Shop Accessories...

[harryball]

I'm wondering what other botters use... I'm ready to make a few purchases.

Digital Caliper, I see them from $25 to $200. I just want something decent.

Hearing Protection, I'm looking for a good ENC (Electronic Noise Canceling) headset with AM/FM built in or with a jack.

Cordless Keyboard, anyone? is it worth it?

ShopVac for vac holddown. It seems everyone is partial to Fein. Is there a less expensive alternative that is doing OK for anyone? Anything creative?

Dust Collection hose. Seems silly at first, but the hose I have now is durable but heavy. I looked at another hose that is very light... but I could tear it easily with my fingers.

Suggestions? Are you using something you do/don't like?

Robert

[gerald_d]

http://www.consumersearch.com/www/house_and_home/shop-vac-reviews/fullstory.html

[elcruisr]

One thing to remember about ENC headsets. They generally offer less DB reduction than a good set of the older style. Watch the DB ratings!

[bcammack]

From everything I've read here about ShopVac vs. Fein, I have concluded that one of my favorite adages applies: "Many people have paid just a little less for nearly half the quality."


Harbor Freight often has their digital calipers on sale for $16.00

[patricktoomey]

Feins are pretty darned expensive and don't hold any better than larg ShopVacs but the difference is the noise level. I have one Fein and one ShopVac. I run the Fein alone when working with up to 4 of my 8 zones. When working with full sheets I run both but the shop is not nearly as nice with the ShopVac running. With a spindle, and the Fein running it's relatively quiet in the shop. If you're running a spindle I would definitely recommend the Fein just so you can hear yourself think in the shop.

[harryball]

With a 3HP Gorilla (Oneida) sitting in the corner, mines not a quiet shop. I have 2 shopvacs now, medium sized units. One of them is louder than the Gorilla.
I suppose I could build an enclosure for a couple of larger shopvac units. I could build that enclosure when I'm building the one for the Gorilla... eventually... I guess. :-)

I wear ear plugs right now, they work but I really want to get to some music.

Robert

[beacon14]

The sound of the ShopBot cutting is supposed to be music to your ears.

[trakwebster]

Caliper
=======
I've generally purchased inexpensive calipers from whoever has one on sale (grizzly, mscdirect, woodcraft, leevalley, pennstate, etc) and have had no difficulties.

However, probably you will wish to purchase two of them. One metric, and one in digital inches.

Noise Reduction:
===============
I took my handy Radio Shack decibel-meter and tested the sound levels. My PRT with a Makita router, plus air filter, plus dust collector, came to 76 decibels when standing right next to it.

This is the sound level of an average factory or the sound level of a full orchestra playing. It is just below the 90 decibels where hearing loss surely begins to occur.

I took the same meter to a neighboring store where they have a lot of beer and sodas in refrigerators, and discovered that his refrigerators made just about the same level of noise as my Shopbot rig. The guy's got some noisy refrigerators.

However, I don't like gambling when certainty is so cheap, so I wear hearing protection anyway. But what works just fine for me is a pair of yellow plastic earplugs from Ace Hardware. I think they cost $3-$5, and they're small and comfortable, and they cut the sound level way down to a very comfortable level.

[I also find that my thinking is clearer and less anxious when I avoid working in loud noises, so I wear them when working with *any* noisy tool, just for clarity and peace of mind.]

However, a caveat. I purchased the (slightly underpowered) 2.5 hp Makita because it had the lowest sound rating of any router I could find. (I was worried about the neighbors throwing me out of my shop.) My Porter Cable in the routing table is noticeably louder.

My dust collector is a small one purchased from Penn State as is my air filter. If you have a larger one, probably it makes more noise.

But my suggestion is, for starters, try the inexpensive earplugs. If it sounds way quiet, that's probably enough to safeguard your hearing.

Or, to be certain, you could buy a Radio Shack decibel meter, or some high-powered earmuff type of hearing protection.

[myxpykalix]

On the earplug suggestion, I wonder if anyone know the type of squishy earplugs that shopbot uses? I snagged 3 or 4 pair and i like them alot. You just squish them down, insert and they expand back to fill your ear cavity. They are so comfortable i have slept in them a few times (when i had a pesky cricket I could never find in the room.)

[harryball]

I'm going to pick up an inexpensive digital caliper next time I get the chance.

I use the squishy earplugs myself, Grainger sells them in a large box of 500. I purchased one! They are good but don't play music :-) My hearing protection requirements are probably a little different than most, about 20 years ago I contracted a very bad virus that damaged my inner ear. Among other things, if I'm exposed to loud noises for long periods I get vertigo very bad, can't even stand at times. The threshold seems to be around 75dB. Certain frequencies set it off too. I use ENC headphones when flying and they work great but these are not specifically for hearing protection and don't do as well if you try to use them as such.

Robert

[dingwall]

Digital Calipers.

I've had a couple of Mitutoyo 6" and have had a couple of cheap $50.00 ones. The cheap ones seem to be just as accurate, but they are way slower to respond and aren't sealed as well so saw dust gets under the display window. They don't feel as nice in your hand either. In comparison, I find the cheap sets frustrating to use.

I bought both Mitutoyo's used for a little over $100 each.

[burchbot]

Hi Jack
The squishy earplugs we use at work are called Max Lite. I wear them all day.
Dan

[harryball]

I purchased a $30 Empire caliper, it's metal with a 0.000 readout. It does ok and feels fine, though I expect the saw dust will eventually intrude. I measured a sheet I cut at .760 to get a final cut through and it reported .762 I had to clean the edges on my work a tad... so that seems right.

I also purchased the Peltor worktunes set NRR 22dB and they seem to do better than my other non-radio headset but not quite as good as the ear plugs which show a rating of 33dB. They were on sale at Norhtern Tool for $49.99 one day only (yeah, well you know how one day sales are). I'm happy with them for the price. I'd still like a 150dB ENC Blackhole Headset (I jest) they are so good you can't stand the sound of the silence. :-)

For kicks I pulled out a 4.5HP Wall Canister shopvac I have... ummm... on a single quadrant for ME it seems to do just fine! I was unable to lift my bat house top from the table once it was cut out. I had to look close to make sure the cut went all the way. Turned off the vac... picked it right up. I'm going to tinker some more but these vac heads are inexpensive and small enough I could put one on each quadrant (4 heads) built in with a noise box over them. Then I could have a switch for each head and just turn on the vac quadrant I wanted. Still playing with the shop vac idea, I'll keep you guys posted.

I'm running my bot from a notebook PC. Has anyone ever mounted the PC on the end of the gantry? So it rides back and forth with the head? Just curious. My setup is OK but I've had to zero Z out in the middle of the table a few times... just thinking of ideas.

FYI for those south of Atlanta, the old Delta/Porter Cable service center which closed has reopened as a private shop by one of the guys that worked there. In addition to repairs, he has Freud bits in stock and is ordering Amana and some other brand as well. He said he's going to make sure to stock some spiral bits. He will carry dust collection hoses, saw blades, refurbed tools etc... No business connection with him but us south siders know how lacking shops are down here. I for one missed the place when it closed. Just wanted to pass along the info.

Robert

[dhunt]

From a computer point of view,
mounting a PC on the end of the gantry so it rides back and forth with the head seems cool, but in the long run I have vibration worries for that PC.
Hard drives aren't going to like that too much,
(although vibration beats big jars and jolts like being dropped)
...still, over time, vibration will loosen things, back out screws,
resulting it sloppy holds for this and that component inside the case.

I'd be a lil careful about that mounting,cool as it is,admittedly.
How long have you had it set up like that?
A year or so?
If it's still working nicely after a year,
I'd say you've been lucky.

On the other hand, if you had it mounted in some sorta squishy-foam,anti-vibration setup to minimise gantry vibrations,
that could be verrry cool!(and durable/lasting)
..............................
Didn't someone come out with a line of waterproof,bang-able laptops for outdoor workers?
- for ppl like the Forest Service, guys working on supply boats(oil rigs),
Marine Bio types, stuff like that...computers out in the field, and weather..
built tought to withstand vibration,bangs and moisture and damp..
I saw it on TV about a year ago:
perhaps you might locate and try one of them in your moving-gantry setup!

[waynelocke]

This is almost on thread. I recently burned out a Fein vacuum. A service tech at an authorized repair center gave me a price of about $220.00 for a Fein replacement but told me that Grainger sells an Ametek two stage motor, Grainger #2M433 for $118.85. I have not purchased one yet but he said it is a perfect fit into the Fein and, while they have not put a decibel meter on it, seems as quiet as the Fein. It got me thinking of some variation on Ron Brown's vacuum table (search he forum) with several less expensive vacuum motors mounted to and under the plenum. Using these blowers you could make a similar table with the noise level of a Fein.
Wayne

[gerald_d]

It is the Fein's motor housing that keeps the noise down - the motors themselves, of all brands, "Fein" included, make a similar racket. (Ametek's "Acustek" technology supposedly makes their brand quieter)