? Dust collector running while turning?

[Keith Spaniel]

Hi, I just got a cyclone dust collector and was wondering if its good for the collector to run all the time, While Im turning? Or is it mainly for just a few minutes of use at a time.I was useing my orbital sander for about a hour, would you have the dust collector running the whole time i sanded? How do you use your collector? keith

[Kenneth Hertzog]

Keith
I run my dust collector for as long as my lathe runs.
sometimes that is for hours.
dust collectors were made to run long periods of time.
In my opinion shop vacs were not.
I've never had a problem with my DC.
ken

[Mike Armstrong]

I might run my shop vac with a Dust Deputy for an ROS and maybe other quick stuff, like a little drilling, biscuit jointer, etc. But for all the other major power tools, yep, I run my cyclone all the time.

I think with just intermittent use, you defeat the purpose of a having good system by allowing ambient [is that the right word?] dust to circulate throughout your shop.

I don't have a shop air filtration box yet, but I've thought about adding it. No sense in having any exposure if you can eliminate it.

Mike

[Bernie Weishapl]

When my lathe is on the DC is on. I did get a air cleaner from PSI and it has cut the dust down tremendously.

[Keith Spaniel]

thanks for the replies,, I will use it while turning now.
My air filtration machine is just 2 box fans with a pleated furnace filter tied on the intake side of the fan ,I let it run all the time and it gets alot of dust out of the air ,I just have to think of a way to clean them...

[Benjamin Dahl]

Keith, I run my dust collector when sanding but not when I am turning as I am not so worried about breathing in the shavings and I don't produce much dust until sanding.
Ben

[Bill Embrey]

My DC gets turned on when I walk in the shop and turned off when I leave it. They are built to run continuously. Ben, if you are concerned enough about dust to have a DC, then you need to be running it during the whole turning operation. You will not create "as much" noticeable fine dust when turning, but you are creating it none the less. Shear cutting and scraping can create nearly as much as sanding. You will tell the difference after letting it run throughout your entire turning session versus how you run it now just by the amount of dust collecting around your work area. Rough turning green wood creates dust too ;)

[Steve Schlumpf]

Keith - a lot of folks out there will tell you that a dust collector is not really efficient on anything other than the dust generated while sanding. I have my dust collector set up and running the entire time I have the lathe running - thats during turning and sanding. It picks up a lot of the chips while turning and almost all of the dust created with my not-so-clean cuts. Having the dust system operational while turning won't cause any problems and will only help to eliminate sawdust and a lot of the chips right at the source.

[Alex Elias]

I too runn it all the time. May be not so much when roughing out but 90% of the time it's running. When and if it dies I'll have an excuse to upgrade from regular dust collector to a cyclone.

[Keith Spaniel]

For you that keep your DC on all the time while turning, do you have a home made box in front of your lathe catching the dust and chips or just the plastic lathe shute? It would be good to see what it looks like.I put a box fan with a filter right on the edge of my lathe. it only gets part of the dust.
It seems like you would need a 4 ft X 4 ft. X4 ft. clear box over your head ,and around you and the lathe with a couple of 4" DC hose,s connected to it. to keep all the dust contained.. What do you think? keith

[John Terefenko]

I run my dust collector when any major tool is running including the lathe which is just a Jet mini. I have the air cleaner running all the time and even after I shut the shop down. You try to do everything you can to cut the dust we breathe in down so we can enjoy this past time longer.

[Bob Hamilton]

It is not a good idea to have the dust collector running while parting off a miniature turning..... :D

Bob

[Richard Madison]

Keith,
I also use a box fan w/ fiberglass filter immdiately behind the lathe bed, and one of the fine, pleated filters in front of my A/C/Heater unit in the wall. The coarse fiberglass filter allows the box fan to create enough flow rate to draw most dust away from my breathing zone. Low speed for turning and high speed for sanding. The A/C/Heater cycles on and off 24/7, so the fine filter there cleans the air while I am gone and helps keep the A/C coils clean. I use the shop vac to clean both filters plus the regular filter in the A/C, plus some very careful brushing and vacuuming of dust on the fins of the A/C coils.

If one of your box fans with fine filter is located several feet away from any other combustible materials (in case it develops some electrical unpleasantness), you might want to let it run 24/7. You will have clean air in the morning.

[Curt Fuller]

Think of it this way, if you're not running some type of dust collector then the only dust collection that's going on is in your nose and lungs.

[Reed Gray]

Most of the time I am turning green wood which doesn't generate dust, only chunks and shavings which don't go down into the lungs. Whenever I am turning dry wood, I have the collector on, or if I am sanding, I have it on. A good sanding hood will pick up most of the dust. A open hose will pick up some, a funnel will get more and a hood that covers at least half of the turning will get 99%.
robo hippy

[Keith Spaniel]

Good point about small parts and sandpaper being vacumed away.I have thought about a 1/4" steel mesh for a hose filter.
Yes, a shop vac would pick up that finer dust off the filter. The fiberglass filter doesnt catch as much of the finer dust as the pleated does.I have a pleated filter near the ceiling and one 3 ft from the lathe and they are all brown from walnut dust.
Some type of hood is a good idea, one that would get most of the dust and chips ,while not being in the way ,it would be a challenge. Maybe someone will design one .
Keith

[Paul Engle]

Electric motors are better off running straight thru than a lot of starting and stoping, my collecter ( 1.5 hp 220v ) gets turned on when I start making chips or dust and stays on just about the whole time in the shop. I have had it since spring of 1995 , is mounted out side of the shop and runs all year round when working in the shop , from -10 below zero to 106 above, and not a sniffle out of it. I had a hour meter on it but it died ( the meter) at 1800 hrs run time by fall of 1997.....only thing during the really cold months is the urethane impeller shrinks and the screw holding it comes loose , when I shut it off i can hear it tic tic thru the tube and go take the discharge panel off, lock tite it screw , snug it up good. seems to be an annual event after sub zero temps.....and 4 feet of snow. But the motor is smooth and quiet...

[Rick Huelsbeck]

and I'm working with wood, dust collector is on

[Steven Wilson]

It depends what I'm doing as to wether or not I'll have the DC running when I'm using the lathe. For pens, very small work where the dust hood won't interfere and is usefull, sanding, and working with cork I'll leave the lathe on. Working with green wood, hollowing, riding the lathe, and other things I leave the DC off and wear a powered face shield.