Huston, We Have Liftoff.

[Dick Parr]

Well with a little more help from Travis and Jim, everything is hooked up and the pump is running great.:D By the time I got done going to the store for the third time and then getting everything completed and the rest of the shop put back together, I was to tired to try it out other then turning it on.:(

But after I remake my chuck tomorrow I will be finishing up a bowl that has been drying for a month or so and give this set up a try. I can already see that this is going to make life a lot easier.;)

Thanks for looking.

[Travis Stinson]

Now THAT'S what I'm talking about!:D

[Bob Noles]

Dick,

Even though I am too much of a newbie to even know what that is or does, :D I still want to say.... AWESOME JOB!

That thing looks serious and spooky :eek: I did not know that lathes required IV's.

Well, I better go grab a book and do some reading to see if I need one of those :D :eek: :p

Merry Christams and thanks for sharing.

[Jim Becker]

Looks good to me...really nice, clean installation. Great job!

Tell me, though...can you reach the switch from where you stand at the lathe for putting on and taking off the piece? I have always found the need for the pump switch to be very near the headstock.

[Bernie Weishapl]

Looks good Dick. Definately looks like it will make life easier.

[Carole Valentine]

Hey Dick, how 'bout a road trip to the Eastern Shore??? I'll fix you some mini-martini's if you help me put one of those rascals together! :D:D:D
Seriously, that is a great job! In spite of what my shop looks like, I really do love to see a neat installation like that.

[Jim Ketron]

Nice Job Dick! Looks familar :D
Congrats, you will love that Vac set up!

[Andy Hoyt]

Dick - Excellent installation. I'll second the observation to have an on/off switch near the headstock. I did not when I first hooked mine up and found the plug manipulation game to be very painful. Now have a hardwired switch and it's the cat's meow.

Should be really easy to build a little extension switch thingie with $10 worth of pieces from the hardware store.

[Tyler Howell]

Dick you are orbiting in spinny space.
Nice install.

[Joe Tonich]

SWEET set-up Dick. :D

One of these days.......................

Joe

[Keith Burns]

Very nice set up Dick !:) :) Sweet looking shop:) :) Looking for a pump now:D

[Ernie Nyvall]

Congrats Dick and well done getting it all set up.

Ernie

[Dick Parr]

Thanks for the nice comments everyone.

Jim and Andy, you are right about needing it close, I can reach the on/off switch and the turning with no problem. I just need to get the sequence down right. You are suppose to turn the lathe off, Before you turn the pump off.:eek: I'll get it right with a little more practice.:D

But yes, I have already been thinking of how to make a remote switch that will keep me in front of the lathe while turning the pump on and off. But this will work fine for now.:) I just need to get that other part right.:rolleyes:

[Mark Cothren]

Uh, Dick... if you're gonna do it that way you might want to invest in a helmet w/ a face guard, a bullet-proof vest, steel-toe boots, etc...;) :D

Either that, or you better be a lot quicker than I am!

[Dennis Peacock]

Very nice setup Dick.....but how'd you make a vac-chuck? I'm interested.

[Gary DeWitt]

Nice setup, Dick. I never would have thought to put the pump on the wall.
Where did you get your filter? I'm using a filter designed for compressed air, not working too well with vacuum.

Dennis,
You can make a pretty good chuck using a faceplate, chunk of wood trued up, and a 3"-6" pvc pipe fitting, the kind that joins two straight pipes. Turn a groove in the wood to accept the PVC fitting, glue it in, true up the fitting, and apply weather stripping or some such closed cell foam or rubber to the edge. Also, there must be a hole through the wood in the center for the vacuum to travel through. That's it, easy and simple.
If you don't want to tie up a faceplate, you can drill out the wood first, to the size of your spindle threads, then tap the wood with the appropriate tap. You will be surprised how well cross grain wood taps, if you have not done it before. To save $$ on the tap, I use a bolt of the same size/thread, with some notches ground along the sides, so it looks like a tap. Works good in hard maple, especially with some paste wax for lube.

[John Hart]

SWEET set-up Dick. :D

One of these days.......................

Joe

Yeah...That's what I said too Joe! I started roaming around that evil auction site trying to get a feel for what I need. ......I need more money methinks. :o

[Fred Anderson]

Where is Huston? Sorry...couldn't resist...I used to live in Houston, TX. Man, it's hot there.

Nice vac setup.

Fred

[John Hart]

Where is Huston?


Angelica Huston lives in Santa Monica, CA. I'm not completely sure if she has a vacuum chuck though.....Although, she might want one after seeing this thread!;)

[Chris Barton]

The system looks great Dick. I am going to have to do the same thing!

[tod evans]

pretty slick!

[Gary Max]

Dick -- this is all your fault---I needed someone to blame---I am going to try and start a vac system after the holidays. Thanks for the info you sent me.

[David Wilson]

Thanks for the nice comments everyone.

Jim and Andy, you are right about needing it close, I can reach the on/off switch and the turning with no problem. I just need to get the sequence down right. You are suppose to turn the lathe off, Before you turn the pump off.:eek: I'll get it right with a little more practice.:D

But yes, I have already been thinking of how to make a remote switch that will keep me in front of the lathe while turning the pump on and off. But this will work fine for now.:) I just need to get that other part right.:rolleyes:

Dick,
The system looks great. I'll bet it could get painfull if you goof up on the sequence.

[John Miliunas]

Wow, Dick, you just don't do anything half-baked, do you??? :D That is Sweet, with a capital "S"! Definitely on my "want list" but, I need to get some $cratch together, first. Nicely done!:) :cool:

[Dennis Peacock]

Thanks for the vac-chuck info.....I'll have to research it a bit.

[Ron Ainge]

Dick it appears that you made the vac chuck out of MDF and white plastic pipe, wich is one of the best ways I know of doing it besides using end caps for plastic plumbing fixtures. Very nice job. One question though, what did you make the seal out of?

[Dick Parr]

Thanks everyone, this is really fun to use and a lot easier.:D

Ron, this is the sticky backed craft foam I got a Wal-Mart. I think it was either 69 cents or 89 cents for an 8-1/2" x 11" sheet and comes in different colors. It is in the craft section of the store.

I remade the chuck with a different faceplate so I had to ture it up and remade the front.

[Bob Noles]

Dick,

I am assuming that is a dust collector hose aiming at your project. If so, how effective is it at catching chips and shavings or is it good pretty much for sanding dust only?

[Gary DeWitt]

Dust only. You can buy shrouds to help with the chips, but ultimately they are more in the way than helpful. They don't get more than half the chips, since they will be thrown in various directions.
One guy markets a tubular roughing gouge you can hook up to your collector, but at more than $75, it's just not worth it to me.
I suspect most of us just scoop up the chips now and then, some more often than others. One guy I know gets around to it when the height of the floor gets too high with chips in relation to his lathe, and he has to bend over too much to turn!

[Dick Parr]

Ya Bob, it is for sanding only. It will pick up the chips when enough gets to laying around but its not good while turning so I use it for sanding only.

[Bob Noles]

Thanks guys..... I was afraid that was going to be the answer and I think I remember seeing that before. Guess I better start shopping for a bigger broom :eek:

[Dave Wimmer]

Dick,
Just wondering how you routed the vacuum thru a chuck.
I made 3 different sized chucks, similar to yours, but all
are monted on face plates. I had them left after I sold my
old Jet 1236 and use a 20 buck PSI adapter with a hole drilled
thru it, to use them on my 3520.