Quick Connect (Disconnect) Dust Collection Fittings

[Uncle Hook]

I recently purchased some quick connect (quick disconnect) dust collection fittings from Woodcraft.com.

http://woodcraft.com/family.aspx?familyid=3947

Better pictures of similar fittings from other suppliers are located here:

http://www.amazon.com/Jet-JW1047-4-I...4331691&sr=1-7

http://www.ptreeusa.com/dustFlangeHoods.htm#254

http://www.rockler.com/product.cfm?p...7;20collection

http://www.rockler.com/product.cfm?p...t%20collection


To my surprise, the Woodcraft quick connect fittings have tapered flanges (couplers).

They connect nicely to the Woodcraft cycle lid.

http://woodcraft.com/family.aspx?familyid=3947

However, the tapered connections do not seem to fit non tapered connectors very well. For example - Standard 90 elbow Item F.

http://www.rockler.com/product.cfm?p...t%20collection

My questions are:

As a general rule, do most quick connect fittings have tapered flanges that don’t fit standard non tapered fittings very well?

Does any one know whether the following quick connect fitting from Rockler has a taper inside the flange? Rockler Tech Support says the inside is straight but I am not sure I was effectively communicating with the Rocker tech support person I was speaking with.

http://www.rockler.com/product.cfm?p...t%20collection

Can anyone recommend quick connect fittings that work well with non tapered fittings?

[LarryG]

Hook, I can't really answer your questions except in sort of a backhanded way.

I have some of those same QD fittings from Woodcraft that screw into the end of a hose. They are designed to work with the various black plastic pieces that are typically designed to mount directly to a tool (jointer hoods, table saw hood, 4" router fence outlet, etc.) and also the black plastic blast gates. All these items have a tapered outlet that mates up with the screw-in QD fitting perfectly. In fact I think the intent is that you use the QD fitting to mate a hose to all of these. You can use a hose and clamp, alone, omitting the screw in QD, but this sometimes doesn't work very well because the outlet is short and its taper can cause a clamp to try to slide off as you tighten it.

The various straight fittings (wyes, elbows, some reducers) have non-tapered ends intended to fit inside a hose. They don't fit the tapered pieces and they don't fit each other. This can be a little aggravating because if you want to locate two fittings very close together -- for example, a blast gate right off the angled leg of a wye, which is often the logical/desired location for it -- you have to use a short piece of hose and two clamps rather than just join the fittings together with no middleman.

If anyone makes a QD fitting that works well with straight outlets, I've not seen it. Regardless of vendor virtually all of these fittings seems to be the same, so my guess is that you won't find what you need -- but that's JUST a guess. Also, in the picture, that Rockler fitting looks tapered to me; I'm pretty sure it's the exact same one Woodcraft sells.

A workable dodge might be to get some of those hose clamps that tighten with a plastic knob rather than a screw; then you can just slip the hose onto the straight fitting and give the knob a couple quick turns to secure it.

Lastly, although this may not help you, those screw-in QD fittings are a PERFECT fit inside the bells of the styrene S&D fittings that many have used to plumb their shops for dust collection. I'm currently doing that myself, and made this pleasant discovery over the weekend just past.

[Bob Bassett]

If you really want a quick disconnect, take a look at these FAZLOK connectors.

http://woodworker.com/cgi-bin/FULLPR...ARTNUM=121-595