Our beloved Vandercook 232 Proving Machine (proof letterpress), aka Hilda, broke. Specifically, it was her clutch that went bonkers. We use the word “bonkers” here because we really didn’t know much about clutches… It was slipping… It sounded like things were grinding and the press struggling at times. Casual inspections only yielded to us that …
Activated Charcoal Filter Overview: The exhaust gas from the electro-static-filter unit flows to this laser activated charcoal filter unit. The main body of the unit has a drawer where the activated charcoal pellets are kept in two separate chambers. We use 4×6 mm coal based activated charcoal pallets for the best overall absorption of varieties …
Letterpress Cylinder Repair: Our Vandercook Proof Letterpress 232P is almost a century old… Well, not that much. 80 years old? Something like that. Well, over the decades, press operators (like us) have left hammers, quoin keys and who knows what on the press and let it run. So inevitably the press cylinder is not in …
DIY Blast Gate, 4 inch diameter, Laser Cut Edition: We have made available the PDF of our first version of exhaust and dust collection blast gate, lased from 1/4″ MDF and a piece of paper and a bunch of 1″ 6-32 machine screws. It’s made for use with 4″ dia. schedule 1 PVC irrigation pipes. …
Overview: The Electro-Static Air Filter charges the incoming fume into one charge and collects the particles onto the subsequent plate with an opposing charge. It reduces the smoky character of the laser exhaust fume down to visibly clear form prior to the Activate Charcoal Filter. The earlier versions of our laser fume scrubber employed HEPA …
Overview: This is what we call the stage 3 Large Particulate Filter where the raw laser fume is first mechanically filtered. It employs an easily procurable and economical 16 x 25 x 1″ disposable HVAC filter. We use MERV 13 that can be ordered on Amazon in bulk (or equivalent 3M filters as they do …
Overview: The laser engraver has two 4″ dia. ports for its exhaust output; One from the above and the other from the bottom of the lasing table. We thought about designing and attaching a rigid intake unit directly behind the laser machine to control and direct the flow at the lowest resistance but it didn’t …
Overview: The laser engraver had two size options, 3 or 4″ dia., for its two exhaust ports. We opted for the larger one to maximize the gas flow. One port is for the fume exiting from the top of the table. The other port connected to the bottom center of the lasing table. This is for …
Previous Laser Fume Extractor Versions: Before we reached the current working version of Bernie, 8.2, the DIY Laser Fume Extractor, there were many mistakes and many revisions to the designs and prototypes. Here are some for your entertainment: \
Return to DIY Laser Fume Extractor: Part 1 First Thing First: CAUTION!! Laser engravers and laser cutters release toxic fumes including carbon monoxide, even when used properly. Some will kill you slowly. SOME WILL KILL YOU FAST!!! Some resulting funerals may be closed casket scenarios. Some will save money by cremating you for you. So …
Why Another DIY Laser Fume Extractor? For our first “real” laser engraver purchase, we knew we needed a “real” laser fume extractor system. Our goal to cut through and engrave MDFs and Plexiglass required relatively powerful laser machine (130W). That meant burning through glue laden wood materials and solid plastics quickly. Doing this would release …