Best Hood or “Gulp” for lathe dust collection

[Richard Dooling]

Ken at Woodturners Wonders offers an interesting track and hood system.

https://woodturnerswonders.com/collections/lathe-track

[Dave Bunge]

Ken at Woodturners Wonders offers an interesting track and hood system.

https://woodturnerswonders.com/collections/lathe-track

I agree Ken's system looks interesting. I have a Black Hole system which is similar.

A couple of things worth noting when comparing the systems:

1. Black Hole has a 34" long track. There have been times I wished it was longer. Ken's track is only 24".
2. Ken's system (track + holder) is less expensive, but it does not include a hood or about 5' of 4" flex hose, both of which come with the Black Hole. With those included, the cost differential is less.

[Richard Dooling]

I agree Ken's system looks interesting. I have a Black Hole system which is similar.

A couple of things worth noting when comparing the systems:

1. Black Hole has a 34" long track. There have been times I wished it was longer. Ken's track is only 24".
2. Ken's system (track + holder) is less expensive, but it does not include a hood or about 5' of 4" flex hose, both of which come with the Black Hole. With those included, the cost differential is less.

Ken's comes as separately purchased components because the track has other options like a bowl depth gauge and a lamp bracket that a gooseneck lamp mounts on.

One component is the track which comes as 18" or 24" and I imagine additional pieces could be added in-line. The other is the [track bracket+hood+support arms] assembly. Interestingly the hood assembly can be purchased in a version that mounts without the track. The flex hose is not part of the system.

I bought the 24" track and the lamp bracket. I mounted a gooseneck I had from a defunct lamp to the bracket. I mounted a 4" flex hose to the other end and now have a cheap version of the same thing.

Having said that, the Black Hole system looks very well thought out and seems to be well worth the money.

[Mike Goetzke]

I was looking at making my own black-hole system but then saw Ken's track system and bought it. I too bought the platform for my Nova light I bought from him. I was afraid at first that the flex arms would be too hard or too easy to move but found them to be perfect. I have not felt the 24" has limited me as of yet.

[Dave Fritz]

Will the lamp holder from Ken fit on the black hole track?

[Richard Dooling]

Dave, sorry I didn't get back to you sooner.

Ken's lamp holder is attached to the track with standard 5/16 x 8tpi carriage bolts. The head diameter of these is 11/16" and the square neck is 5/16". The slot in the track is ~1/16" bigger to allow the bolt to slide. The track walls are ~1/8".

Hope this helps.

Edit: Just remembered thet the the threading on the lamp holder is metric. I'll check the size and write back. I bolted a scrap piece of aluminum to the lamp holder and attached my lamp gooseneck to that.

[Dave Fritz]

Thank you Richard, that's helpful.

[Dan Gaylin]

Here's a home-made ~$60 solution that works well. Let me know if you want details.

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[Richard Dooling]

Dave,
It's M8-1.0.

[Dave Fritz]

thank you so much, I ordered one, I should be able to make it work.

[Dave Fritz]

thank you so much, I ordered one, I should be able to make it work.

I got it and switched out the track bolts to 1/4 by 20 TPI and I'm good to go. The lamp is much more stable. I would think Woodturning Wonders track would be heavier and more stable than the Black Hole based on the size of the track but can't compare. Thanks for the information Richard.