DC intake safety "cross-hairs" clogging system....OK to remove?

[Quesne Ouaques]

The Delta 50-760 DC unit has a stamped metal "cross-hairs" right in the center of the 5" intake port. Presumably it is there to keep the curious from reaching their hand up into the spinning impeller, though I suppose there could be some structural function (i.e. to keep the port wall from buckling under the pressure of suction).

The problem is that, frequently, the metal cross provides a convenient spot for long, stringy planer shavings (such as pine) to get caught up and block the intake. This happens even on the slowest planer setting (90 cpi). In my permanently installed system, of course, this forces me to detach the intake duct and de-foul the port.

I imagine that other DC units have something similar, though I am only familiar with the Delta. I am curious if other DC units have a similar cross-hairs.

Has anyone else hit this problem? Would it be safe to remove the metal cross-hairs or do I risk damage to the intake?

Since my DC unit is permanently installed in a corner of my shop, it is extremely unlikely that I (or anyone else) would put their hand in for any reason. If the metal cross-hairs is there only for safety purposes, I am inclined to remove it.

Thanks in advance for any ideas or input.

[Rick Fisher]

I chopped mine out about 2 weeks ago. Since then I have emptied twice.
I have no regrets. Seems fine. I was getting nasty clogs with wet rough cedar. The clog was at the X that blocked the impellor. No Jam since.

Mine is a 2hp Shop Fox single bagger. I am replacing it in a month. New DC is on the way. Paritally why I chopped it out. Prior to that I wondered..

[Rick Potter]

My Delta 50-850, 1 1/2 HP never had a safety guard. I just checked. I suspect it is a lawyer requirement.

Rick Potter

[Lance Norris]

This has been discussed before with different opinions. The "cross hairs" are there for 2 reasons that I know of. They are there to protect the impeller and to keep hands out of the spinning blade. If you remove the crosshairs, you will get better performance with long stringy chips, but run the risk of damage if you have a floor sweep and suck up something like a rag or large chunk of wood. Its your call, I removed the crosshairs on my small Delta, but when I replaced the Delta with a larger Grizzly canister, I left the pieces in place. You could put a chip collector inline between the dust collector and your planer and this should solve your problem.

[Chuck Tringo]

Do a search here for Thien Baffle, or go to member Phil Thien's homepage. He has a design for a Baffle you can build from scraps and put on a garbage can to use as a chip separator. It gets great reviews and I will be building one for my 50-760 as soon as I finish my move.

[Robert Mayer]

I removed mine before it was even assembled.

Just dont stick your hand in there afterwards...especially when its running.

[Cliff Rohrabacher]

if those things belong anywhere it 's at each individual machine inlet not the blower.

[Jim Becker]

but run the risk of damage if you have a floor sweep and suck up something like a rag or large chunk of wood.

A floor sweep should never be used with a single stage DC unless there is some form of outboard pre-separator before the blower. Aside from the obvious damage potential, a piece of metal striking a metal impeller can spark.

[Peter Quinn]

On my machine that x serves no structural purpose, just there to keep any big junk from hitting the impeller, which is aluminum BTW. I think most single stage collectors run aluminum impellers, could be wrong there. Single stage is supposed to be non sparking in any event for safety. A simple staple would fly past the x and could cause a big problem. I'm using a garbage can pre separator, works wonders for things like maple and pine which would otherwise clog the collector quick. Its easier to empty than the bag on the machine which rarely fills up now as only very fine dust makes it past the first can. Suction is still very good.

On a side note I've always thought floor sweeps were a poor idea on many levels, never understood the appeal.

[Brian Penning]

I...uh...took mine out....mixed results....sorta...LOL
Getting one of those cyclone lids tomorrow...

http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f193/Bri68/Miscilaneous/IMG_2749.jpg?t=1218414945

[Dick Sylvan]

On a side note I've always thought floor sweeps were a poor idea on many levels, never understood the appeal.
I don't know how old you are, but I just turned 60, so not having to bend over and sweep a bunch of trash into a dustpan creates a lot of appeal.

[Josiah Bartlett]

I removed mine as well (HF dust collector), but I have noticed one issue. I do some hand planing occasionally, and the long curly strips tend to hang up on the impeller blades themselves instead of passing through, which makes the whole thing vibrate because it gets out of balance.

I solved it by just not using the DC to pick up neanderthal shavings and it hasn't been a problem. It seems to work fine with power planer and router table shavings.

[Peter Quinn]

I don't know how old you are, but I just turned 60, so not having to bend over and sweep a bunch of trash into a dustpan creates a lot of appeal.

I can appreciate your situation. I'm only 38, and while I can still bend over I don't do it willingly. i have a shop vac with three extensions, a dust pan on a handle and a magnetic bar on an extension pole. I send my chips to a farmer who uses them for bedding rather than send them to a land fill, and the farmer prefers not to receive dirt, screws and other refuse, just good clean shavings. And no walnut or polyurethane which I sometimes use.

My shop is long and skinny so I would need several floor sweeps to make it effective. I have read that the single biggest cause of small shop fires is ferrous metal entering the dust collector and igniting after the shop is closed. I'm not looking to encourage the introduction of metal into my dust collector by sweeping the floor into it. Forget dust cloud explosions in small systems, they are barely theoretically possible.

I have seen some great sweeps with powerful rare earth magnets in them to solve the metal issue. For me the shop vac fills the bill.

[larry cronkite]

Do a search here for Thien Baffle, or go to member Phil Thien's homepage. He has a design for a Baffle you can build from scraps and put on a garbage can to use as a chip separator. It gets great reviews and I will be building one for my 50-760 as soon as I finish my move.

I have tried several links to find the original design but none of them seem to work.

Has anybody have a workable link?

[Wilbur Pan]

http://www.cgallery.com/jpthien/cy.htm

That should do it.

[Steve Clardy]

My first bag unit, a small grizzly, would continually plug up.
I was planing a lot of pine then. I removed the X

[Stephen Edwards]

For me, the seperator is the best part of a DC system. You don't have to worry about clogs at the protective crosshairs and you don't have to empty the bag nearly as often. Seperators are cheap and easy to build and will save you lots of hassles and potential problems. The next best thing for a DC system, in my opinion, are a few conveniently located stationary floor sweeps.

[Rod Sheridan]

I don't know how old you are, but I just turned 60, so not having to bend over and sweep a bunch of trash into a dustpan creates a lot of appeal.

I have two floor sweeps in my shop, and in addition to being easier on my back, they suck up the small dust cloud that sweeping causes.

I don't have a problem with foreign objects as I have an Oneida cyclone.

I think if you have a cyclone, or a dual stage collector, you'll soon become familiar with the convenience of having a floor sweep.

Regards, Rod.