Dust collection on a lathe?

My lathe is in the garage because I don't have room for it in my shop.

I just upgraded from a 2hp canister DC to a cyclone. I have been trying to sell the DC for $225 for a month now, and I had to get it out of the shop to make way for a new bandsaw. I was planning on pulling the motor and scrapping the rest, but then thought about using it on the lathe. So I gave away an old refrigerator next to the lathe and put the DC there. Haven't tried it yet, as I still have to put in a 240v circuit in for it.

Now someone wants to buy the DC, but I have kinda gotten attached to the idea of using it with the lathe. How well does dust collection work on lathes? I don't wear hearing protection now, but would have to with the DC running; and that isn't attractive. Should I use it or sell it?

Reply to
Wade Lippman
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My experience with dust collection on a lathe is that a good dust hood, up close to the work, will catch about three-fourths of the chips and shavings, and nearly all of the dust from sanding. So much stuff comes flying out anyway that it's hard to believe the DC is catching anything, until you turn it off and see how much *more* comes out without it.

I should note that 100% of my lathe experience is with dry wood, and about 98% of that is spindle turning. I suspect that when turning bowls from green wood, dust collection would be much less effective.

Reply to
Doug Miller

It collects dust, but not shavings. They'll clog it in a heartbeat. You'll clear it so many times that you'll get sick of it.

I use one when sanding, collecting from underneath where gravity helps, and it'll do about 90-95% of that dust. Mask the rest.

Reply to
George

my solution, which won't work for all of you is the open door method - I have my lathe near a double door, most shavings go outside if I just pay attention to how I'm holding the gouge, and a pair of muffin fans move enough air that some dust goes outside, and a blast or two from an air gun takes a lot of the rest out - I just use a (good quality) power respirator when sanding - I figure the hepa filter is a lot cheaper than a new lung. Now I know some of you live in inclement climates, or in climates where an open door is just an invitation to the insects to come get lunch, but ...

Reply to
William Noble

Might be a problem with wet shavings, but never with dry ones IME. My DC collects dry ones just fine, no clogs, ever. (I'm guessing you turn a lot of green wood, whereas I don't do any.)

Reply to
Doug Miller

I find that the DC works very well with the lathe, but as it's not a "shaving collector" I pretty much reserve it's use for sanding...

After trying several hoods, nozzles, pickups, etc., I've found what works for me is a 4" to 2.5" reducer and a couple of feet of shop vac hose held to the tool rest or bed with a harbor freight "100 pound" (yeah right) retrieval magnet that was about $5...

The 4" has more volume, but the smaller hose really sucks.. lol The main reason that I ended up with the vac hose though, is that I found that I have less dust in the shop whit a smaller hose closer to the work than a large hood... more focused, I guess...

I can hand sand a spindle or power sand a bowl and see the dust being pulled into the hose... works well for me, anyway.. As for shavings, I just sweep them up whenever the lathe is off... shavings don't float into my lungs or cover the shop with dust..

If you keep the DC for the noise, is it worth an $80 investment to make it quieter? I bought one of these after kinda surveying this group and the wRECk and it makes a LOT of difference in noise level..

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mac

Please remove splinters before emailing

Reply to
mac davis

Reply to
Wade Lippman

I'm guessing you might not be turning your dry wood properly. It's the worst, really. The excelsior curls back up into itself and makes great gobs inside a piece, only to finally fall in a lump that's often a full 4" or more in size. Since the best finish is a result of taking long or continuous shavings, it's something you'll want to practice.

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Reply to
George

As I noted in one of my other posts, the vast majority of my lathe experience is with spindle turning, where there is no "inside" for stuff to accumulate.

Reply to
Doug Miller

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