Has This Ever Happened To You?

[jim tracy]

Ok, my wife and I get along great with our neighbors. Every year my wife bakes them some of her great bread. This year I decide I’ll add some Christmas ornaments that I will turn with no problems. We have seven neighbors that we always exchange home made gifts with. I have some left over walnut and maple so I am ready to go. I turn the first five ornament bodies with no trouble. On the six one as I am parting off the body my dust collector sucks up the body into the vac before I can react, impeller blades do their job, goodbye ornament body… Cursing my own stupidity I put the next blank on the lathe and off to work I go. This one came out even better the last one! So I tell myself be careful as I part the body, all goes well when, yep…. you guessed it, the body slips from my hand and down the vac hose it goes!

So now I have to make two more. Maybe I’ll start with five blanks to be sure this time. :D


Here is the culprit:

http://pic20.picturetrail.com/VOL1620/986894/14019597/294487444.jpg

Here's the five:

http://pic20.picturetrail.com/VOL1620/986894/14019597/294487440.jpg

[Jim Becker]

Umm...running the DC while actually turning is a bit risky, especially with small objects. It's only really effective for sanding anyway.

But look at the bright side...you had a few extra "practice" pieces! LOL

[Brian Brown]

Man, That's some serious dust collection. What are you using? Too bad about the ornaments. In my shop, many don't even survive to the parting off stage, before they get destroyed by operator error. :eek:

Brian

[Paul Girouard]

Nice work on the survivors :cool:

[Bernie Weishapl]

Nice work on the birdhouses. Yep had it happen once so turned off the machine till I went to sanding. Then turned it off to part of the piece.

[Paul Girouard]

How about " That sucks!" REALLY! :D

[John Bartley]

I know it's a bit late now, but in the future you could wrap the end of the DC hose with some coarse mesh - big enough holes to let chips thru', but small enough to keep other stuff out. Possibly you could even (once you've found the appropriate size) glue the mesh into a plastic hose adaptor so that you can just stick it in the hose when you need it? If mesh is hard to find, you could turn a piece of wood to the right diameter to fit in the hose and then drill a bunch of holes in it (like a mesh).

cheers

[Bill Stevener]

Well yes, but not twice!

[Tim A. Mitchell]

Sorry for your loss.

By the looks of yougr DC hose, I would add 2 vert. dowels, and 2 horiz. dowels to form a grid. Just make a few slightly undersized holes (to provide some resistance) for the dowels to slip through, thenshove them in. Not much blockage with smaller dowels, and can be backed out if needed to clear the path.

[CW McClellan]

You could use a disc cut out of carpenters cloth to fit opening in hose :)

[Jim Underwood]

Or you could just turn off the DC while parting off?

Naaaahhhh! too easy.:D

Most of the time I don't bother with DC unless I'm sanding. I can't breathe wood chips...;)

Nice ornaments. Sorry you had the trouble. It's such a pain when stuff like that happens. I hate it when you have something nearly finished and it blows up!

[David Foshee]

That Sucks
You may want to convert to a cyclone I have a home built one and when it sucks up something I just go get it out of the collection can.

Nice work on the Bird houses I have made a few i like the bottoms you have given me inspiration.

[jim tracy]

Thanks for all the reply's. I figured I would add the bird's tonight and work on the missing two tomorrow......... Here is a picture of the finished ornaments.

http://pic20.picturetrail.com/VOL1620/986894/14019597/294514554.jpg

[Ken Fitzgerald]

Nicely done Jim! I'll try to remember that when I get my DC installed.

[Steve Schlumpf]

Jim - great looking ornaments! Yes - I had the same thing happen when I parted off a couple of ornaments! Big difference for me is that I use a dust/chip separator in line with the DC. Shut off the DC and checked in the trash can and there was my ornaments sitting unharmed in sawdust! If you are going to turn lots more of these - just something for you to check out!

[Tim Gruss]

A old onion bag and some duct tape could work for you. Nice ornaments.

[Dean Thomas]

I have the mouth of my DC a little farther away so I don't lose big chunks, but a couple of finials and perches did fly into the tube. Like they were AIMED there or something. Sigh. Like they said, it's mostly for DUST, not for chips on the lathe.

You did a super neat job of gluing the birdies on there. Nice job.

When I'm doing a bunch like that, I usually (USUALLY, but not often enough, I can tell you) make 10-20% extra. If I need 8, I make 10 blocks. I'm paranoid. My FIL taught me his philosophy of life when we were replacing a wax ring on a toilet at church. We went for parts and he bought two rings. I was young and immortal at the time and asked why 2. He said, "Insurance." Doggone one word answers. "Ed. Insurance? WHY TWO?!?" He gave me one of his looks and said, "If you buy one and mess it up, you have to drive back and get another one. If you buy two, you'll almost never mess up the first time. Wanna see my collection of wax rings???"

Still makes sense to me to this day.

[Bill Wyko]

Very nice work Jim. That had to be such a sinking feeling when you herd the clang?

[Dale Bright]

Nice looking oraments, Jim. I have a cyclone seperator for my DC that works great and prevents most everything but dust from hitting the impellers and it saves a lot of removing and emtying of the collection bag.

Happy Holidays,

Dale

[jim tracy]

Thanks again everybody. Dale, I guess I'll be heading to Woodcraft for that seperator lid......:D

[robert hainstock]

ok i will! lengthen the message to ten characters.:p
Bob