Does anyone have any reviews on the Sweepy Pro for the S5 Pro? I can’t seem to find any real-life photos of it on a machine or any videos of it in action, it’s all just renderings on the sales page and install instructions PDF.
Can anyone share some pictures or videos of their setup?
Since it’s a fixed height base, I have some questions:
How easy is it to change a bit? The upper portion of the dust boot looks locked in, does it get in the way when changing bits? The last thing I’d want is to have to fish my bit up under it in an awkward position.
I image the same issue with position of the BitSetter is sill present if you get too close to the front right of the machine - that you’ll hit it and lose steps and ruin the cut from there on out. Are there any other issues with it that differs from the normal Sweepy?
How has it affected suction? The hard 90-deg to a small diameter seems dramatic, did you notice any loss of suction power from switching to it? Also, since the “top” of the boot is open, I imagine there’s some losses as it’s not directly focused on the material face.
1: The bottom assembly can be quickly removed, it’s held in by magnets and alignment. There are thumb screws for attatchment if required.
2: You do need to raise it to avoid the BitSetter
3: It does not loose suction because of the 90"
I run one on the HDM and it’s a great bit of kit, wood projects for the most part are dustless now with a very light sprinkle around the edges. if surfacing a projects that doesn’t have “sides”
I’m not at home for pics, so I can’t get you those at the moment.
Not to hard. With thinner stock (3/4" or less) it’s below most bits. So you don’t have to do anything to change the bit as you’re working above the boot.
After you put the new bit in the collet, you have to raise the boot (really easy) for the Bitsetter operation. Then you have to pause it after the BitSetter operation, when it’s over the material to lower the boot to the top of the material. This is my singular issue with the Sweepy Pro, is having to pause after the BitSetter. Raising it before doesn’t really add any actual steps to the process.
I have a 2 h.p. dust collector and I don’t notice a suction difference between the Sweepy and Sweepy Pro. The only time I’ve had the Sweepy Pro have suction issues is when I was cutting oak with the grain. The long stringy strips that come off were slightly more prone to clogging with the Sweepy Pro than the standard Sweepy. But that’s the case any time in that specific situation, oak just makes strings with the grain.
I still use both, but 90% of the time I’m using the Sweepy Pro as my S5Pro mostly does flat stock. It’s better than the standard Sweepy in that case it’s worth the slight bit of extra work as it catches maybe 20% more dust/chips. I consider it worth the cost if you do a lot of work with flatter stock.