Dust control for turning - what really works? (newbie)

[Pete Bradley]

I finally got my new/old Rockwell lathe running and I've been practicing a fair bit. I expect to mostly be doing spindle turning though bowls do appear to be addictive. In between catches, I notice that the lathe can generate a lot of fine dust. Perusing catalogs, I've found lathe hoods, various other nozzles for the DC, and a variety of breathing apparatus that look better suited to scuba diving. Right now I'm just using a shop vac for dust collection but I'll be moving up to a cyclone shortly. What really works?

Pete

[Jim Becker]

It's pretty much impossible to use any form of dust collection when cutting on the lathe since the materal flies in directions inconvenient for collection, but most of us use a collection port when sanding on the lathe.

[Pete Bradley]

OK. I don't expect to keep the floor clean, but I do want to keep the fines under control.

Pete

[Tom Hintz]

Pete,
Take a look at the olink below for what I have been using. You need a decent dust collector to move en ough air but it works pretty well, especially with the fine dust.

http://www.newwoodworker.com/lthedcpln.html

[Stu Ablett in Tokyo Japan]

For sanding and fine dust, I just hang my long flex hose near the item I'm working on, works great.

For the chips and curlies, a snow shovel and a garbage bag work wonders! :D

Cheers!

[Jim Bell]

Clear Vue Cyclones on the web. Hopefully by Fri of this week mine will be here. In my opinion this is the last word concerning dust collection. The really fine stuff is what can hurt or kill you. I have tried so hard to avoid the initial expense of this system. Unfortunately I have spent nearly 1800.00 on different systems that just don't quite do the job. I am now going to spend another 1500.00 (round numbers) to finally get the job done. My shop is air conditioned (Florida) and I have dust everywhere. If you want to save money buy the clear vue. If not e me @ jbell64@earthlink.net I have a Jet 1100 cfm w a pleated canister filter (1 micron) for sale and probably a J D S 750 for sale as well. Not really trying to make a sale just making a point.
Jim

[Lee DeRaud]

For the chips and curlies, a snow shovel and a garbage bag work wonders! :DHeh. Wonder which would cost more: the shipping on the oversize package a snow shovel comes in, or the gas to get from southern California to somewhere where they sell the darn things.:p

[Mark Pruitt]

Pete, what I use for DC at the lathe is this:
http://www.woodstockinternational.com/D2267
...and if I had it to do again I would NOT go with it. I may yet find a way to modify it for more efficient colection, but I would estimate that it captures only maybe 25% of the mess on a good day.

The problem with DC on a lathe is, you have the stuff flying in all directions. Take a bowl gouge for example: You're making a cut with a pulling action and the chips are flying off to the left. Switch to a pushing action and now they're flying to the right. And there is no way I could imagine repositioning a dust hood each time I switch. Even with spindle work the problem is there. As you move from the left side of a bead to the right, the chips fly in all directions. Not to mention the fact that you're moving from one end to the other.

IMHO, the only feasible solution if you really want protection is a dust helmet. If the main issue is the mess on the floor, Stu has the right idea with the snow shovel (or one of the oversized dust pans).

Mark

[Andy Hoyt]

Heh. Wonder which would cost more: the shipping on the oversize package a snow shovel comes in, or the gas to get from southern California to somewhere where they sell the darn things.:p Go to a feed store, Lee and get a grain shovel. They're narrower, have sides, and more friendly to use in close quarters.

They come in assorted colors where ever grain shovels are sold worldwide.

[Lee DeRaud]

Go to a feed store, Lee and get a grain shovel. They're narrower, have sides, and more friendly to use in close quarters.(slaps forehead) Should have thought of that: I'm right on the edge of "horse country".

Thanks!

[Rich Souchek]

I finally got my new/old Rockwell lathe running...for dust collection.... What really works? Pete
:D :D :D
By the end of threee days, I NEED a snowblower to move the cuttings on the floor. But nobday sells a snowblower in Houston, Tx., so a flat shovel will have to do for now....
Rich S.

[Terry Quiram]

I remember reading a post from someone that lived on one of the Haiwian islands. His shop was on the top of a hill and the walls lifted up so that there was a 360 view. The wind was a constant and all his noodles and dust just blew away. That is my opinion of the perfect solution but I will never convince my wife.:(

Terry

[Tim Beauregard]

I agree with Jim Bell.

I am very close to having my ClearVue Cyclone operational. It will be wired this week, then just a few steps left.

Regards,
Tim B.

[Reed Gray]

For shaving collection, a dust collector is just about worthless. It wil suck them up okay when they are on the floor, but collecting while turning is very difficult because of how far they go, and in how many directions they go. Then, they fill up your canister in no time at all, and are good for plugging up the hoses. For sanding, you want one. A shop vac works okay, especially on small items, but for serious bowl sanding, you need a hood, and the bigger the better. The more it surrounds what you are sanding, the better. A 1 hp motor will do very well.
robo hippy

[Richard Madison]

Pete,
Are you making a lot of dust while turning, or just when sanding?

[Jim King]

Just have your wife stand downwind of the garage door supervising your work and all debris will be blown out the door. OSHA approved.

[Steven Wilson]

When creating lots of shavings I just wear a full face resperator. When I'm sanding, especially cork (fishing rod handles) I have a metal dust hood on a flex arm suspended from the ceiling connected to my DC (Oneida 2HP commercial) with 5" tubing. For a look at another style check the Oneway web site as I believe they're marketing a decent dust hood for their lathe.

[Jeff Myers]

I have a 1hp DC dedicated to the lathe, the hose is short at only about
4' so it has good suction. I use one of those acrylic hoods that has a flap
that extends out and over the top of the turning,,,works real well for dust but i still use a dust mask with the replaceable filters just to make sure
and see it's needed since i still have to replace the filters every 6 months or so. The hood is positionable so i can pull it up right to the back
of the turning, being acrylic, i use that flap a lot since i can see through it
to turn(just gotta remember to move it out of the way when using CA or
it'll get splattered quickly:eek: !) I don't need a dust mask when sanding
as the hood catches all the dust generated.

[James Duxbury]

For wet wood turning I use a tarp hung behind the lathe to control chips and sap. Clean up is shovel and buckets. I spread the chips on the lawn and mow over then. Seems to be working fine.

On dry wood I handle the chips the same way as wet wood but no DC made seems to catch sanding dust. It goes everywhere. After spending thousands of dollars on DC systems, fancy ducts, different hoods nothing really worked. Besides that they are a pain in the neck and in the way much of the time. Also expensive to run. The blower motor is often larger than the one on the lathe and runs continually but more than that, the bag filter is at best good down to 1 micron. That is when it is new.

I now use a shop vac at times for the big stuff. Cut a 2” hole in the bottom of an old 6” or 8” wooden bowl and attach it to the shop vac hose. Makes a great little dust hood. For fine dust and face protection I use the Resp-O-Rator™ with a full face shield. I invented this Resp-O-Rator™ for myself and for just this reason. It’s $50.00 and with an $18.00 face shield = $68.00. That is full face protection with HEPA filters. HEPA filters are a minimum filtering efficiency of 99.97% down to 0.3 microns. It is the best. And no batteries to charge or straps to mess with. It looks different because it is. Just another option.

Whatever you use for a dust mask or respirator keep it on until the dust has cleared or you get out of the area. You see this all the time. A person turns the sander off and takes off the respirator. That is often when the concentration of dust is at its highest. Keep it on.