retractable floor sweep?

[Thomas Crawford]

Is there some kind of retractable 4" floor sweep? Over by my workbench I don't really want a permanent piece of spiral on the wall. I really just need to clean up plane shavings every once and a while and would like to just pull something down from the ceiling and lock it in place.

I have a shop-vac but it just gunks up the filter so fast and the big shavings clog it up anyway.

[Jim Becker]

Put a blast gate up higher on the wall and use a hose. You can pin it up when you're not using it or use a quick disconnect to, well, disconnect it and store it away. Just be sure you've moved small tools away...

[Paul F Franklin]

Put a blast gate up higher on the wall and use a hose. You can pin it up when you're not using it or use a quick disconnect to, well, disconnect it and store it away. Just be sure you've moved small tools away...

and small pets

[Bruce Wrenn]

How about a piece of DC hose held up on a barn door track, that you could pull over when needed. As for clogging vacuum, either get a "Dust Deputy" or build a Thien baffle. Both work well

[Andrew Seemann]

I've gone back and forth on installing a floor sweep. My reason for not doing it so far, other than not wanting to run the duct or sacrifice the floor space, is that emptying the dust collection barrel is a pain, and if I am going to sweep shavings or dust on the floor, I might as well sweep them into a dust pan and dump them in the trash instead of the floor sweep.

[Jim Becker]

I've gone back and forth on installing a floor sweep. My reason for not doing it so far, other than not wanting to run the duct or sacrifice the floor space, is that emptying the dust collection barrel is a pain, and if I am going to sweep shavings or dust on the floor, I might as well sweep them into a dust pan and dump them in the trash instead of the floor sweep.

I find that my floor sweeps are essential for just general cleanup of the floor. I don't intentionally/specifically sweep shavings and debris onto the floor, per se, but a lot ends up there for a variety of reasons anyway. I just did a shop cleanup the other day after a series of projects. Being able to move all the debris with a broom to my floor sweeps made for a much more efficient cleanup. Yea, the bin under the cyclone gets heavy when full, but I fill it up enough anyway that a little bit extra from cleaning the shop doesn't matter much in the overall game. This was just the start from one small area around my bench...

IMG_7486.jpg

[Thomas Crawford]

I have the home depot add-on bucket thing for the shop vac but large shavings get caught. I guess I should toss it and get better dust deputy.

I have a floor sweep but its across the room. I rearranged my shop and moved my bench, I had previously planned on having a machine there so had a drop ready to go.

Here's the space:
IMG_4925.jpg

I want to put a cabinet there so maybe just having the blast gate up high is the way to go with flex hose under that.

[David M Peters]

I think that the "extra hose controlled by blast gate" is a good compromise on a traditional floor sweep. You can even dress it up with a nozzle/handle.

Around my lathe I'll sweep up shavings into a pile and then hit them with the hose. Around/on the tablesaw I'll use a bench brush attachment to get into nooks & crannies.

[Thomas Crawford]

I think that the "extra hose controlled by blast gate" is a good compromise on a traditional floor sweep. You can even dress it up with a nozzle/handle.

Around my lathe I'll sweep up shavings into a pile and then hit them with the hose. Around/on the tablesaw I'll use a bench brush attachment to get into nooks & crannies.

Thanks for link, that's probably the route to go.

[David M Peters]

Tom, while you're buying stuff I'd recommend getting a swivel fitting for the assembly, I think this is the one I have. It really does make a big difference in allowing the bulky 4" hose to be maneuvered around.

[Jim Becker]

I have a floor sweep but its across the room. I rearranged my shop and moved my bench, I had previously planned on having a machine there so had a drop ready to go.

I initially had two of them; one 5" at each end of the shop and they were at the end of a branch so putting them in was only a matter of an extra wye, a blast gate and a little pipe. My bandsaw shares that drop on the south end and my lathe...where it is now...shares the drop at the other end. For awhile, I had my lathe in a different position and added a floor sweep there by extending a 4" drop from an unused and closed off position from the "way back" original duct design. Having them in more than one place, especially for a larger shop is convenient and requires less shuffling of material long distances with the broom.