. The way I have it makes it easy to remove the tube to clean it.  It looks like you got the foible straw to work as the end piece.