As you can probably tell, it’s mostly full of dust (duh). What’s the problem with it being mostly full of dust? Well, it makes the can heavier for the schmuck who empties it. It also messes up the cyclone. What, cyclone? Behold: an annotated version!
The dust is backed up into the bend. This is bad, and also not good.
The cyclone spins here (marked in blue) and allows the heavier dust particles to fall into the bin before it can clog the filter. Sadly, the cyclone will not allow the dust to settle today, because there is no room.
Figure 3: (No, this is not a scene from the Dune movie.)
The spring clamping band requires two hands. Meanwhile the bent metal hooks are the only things holding the bag up, except they aren’t… because they’re bent. So it makes the task impossible/challenging. Also, you can’t access or see the back of the bag (where the bent hooks are) without moving the thing away from the wall, which is also covered in dust.
This is after I emptied the bag. I’m pretty sure I got an airtight seal but it doesn’t sit evenly.
Summary
I used the big CNC twice. I have never seen it empty and without leaks. The spring hooks and clamp are not suitable for this type of frequent use. If you do it incorrectly, it makes a big mess. It’s a bad design.
Thank you for taking the time to make this awesome post—great Dune reference btw. There is nothing worse than members failing in their responsibility to clean up after themselves… this truly sucks (see what I did there )!
I, we, appreciate you cleaning it up and I give you my most sincere thank you for stepping up.
@aanne3 , this sucks. I know @zipset has pointed this issue out many times as well.
I will be reminding CNC users of each individual session’s closeout responsibility is to empty the bag and the bin. This is mentioned in the CNC classes as well as written on our Wiki. Going forward I will be sending out enforcement warnings to members who do not follow through with this.
Thank you for doing what you did and not perpetuating the mess further.
On the DC being difficult to change. @dannym I’m not sure what other setup was in place. It has been like this since I’ve been here.
I’m very interested in modifying this to something that can hold a bin, or dump into another trash can / barrel, rather than the bag. Or if there’s a modification such that the bag is significantly easier to change and maintain, I’m up for that too.
I’m bringing a big toy from the house… Tomorrow I’ve got some time blocked off to change over this dust collector to an Oneida Supercell. No bags, easy filter cleaning, easy dust bin removal.
If you’d like to come by and help out, the time I’ve got blocked is from about 2 to 6pm.
Today, @mgmoore is kind enough to lend his time to help make sure the electrical is in place.
)!