Making a 6" pvc wye

[david brum]

Hi all

I thought this might help anyone who needs one of these. I couldn't find a source for one. The straight-with-branch type is fairly common, but uses up way too much space. After a bit of head scratching, I realized that I could resaw two 45 degree elbows and make my own.

I basically halved two 45 degree elbows, sanded the surfaces to mate properly, then glued them together with pvc cement. I also permanently glued a length of 6" pvc pipe into the jointed opening to give more support.

[david brum]

For the resaw, I screwed the offcut part of the elbow to a scrap of plywood and ran it through the bandsaw. I used the stock bandsaw blade which came with my saw. It's useless for wood, but works great for plastic or aluminum.

Of course, I was carefull to mark half of the diameter of the elbow's opening and resaw accordingly.

[Cliff Holmes]

Wow, that's a slick idea! Consider it stolen ;)

[david brum]

I sanded the halves on a plywood scrap with coarse sandpaper glued to it. The halves were glued with standard pvc glue, then clamped with hose clamps until dry. The whole operation took about an hour. Most of the time was spent sanding the halves perfectly flat and complementary.

After the whole thing was dry, I glued a section of pipe permanently into the glued opening. It seems plenty strong and works great!

[david brum]

Thanks Cliff. Steal away!

[David Hostetler]

Absolutely fantastic idea!

[Al Barale]

Nice one David, and very neat.

[Jim O'Dell]

Nice job!!! Jim.

[david brum]

Thanks guys. This was the last piece of the puzzle of how to fit a 3hp DC into my shop. The main problem was that our well's pressure tank was right where the DC needed to go. Further compounding the problem was that the dog kennel was just where the pressure tank could be moved to. My solution was:

1)Find a new owner for the dog. First time I've used craigslist for this sort of thing, but it worked great. Not to sound callous, but the dog was a very poor fit for our family, and a real pain in the behind.

2)Dismantle stinky old dog kennel and reuse wood to make raised base for new DC.

3)Find a guy to barter services to pour a slab, run new wire, dig new plumbing and move the pressure tank.

4)Rehab a used 3hp DC, buy a 2nd Wynn cartridge, make a pair of Thien baffles, make new pvc fitting. Rattlecan white to match other machines.

5)Enjoy massive airflow to my machines. I also cut a 6" hole into the shopmade shroud for my CSMS. Amazing how the dust just flows into the shroud while making a cut!

I really had to shoehorn the new DC into my shop, but I'm very glad I did. I can already tell how much cleaner the air is, compared to my old 1.5hp DC. I definitely captures more fine dust spray. I still jump a little when I turn it on. The old DC roared, but this one roars louder.

[David Giles]

A straightforward and yet totally novel approach!

Where did you get the 6" metal slide gates?

[Jim Finn]

EXCELENT IDEA! When we sheet metal workers make that fitting of metal we call it "a pair of pants" It is about the most difficult fitting we make! You simplified it very well! This is a very efficent airflow fitting.

[david brum]

Where did you get the 6" metal slide gates?

David, they came from The Blastgate Company,
http://www.blastgateco.com/Blast-Gates.htm

Be aware that if you use S&D pipe, you'll have to shim down from the pipe to the blast gate. It happens that a short section of pipe with around 1/2" cut out will make a nearly perfect shim. Make sure to caulk afterwards.

I thought of getting 7" blast gates and shimming up, but it seemed like too much trouble.

[david brum]

EXCELENT IDEA! When we sheet metal workers make that fitting of metal we call it "a pair of pants" It is about the most difficult fitting we make!

That's hilarious Jim. Come to think of it, my fitting kind of looks like someone giving me the moon.

[Mike Cruz]

Fantastic! Love it! Consider it stolen, again...