Cyclone project part III

[Julio Navarro]

Well, it was long and hard and had a few failures but I finally finished the sheet metal break. The welding sucks big time, its ugly but it works.

This was my first time welding. While it was fun it was also frustrating.

I made some of the cuts for the cyclone last week end. I used full scale plots of Bill Pentz's cyclone design layed over top a sheet of 4x10 22ga galv steel. I then used an electric sheer to cut the parts following the full size templet.

It aint pretty but it worked (please excuse the shop its a MESS from a week of welding and cutting metal.)

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Heres the 22ga bent..worket great!

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Nice sharp corner I think.
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[Vaughn McMillan]

Hey, if it works, it works. The Tokyo Bender Brake has arrived in the US. BTW, the only difference between your bench and mine is that you can see more of the top of yours. I'd have to move stuff to get that much exposed edge.

Looking forward to seeing the cyclone go together.

- Vaughn

[Stu Ablett in Tokyo Japan]

Hey Julio, you done good!!

You are even smart enough to label the top of you brake, I forgot to do that, and now I have to ask one of my kids to come down and figure it out for me (they got their mothers brains, thankfully).... ;) :D

All kidding aside, ya the welds could be neater, but as long as it works, that is just great!

Besides, you have to practice to learn to weld, and if you can make something of use while you practice, hey, you are ahead of the game!

Waiting for more pics and progress!

Cheers!

[Julio Navarro]

Here are links to the pics of the cyclone parts cutting.

Warning pics are kinda big!

I plotted the templets full scale and adhered then to the sheet metal using Spray Mount:

One half:
http://www.pulterfi.com/woodworking/images/templetone.JPG
Next half
http://www.pulterfi.com/woodworking/images/templettwo.JPG

starting the cutting:
http://www.pulterfi.com/woodworking/images/startcutting.JPG

First cut done:
http://www.pulterfi.com/woodworking/images/finishedcut.JPG

Cutting the radius was the hardest, as you may imagine. The sheers seemed to cut better towards the left rather than the right. Not sure why this is, the cutting head looked identical left and right blade:
http://www.pulterfi.com/woodworking/images/secondhardest.JPG

The hardest cut was the round air ramp and of course the inner circle was the hardest of the two cuts but the shears cut splendidly.
http://www.pulterfi.com/woodworking/images/kindahard.JPG
http://www.pulterfi.com/woodworking/images/firsthardest.JPG

All the peices cut!
I used 24x448 3/4" MDF as the work table. The segmentation helped with the cutting as I was able to separate two panels so the shears could cut between them. This way the sheet metal could lay flat while cutting:
http://www.pulterfi.com/woodworking/images/alldone.JPG

Ive already started the bending and rolling.

More pics to come.

[Julio Navarro]

Thanks Stu. That was the second version of the break, not gonna show you the first :(

But you are right about the welding and doing something usefull while learning.

[Jim Becker]

Thanks for posting this, Julio. It really gives a good look at the work required to build one of these things!

[tod evans]

julio, like jim says your postings give a very good account of the amount of time required to build a cyclone, how about posting a list of material cost as well? i think if more folks knew how much money they`d save by building their own,(and supporting bill pentz), lots of folks would opt for this design over the commercially available units.....02 tod

[larry merlau]

julio, like jim says your postings give a very good account of the amount of time required to build a cyclone, how about posting a list of material cost as well? i think if more folks knew how much money they`d save by building their own,(and supporting bill pentz), lots of folks would opt for this design over the commercially available units.....02 tod

i second tods motion for the list of materails and cost involved. and on the other side of the coin we can better appreciate the manufactured ones. sometimes we cant compare.

[Randy Denby]

Being in the HVAC business, I can still buy a 4' x 10' sheet of 24 gge. metal for less than 20 dollars. I havent priced 22 gge in a while. I would think the material cost would be less than a hundred, maybe 150.oo if making a sheetmetal brake. Of course, then you still need to buy the blower and filters etc. I would put the cost of buying a new blower assembly/ filters , cyclone cost, etc to be close to 60-70% of a new Oneida. But they use even heavier metal and Baldor motors.
I would scout out for a used blower and get the cost on down to around 40%. But the main reason for doing it yourself? I'd think it would be fun. If I'd had plans or knowledge of Bill Pentz site when I was in the market, I'd sure would of jumped on it.
Shoot, I may do it anyway. Then I could compare performance against my Oneida...

[Julio Navarro]

Here's an itemized list of materials and tools as I remember.

Assuming you have all the tools the material cost is less than the cost of the commercial model..comparatively speaking. Comparing a 5hp motor, 14" impeller, and 18" dia cyclone, commercially your looking at a $600 plus machine (grizzly 5hp size for size is 2,333.00 with shipping). So far I have invested about $300 in the motor, impeller, blower housing and add about $60 for the sheet metal.

Disclaimer: I do not claim that my cyclone will be anywhere near the quality of a brand new Grizzly. I think this has to be taken into consideration. Grizzly's cyclone comes with the filter it is a 14ga (mine is 22ga no way I could have used 14ga! and the blower housing is 11ga steel mine is MDF.) Clearly Grizzly's cyclone is a professional model and cant be compared per se.

Here's a list of only cyclone materials and equiptment:

motor 5hp(rated HF) $60(on sale with coupon) American made brand is about $200 or more!
impeller 14" $80 from Ed Morgano $175 .00
blower housing $95.00
sheet metal $60.00Tools: (most tools I used I had to buy since I didnt have them before)

Welder 80A MIG $190used
Drill press: $199 Ryobi 12"
Grinder $60 Hitachi 5amp 4-1/2"(to replace the HF pneumatic $15)
Assorted clamps ?$30?
Electric Sheers $60 Northern Tools (to replace the HF that broke $30)
One roll of Flux core .30mm $10
3/4" MDF, 5 sheets for top $35 HDMaterial for brake:

Misc. steel $40
One week learning to weld(kind of)Experiance, knowledge, friendships and advice from 'Creekers' and feeling of satisfaction: You decide.

Add about $50 for odds and ends, pliars, screws, etc.

I figure the filters will be around $150

[Frank Chaffee]

Julio,
I commend you for jumping into metalwork like you have! I also learned to weld on my own. I hope that this thread will inspire others to do so as well.
I have a question for you regarding the use of the handheld shear you used; can you follow a line with it closely?
Nice progress, and I will be following…
Frank

[tod evans]

Disclaimer: I do not claim that my cyclone will be anywhere near the quality of a brand new Grizzly. I think this has to be taken into consideration. Grizzly's cyclone comes with the filter it is a 14ga (mine is 22ga no way I could have used 14ga! and the blower housing is 11ga steel mine is MDF.) Clearly Grizzly's cyclone is a professional model and cant be compared per se.



julio, basing my comments on what i`ve read on bill pentz sight and what i`ve heard, i think you`ll be very pleased with the performance of your cyclone even if it doesn`t have a pretty paint job....and you will have built it here in the usa! my hat`s off to you sir! .02 tod

[Julio Navarro]

Julio,

I have a question for you regarding the use of the handheld shear you used; can you follow a line with it closely?
Nice progress, and I will be following…
Frank

The sheers are remarkably accurate to the nth degree. You can follow a line like you would use a scissors on paper only streighter. The sheers require effort to turn or deviate so the cut is very very straight!

[Julio Navarro]

julio, basing my comments on what i`ve read on bill pentz sight and what i`ve heard, i think you`ll be very pleased with the performance of your cyclone even if it doesn`t have a pretty paint job....and you will have built it here in the usa! my hat`s off to you sir! .02 tod

Thank you Tod. I certainly am looking forward to testing the finished product.

[Richard Neel]

SMC done ran you outta bandwidth Julio! I can't see your pictures!