Adding shop air for bandsaw blower

[Winegrower]

I acquired a Jet VBS-900 bandsaw…this is a pretty amazing saw with something like a 35” throat. But, the air pump had a problem and my efforts to repair it went nowhere. So I chose to implement a shop air blower. The control offers three modes…where the blower operates when the saw is running, where the blower can be turned on/off when the saw is stopped, and when the air is turned off.

I found some inexpensive parts…a $10 air solenoid, a couple $3.50 power supplies, some fittings, and assembled as the sketch below shows. I close to use two 240V to 12V supplies to avoid excess plumbing and switching high voltage. One supply lights up whenever power is available to the saw, the other is powered when the saw motor is running. The switching function selects which supply, or neither, to energize the air solenoid. The switch is conveniently located, and the new Loc-Line hose is much easier to position than the OEM hose.

I added a bulkhead mount quick connect air port and drive it from a (existing) regulator. And the main casting is extremely hard, so simple clamps hold the components in place. Works great, way better airflow than the pump, and getting air anytime is kind of addictive.

 

[rabler]

Given the power supplies are $3.50 each, that works out to be a reasonably elegant approach.

 

[Winegrower]

Given the power supplies are $3.50 each, that works out to be a reasonably elegant approach.

Rabler, so impressed you saw that. An adequate switch was more, and I hate running 240V around. I’m not really comfortable with anything over 24 volts.

 

[rabler]

Rabler, so impressed you saw that. An adequate switch was more, and I hate running 240V around. I’m not really comfortable with anything over 24 volts.

Yeah, a double pole triple throw rated for 220V will cost some money. You could make it work with a single pole switch but that would bother my sense that 240 needs to be switched on both legs, and still cost. I do get irate when people don't read details and respond based on first impressions, so I try to avoid doing so myself.

At the end of the day, what really matters is that it works, it's not unsafe, and you ventured into solving a problem yourself.

 

[markba633csi]

Agreed, you could have used 1 supply and a relay but the cost would have been pretty much the same if not more, and ac relays tend to buzz.
I like it
-M