Slab Saw Sucker

Well, I put together my slab saw sludge sucker the other day and thought I would try it out on my little 16" HP saw first. Man! It worked so great that I thought I could suck up anything with it! Bad assumption. I looked at the catch tray that was full of chips and caked-up oil and I proceeded to vacuum those up. Mistake. Those chips with the caked oil did a great job of jamming up the (clear) suction tubing. I made my suction hose about 7.5 feet long because I have some bigger saws that I plan on using this gizmo on. After I found an eight-foot length of rebar to use as a ramrod, I finally knocked out the blockage. Anyway, after I got going again and finished up getting the sludge out of that saw, all I can say is that I'M IMPRESSED! Also, I found out that Shop Vac makes a 1" adapter (which I just happened to have on hand) that fits perfectly into the flexible pour spout of the 5-gallon bucket lid, where you attach your vacuum hose. I can see where I am going to be using this sludge sucker for a long time! Thanks again for posting this!

I built a version of Tony's slab saw sucker with a 5 gallon bucket and standard shop vac hose and crevice tool.

The drawback to the shop vac hose is that it's corrugated, so stuff could collect in there and suppose eventually make it stiff. Here links to the shop vac hose and crevice tool I used.

www.homedepot.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?storeId=10051&langId=-1&catalogId=10053&productId=100016791&marketID=101&locStoreNum=2806&categoryID=524502

www.homedepot.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?storeId=10051&langId=-1&catalogId=10053&productId=100074040&marketID=101&locStoreNum=2806&categoryID=524502

I was concerned about suction loss with that much hose in addition to the hose attached to the vac, but I got plenty of suction and was able to get into most areas of my 10" saw or close enough to get all the gunk cleaned out.

Here is my slab sucker. Of course I had to set it down on my only winter kill spot for the photo.


It was very quick and easy to put together. As a bonus, the crevice tool fits into the shop vac connector on the bucket, so I can drain the hose back into the bucket.

Chuck

For those of us that with less time to spend fabricating our own, similar devices are available from woodworking suppliers for chip collectors- I've seen lids made to fit galvanized garbage cans . All you would need is a sucker wand (crevice tool might do) and a few feet of hose. There may be something smaller available, too. It would be neat to have the muck dump right into a filter bag and let the clean oil drip into the bottom of the garbage can.

By the way, is ther any reason you couldn't build this thing with PVC pipe?

Matrk H.

slick idea, likely try one too, thanks. Any idea of mfg. of saw. We have one of same saw [16"], bought from original owner who bought it in Portland, OR. He didn't remember name of maker.

Thanks catmandewe, nice to know the saw brand and where it was made.

I don't even use the wand anymore, it is just another part to plug up. I just have the 1 1/4" hose now with no wand, it just works better that way.

Tony

I built one & used it on a 14" HP saw that I bought used. It had a thick layer of muck on the bottom & even that got sucked right up. It's now a couple of months since I first used it & I've been cutting lots of Indian Blanket Jasper. Man, talk about mud! It looks like I've been cutting bricks. No I said "cutting"!

The mineral oil I've started using seems to get absorbed by the muck. I hope I can recover it.

Lynn

Dump your rock snot in a bucket, fill the bucket 3/4 of the way with water and stir it real good with a stick. After a couple of days the mud will settle back to the bottom, and the oil will float on top. Just dip the oil out with an old cup.

If it helps, When Our oil gets that thick, I just add a gallon of clean oil, stir it up then drain it out. Works real well. last time we cleaned our saw, I remove the drain plug and replaced it with a 3/8th inch pipe nipple. Then I added a ball valve, some clear plastic tubing, and when it's time to clean the oil, I stir the sludge up real well, tile the saw ever so slightly, open the valve and drain the sludge directly into some ready to go grocery bag lined 5 gal buckets with a shelf 1/3 of the way up so the bottom of the bags can drain fast, and also so there is room for the clean oil to go. I use two buckets to do 5 gallons of sludge, and the whole thing takes me maybe 15 minutes! Could be adapted with larger barrels for sure! I did learn to filter more often, which afaic, is a good thing.
No, I don't super clean the inside of the saw, just scoop out he left over rock bits and etc, and then fill it with the clean oil. I can't see cleaning it "Clean", I mean heck, why? The first rock I cut is going to dirty the saw anyway, so as long as there's not much left in there, it doesn't hurt anything.
End result? Dirty job now a fast, relatively clean one. I can take some pics if anyone wants. I do like the vacuum idea tho for our other Lortone drop saw..... the way it is constructed I can't stir the sludge up to get it thru the drain... too much stuff in the way... but I should be able to shove a sucker tube most everywhere and get it clean enough!
Phil