Using Fimo to make vacuum adapter?

[treenoakio]

Hi, I'm planning to make up an adapter to connect a vacuum cleaner to my Trend router table. I have a plastic bottle with the base cut off which goes over the circular port at the back of the fence. The vacuum nozzle needs to be held and to seal in the over-wide neck of the bottle.

I'm thinking of using Fimo, the bakeable polymer modelling clay to make an object that replaces the screw-top of the bottle. This would be something much more substantial that the nozzle can be held securely in. Has anyone ever used Fimo or any similar mouldable material to construct detailed (coarse threaded) parts for jigs and fixtures?

I would prefer to use something a bit more businesslike than Fimo if such material exists and someone would be kind enough to tell me what it is.

-- Richard

[Mary Fisher]

Have you thought of a flexible medium like meltable vinyl rubber (e.g. Gelflex)? If you get it wrong you can re-use it. Baked Fimo can break.

We made some reproduction old blood bottles for TV using Gelflex as the moulding medium, they were threaded.

This might not be what you wanted, sorry if I've misunderstood.

Mary

Mary

[treenoakio]

Thanks I'll look into using Gelflex. I know what you mean about the possible breakage of Fimo but it is quite rigid when baked and I was considering making the item as chunky as possible.

I'm not yet as clear about the details as I'd like to be, so misunderstanding wouldn't be difficult.

-- Richard

[treenoakio]

Thanks I'll look into using Gelflex. I know what you mean about the possible breakage of Fimo but it is quite rigid when baked and I was considering making the item as chunky as possible.

I'm not yet as clear about the details as I'd like to be, so misunderstanding wouldn't be difficult.

-- Richard

[treenoakio]

Thanks I'll look into using Gelflex. I know what you mean about the possible breakage of Fimo but it is quite rigid when baked and I was considering making the item as chunky as possible.

I'm not yet as clear about the details as I'd like to be, so misunderstanding wouldn't be difficult.

-- Richard

[Roly]

I wanted to make a similar device for my router table. I took my existing vacuum cleaner hose to a dealer ( at our local market as it happened ). He sells all sorts of third-party hoses, bags and accessories for vacuum cleaners.

I bought a crevice tool that fitted my hosepipe and then cut the end off and used a Liquid Metal sort of material to join it to the dust collection arrangement that I'd built for the table. I would imagine that even Gaffer tape would have done the job reasonably well.

It was cheap, effective and very serviceable. It even looks OK too.

[treenoakio]

"liquid metal" seems like a couple of good key word,m I'll do a search

-- Richard

[Peter Ashby]

That is what I used to connect my Earlex to my Trend table until I bought the widebore hose kit that goes on without an adapter. Oh, you might need a couple of jubilee clips too. A hairdryer was sufficient heat (advantage of teenage daughters).

Peter

[treenoakio]

Thanks for the suggestion but unless I'm very much mistaken, this is a quite expensive alternative to a couple of turns of duct tape. Great idea for air-tightness but I'm trying to make something with a more rigid and self-supporting structure.

-- Richard

[Peter Ashby]

You would have a job to bridge that gap with duct tape. And I need to use the extractor with tools other than the router table so tape is no good. It was actually pretty good without jubilee clips, it just helped with all the vibration. Which is why something too rigid is not a good idea, you will want it to be able to move a bit.

Peter

[treenoakio]

You have a good point there. :-) Rigidity is relative I suppose. The sort of rigidity I had in mind would be just enough to stop the interconnected parts wobbling about too much.

-- Richard

[adder1969]

Cast something out of resin?

[treenoakio]

I appreciate the number of skills I'm being enticed to develop, including those of vacuum cleaner mechanic, in the quest to produce this spice rack. Even so, resin casting is a multi-step process that I was hoping to dodge by using Fimo, or perhaps some similar material with a more workman-like name. Though, as long as the whole thing doesn't morph completely out of recognition I remain open to suggestion.

-- Richard

[Peter Ashby]

Ah spice racks, yes. The last one I built I ripped the stock out of a

2x4 piece of Wickes pine, by hand. I figured it resulted in stock that was effectively quarter sawn. I forget how many meters I hand sawed and planed but SWMBO was well pleased. Router used to cut the dadoes for the shelves and to round over the fronts.

One day I will have the readies to buy a table saw, or maybe simply a decent ripsaw. My panel saw is a good one, it just doesn't cut all that quickly on the rip ;-)

Peter

[pjlusenet]

Polymorph might help

've not used it myself but you heat it in boiling water then mould it. You can then re-use it again by heating

[John Rumm]

I find offcuts of polypropylene waste pipe good for vacuum adaptors. Hot melt glue, insulating tape, gaffer tape etc can make many contraptions work.

[John Rumm]

I can't believe we have got this far into a thread without someone recommending car body filler! ;-)

[treenoakio]

Spot on! I just went into the garage and the one and only piece of waste pipe I had fitted both parts. Joint made! Damn! Now I'll have to think of another excuse to buy some Fimo.

-- Dick

[treenoakio]

Stinky, gloopy stuff and not very hand mouldable in my limited experience.

[treenoakio]

When I lived closer to him I would often borrow my father-in-law's hand rip saw. It had been his Grandad's before him. What a difference that used to make and so easy to file with those big teeth.

-- Dick Treen