Where to drill vent hole

I am awaiting the delivery of my GF, but I have a friend coming tomorrow with all the tools necessary to drill a big hole in my wall. My GF will be on a rolling cart. Where should I tell him to put the vent hole in relation to the cart? does anyone have the exact location from the surface the GF will be sitting on?

Also, I am getting a Pro. So , will it be possible to switch hoses easily? I am wanting to have it pressed up against the wall most of the time (keeping my wife happy) but I would like to pull it out occasionally to use the passthrough. In that event, perhaps I will switch the hose for a longer one?

Thanks for your guidence.

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Facing the machine the vent is located on the back left side. The vent is not far off the surface the Glowforge sits on. Not near my machine so can’t give an exact measurement. Don’t think there will be a need to switch hoses. It comes with a 8’ flexible dryer hose.

Switching hoses is as easy as the clamp you use. The ones include with GF are squeeze-to-open, so are pretty easy to take on and off. Downside (I hear, haven’t used them) is that they can be a little leaky. Screw-tighten clamps are a good seal, and come in rather typical screwdriver driven, or thumbscrew driven. I have the later. Makes a good seal and just takes a little extra effort (in either case) to get them off. I’ve seen on these boards that others have tried quick-attach collars which sound pretty easy to snap on and off but I don’t know if the seals are as good as the screw tighten.
Short answer, all the available solutions (apart from cementing it on there) are relatively east to switch out. The “neck” on the GF for the vent could be a bit longer, which would make sealing to it easier but it’s not all that bad.

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With the provided clamps and hose, it is a bit of a pain to hook the hose on the back.

@marmak3261 and @palmercr designed a 3D printable flange that press fits onto the Glowforge. Their purpose was to make it easier to get the hose clamped on, but with a couple of them you could make it easier to switch hoses.

I think anything longer than the included 8 ft. hose probably also needs a booster fan.

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I have my pro on a rolling table with lockable casters. Using a flexible vent duct (I am using the one that comes with it) makes it easy to pull out and rotate for pass through work.

When mine is in its normal position, the hose rests on the window sill and crosses behind the :glowforge: just because the window opens on the right side. When I rotate it out, the duct needs to be supported because I have a bit of table space on the left side. (I rotate my table clockwise (looking from the top).

As long as you are staying within 8’ of your vent, you shouldn’t have to change vents.

Thank all! I will figure this out and send some pictures. I’d love to see yours as well.

I got one of these to put on the GF collar. Then it’s easy to swap hoses when I move the cart the GF is on.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004AJYQMK/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Keep in mind that if you go over 2 90 degree bends and 10 feet of hose you’ll need a booster exhaust fan on the other end as the GF is designed for the above limits. There is a straight version of the Rockler fitting but I needed to take a turn anyway so got the elbow version.

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James beat me to it - the exhaust is a standard size used in woodworking dust extraction, and there are many different ways to connect the various pieces, some designed to simply slip together - which can also provide a good seal. You can use something called a “blast gate” to close off the hole when not in use.

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Thanks. Great call.
I just bought one of the straight ones since no bending needed to wall.
Looks like the flex hose can have more than one tightening band with the extended neck.

https://www.amazon.com/Rockler-Dust-Right-Ports-2-Pack/dp/B0025AC6MI/ref=sr_1_6?s=hi&ie=UTF8&qid=1515005988&sr=1-6&keywords=rockler+dust

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yes. and the connection to the 'forge is a rubbery material (might be rubber in fact :slight_smile: ) so it makes a way better seal than the hose and you don’t need (at least I don’t need) foil tape at that joint.

I got mine from Amazon (I have both the elbow & straight) and the straight was a 2-pack. I could have sent you the extra. :slight_smile:

In my case the flexible hose needed quite a bit of effort to slide over the glowforge’s exhaust port. And the end of the hose wasn’t a clean cut, so it needed a couple of rings shoved on. So with my unit at least, “is it easy to switch hoses” the answer is no.

I have a Pro and I usually rotate it (pivot 90 degrees) rather than pull it away from the window when I use the pass through. Its table has casters.

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Sure smells like rubber. It’s the most aromatic object in my studio.

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Picked up a pair of these at the Denver store. They work great on both ends of the flex hose. Ran a one-hour deep engrave into beech and never smelled a thing. :+1:

Also picked up some of their blue dust tubing, but absolutely cannot get it over the rigid side of the tool port. Guess I’ll stick to the dryer hose…

So after reading this thread I ordered some of the rockler dust ports, but the rubber collar is much larger- maybe by a 1/4 to a 1/2”- than the discharge port on the back of the unit. I was expecting a snug fit. Seems like it would be impossible to get a good seal with the hose clamp. What did you all do to make the connection air tight?

I used the screw clamp that came with it – the rubber compressed evenly and snugged right down.

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I found a cheap alternative for 4" ducting, which is also more durable. It’s commonly used for venting grow tents. It was only $24 for a 25’ length. I had planned to make a semi-permanent run from PVC pipe for venting, but this stuff is pretty robust and I like the flexibility (!!!) of being able to move things around when needed.

Alright, thanks! That worked fine - seems to be air tight. I also got the quick disconnect with a handle from Rockler. Then I decided I needed to make a bracket to hold the flex duct so it wouldn’t kink. Hmmm, good thing I had just the tool to make something for this application (1/4" MDF board).

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Just remembered one more step I took – wrapped a strip of 1" transparent weatherstripping tape around the junction between the rubber collar and the plastic body of the tool port. I was getting a very minor leak, but that resolved it.