Blast Gate - Tip to keep unclogged

[Ed Sallee]

I ran across this shop tip in WOOD Magazine. The magazine is in the shop, and I'm not.... otherwise I'd put the credit to whom it belongs on here.....

I thought it was worth posting on here - for those who haven't seen it.

My blast gates always get clogged up with sawdust, making it so they won't close all the way. I have considered getting the self cleaning ones, but they have been low on the list of stuff to get....

So, as I stated, I saw this shop tip and thought I'd give it a try on my planer's blast gate - as it get's clogged all the time.... so it won't seal all the way when I close it.

Simply cut the corners off of your existing blast gate... Worked great! The sawdust that was clogged in there simply fell out and it is now a self cleaning blast gate. I don't think I'll have the clogging problem anymore.

http://i302.photobucket.com/albums/nn88/evsallee/DSC07748.jpg

[Phil Thien]

Yep, did this a couple of years ago and it works great! I didn't know how much to cut on my gates so I figured I'd start small and work up. I really only cut enough off to expose a 1/4" opening and never had to enlarge it.

[Michael Prisbylla]

Thanks for the tip. I'm going to be installing a DC system soon (I hope), this will save me some aggravation.

[Bruce Wrenn]

Peachtree sells a 4" cast aluminum blast gate that is self cleaning. I bought a couple at the Woodworking Show, but haven't installed them yet. Called " Aluminum Through Blast Gate", item # 0476, priced at $12.99.

[David Hostetler]

FWIW, Lee Valley has the aluminum through blast gates for $11.20 per when you buy 4+ gates, and their shipping is cheaper than some of their competitors too! The 4" is item #03J61

http://www.leevalley.com/wood/page.aspx?c=2&p=51506&cat=1,42401,62597

My biggest concern about clipping the ends the way shown is that this would cause an air leak in the system. I don't know about you guys, but I am busting my back side to try to eliminate air leaks. I want the air to be picked up from where I want, and I want it taken to where I want...

[Phil Thien]

My biggest concern about clipping the ends the way shown is that this would cause an air leak in the system. I don't know about you guys, but I am busting my back side to try to eliminate air leaks. I want the air to be picked up from where I want, and I want it taken to where I want...

Actually, the air leak only occurs at the gate that is opened. The closed gates don't leak because the holes are filled with the gate is closed.

I think the plastic gates, even with this mod, leak less than the self-cleaning aluminum gates. The aluminum gates have all appeared quite lossy to me.

[David Hostetler]

Thanks Phil, NOW you tell me after I sent back the $1.99 plastic gates in favor of the $11.99 self cleaning aluminum ones! LOL...

I came across a bunch of 1/4" plexiglas cutoffs, I am seriously considering some DIY blast gates from them...

[Ryan Baker]

Actually, in my experience the aluminum ones leak less than the plastic. There is a lot of slop in the aluminum gate, but it sucks down tight as soon as you turn on the collector and seals pretty well (make sure they are pointing the right direction). The plastic ones seal ok when they are closed all the way. But once you use them, they never close all the way again. A gate stuck 1/3 open due to sawdust doesn't help anything much.

[Jack Briggs]

Cutting corners is a good tip. Another is to install with the gate sliding downward so that dust has a chance to fall out of the corners and into the blast path.



Cheers,

[Phil Thien]

The plastic ones seal ok when they are closed all the way. But once you use them, they never close all the way again. A gate stuck 1/3 open due to sawdust doesn't help anything much.

If you knock the corners off the plastic ones (the original point of this thread I guess), they don't stick open any longer. They are now self-cleaning, just like the aluminum ones.

But I'll take your word for it that the aluminum ones seal better when the DC is on. Like I said, the ones I've examined have large gaps. But if those close when the DC is running then good enough.

[Ryan Baker]

If you knock the corners off the plastic ones (the original point of this thread I guess), they don't stick open any longer. They are now self-cleaning, just like the aluminum ones.

But I'll take your word for it that the aluminum ones seal better when the DC is on. Like I said, the ones I've examined have large gaps. But if those close when the DC is running then good enough.

Yes. I haven't done that to my plastic gates yet, but I agree that it is a good trick and would help them a lot. My point was just that the aluminum ones are not really as sloppy as they appear.

[Rick Potter]

Be sure to open the gate before cutting off the corners.

Rick Potter

[Aaron Montgomery]

I made my gates for the 6" S&D that runs throughout my shop. I also wanted self-cleaning blast gates that wouldn't leak air when they were open. My solution was to staple a piece of rubber on the back side of the gate. When the gate is closed, any debris is pushed out. When the gate is opened, the vacuum pulls the rubber tight and seals the back of the gate.