Nail dust! On your table, in your lungs...
The Product:
BAU Sunflower II
Setup and Installation:
The Sunflower II and I began on shaky ground. I opened the package with excitement only to realize that it came UNASSEMBLED. The directions and website imply assembly as a matter of twisting off the top of the unit, removing some shipping packaging and replacing the top of the unit. My unit came with the motor in a separate box. Imagine my surprise! After rummaging around in the box, I located an extra set of directions.
The extra set of directions that came in the box were for REMOVING a motor rather than placing it. After a bit of puzzling and head scratching and some gnashing of teeth, I figured it out. The wires to the power source and the motor are exposed and must be threaded, correctly paired, and connected with wire nuts. This is just as you would if you were doing regular electrical wiring, say, in your house putting up a ceiling fan. The motor must also be fitted into the unit and screwed down securely. Owning a set of jeweler's screwdrivers, I was able to manage it pretty easily once I had tracked them down. If you don't have a set, get some before you try to put this together. Otherwise, you'll be wedging your stilettos into those screw heads.
After the motor installation and wiring, it was fairly painless to plug the power source into the motor/lamp wiring. The arm attaches with a screw on handle on both ends and it comes with a table clamp to attach on the opposite end. I worried a little that it wouldn't be long enough for my table when I unpacked it, but it appears just fine. I plugged in the electric cord and transformer on the bottom of the arm and into the wall socket. I was ready to roll!
Performance:
Larger than I expected, it looks much like Oscar the Grouch's trash can. Regardless of esthetics, it works like a champ. Flip the switch and spin up the efile, and witness a nifty little dust cyclone spiraling up into the unit. I purchased the standard 10 watt unit and it provides a decent amount of light in which to work. A 20 watt version is also available. The resulting circle of light generates a nice target area to guide your filing in the optimum position. I wouldn't plan on trading in my working lamp, however. I preferred to swing the Sunflower II out of the way once finished with filing. The Sunflower II also works nicely when using a hand file. The noise level when operating is no louder than an average hair dryer.
Verdict:
The Sunflower II is an effective unit. It performs admirably, and is easy to acclimate with your working style. The biggest drawbacks are its esthetic appeal and cryptic and missing assembly directions. For the $218 price tag, I would like to see it fully assembled upon delivery. I would recommend it for any tech looking for a reasonably priced dust collection system.
Posts
