Dust Hood

[Andy Hoyt]

In the very near future I want to add a dust hood to my lathe which will be tapped into my DC system.

There are two givens in this project.



The duct I'll be tapping into is a 5" diameter trunk that's very accessible.
I'll be building the hood from scratch out of some 3/8" ply scraps.
What I need to know from your experience is this:


What is the optimal shape of the hood? Round - square - rectangular - other?
Has anyone tried building a hood that has an opening which is adjustable?
What is the optimal depth of the hood? or doesn't it matter?
And here's the tough one. Based on the preferences from above, should I leave the duct at 5" diameter or cut it down to something else as it transitions into the hood?
Or should I just give up and call Oneida (that's where I got my DC)

[Jim Becker]

Andy, I use a hood on an articulated arm mounted to the ceiling...I believe I bought it from Rockler, but they are quite common. This kind of mounting makes it easy to position the hood exactly where you need it for sanding a particular piece. And a 4" port is more than sufficent for sanding at the lathe, especially since you can put that hood in just the right place.

[Anthony Yakonick]

Are you collecting dust or chips?

[Andy Hoyt]

Just dust.

I did call Oneida today. They recommended that I maintain the 5" duct right up to the rear of the hood. More volume of air moving into hood means more dust going with it.

[Jim Becker]

Yes, if you have a 5" drop available, that's a good thing to do. Here's the hood I use from Rockler (their pic) but mine hangs from the ceiling:

http://images.rockler.com/Rockler/images/63508-lg.jpg

[Andy Hoyt]

Thanks, Jim. That is sort of close to what I have schemed up.

Are you happy with the rectangular shape and size of that opening?

[Travis Stinson]

Andy, I have this hood from WoodCraft. It's 13" x 16" and does a very good job of pulling in the dust from power sanding. I have it mounted on a moveable stand I made. It comes with a 4" fitting, but it's no problem adapting it to a larger system. I have mine tied into 6" piping.
http://www.woodcraft.com/images/family/web5206big.jpg

[Jim Becker]

Andy, the hood works fine for me. If you get one too big, you actually lose some efficiency. While you might have to move a smaller one around a little for a larger turning, it concentrates on the area where you are working.