My first lathe and dust extraction - any advice

[stewart]

Hi all
I saw one of my uncle's today and got round to talking about my workshop and he asked me if I had a lathe. I said, no, and he said 'do you want one?' I said YES PLEASE. I'm going to look at it in the next couple of weeks to see if I can fit it in (I'm sure I'll manage!)
My question is about dust extraction - I've just been updating my plumbed in system with a more powerful extractor and have placed my single motor Camvac on ebay to offset the cost of the new extractor. Not having ever used a lathe before I don't know whether it would be better to keep the Camvac and use it as a dedicated collector for the lathe or whether the plumbed in system could cope.
I have to decide quickly as the ebay auction is due to end on Friday!

Oh, the lathe is a Myford, I think ML7 - don't know anything about it apart from distance between centres is about 33 inches.

Looking forward to seeing it...especially as he's got some chisels I can have too

Anyone any advice on the dust extraction?

 

[PowerTool]

Hi Stewart - that must count as at least one foot on the slope.. :lol:

Dust extraction with lathes is,however,a bit of a problem,as the dust coming off lathes when working doesn't all go in the same direction.Here is some idea of what you can do,and I seem to remember Chas making a hood for his previous lathe to catch most of the dust.
I tend to attach the vacuum nozzle to the toolrest when sanding,again to catch most of the dust.
And if you step a bit further down the slope,you will find that the choice of timber affects the amount and type of dust as well (e.g. padauk - lovely red coloured timber,but the dust is very sticky and will actually stain your clothes :shock: )

Andrew

 

[Roger]

Unless you turn a lot of dusty hardwoods and some exotics, you'll probably find that your main extraction for the lathe is a big shovel and a few big bags! Most of the dust when it is is generated, is by sanding at the end and is a tiny amount when compared to other power tools. I've never had dedicated extraction for the Lathes. A general vacuum around when doing general clean up works fine.

 

[Bodrighy]

Unless you turn a lot of dusty hardwoods and some exotics, you'll probably find that your main extraction for the lathe is a big shovel and a few big bags! Most of the dust when it is is generated, is by sanding at the end and is a tiny amount when compared to other power tools

I wish :lol: Working in an attic that is 20 foot long, I find that the dust gets everywhere. It can't all be from sanding. I have noticed that the dust generated depends on 3 main things though.

1 how wet the wood is, green timber seems to generate very little dust but nice, easily disposed of shavings whereas dry wood gives off a lot more dust

2 how sharp my tools are, the sharper they are the less dust they seem to give out

3 the wood itself. Hard wood gives off far more dust than softer woods.

At the end of the day you are going to get dust and sweeping it all up isn't really the main problem so much as how much goes into your lungs. Exotics especially can be pretty nasty. Ask Chas, he has experienced some of the effects and takes special precautions.

The pleasure gained is worth all the hassle however. \/

Pete

 

[Roger]

1 how wet the wood is, green timber seems to generate very little dust but nice, easily disposed of shavings whereas dry wood gives off a lot more dust

2 how sharp my tools are, the sharper they are the less dust they seem to give out

3 the wood itself. Hard wood gives off far more dust than softer woods.

Well I guess we don't turn that much dry dusty wood and we keep our tools sharp :wink:

Naturally you take precautions against potentially toxic or irritating dust - that's par for the course in any shop, but I find that the normal extractors take care of any extra from the Lathes. The BIG shovel and the bags are a definite however.

The pleasure gained is worth all the hassle however.

So is the money ............! 8)

 

[Anonymous]

Hi Stewart

Would it be possible to extend your plumbed in system to provide an access point near the lathe?

I use an interlocking flexible 'arm' which enables me to position it behind the workpiece... (Available from Axminster here)
I also use a secondary chamber on my system... very large ex-fruit container... much easier to empty :wink: I also use a secondary chamber on my small drum vac for the same reason.

 

[CHJ]

stewart, I personally would advise to get as big an air volume dust/chip collector as you can afford fitted with a fine filter. Something on these lines

As Andrew alludes to, no chip collector is going to remove all but a small percentage of the chippings coming off the lathe tools,* they just don't play ball and invariably go everywhere but the collecting arc of your collector.
A good flow rate down a 100mm tube if positioned carefully will take care of a high percentage of the fine dust created though.

I have the above linked extractor, but it is fitted outside the shop, with a coarser filter bag to enable increased air flow, this aids the removal of as much residual airborne dust and wood pathogens as possible from the shop.

Because my shed has a lot of south facing windows resulting in reasonable temperatures in winter I also have a 9" extractor fan taking contaminated shop air outside rather than bothering to filter it.

* they do provide a good shop cleanup of the residual chippings and associated large particles though after you have finished, without stirring up any dust with an over enthusiastic broom.

P.S. The Fine Filter specification is a must for your health, many of the cheap (I have one, used with my bandsaw and thicknesser) chip collectors have very coarse bags and provide no protection from dangerous sized dust particles.

 

[stewart]

Thanks for all the replies - it looks to me as if I don't need to hang onto the Camvac - the replacement for it is a Record DX5000 which has plenty of suction so I will try to work out an arrangement of machinery in the 'shop that will accomodate it all!

This is my current layout - the south wall is made up of outward opening double doors, there's a window in the north wall - any suggestions for lathe placement?

Workshop is 8 feet by 16 feet - machines to scale. Tablesaw, bandsaw and p/t on wheels!

Thanks again for all the helpful comments and advice.

 

[Paul.J]

Hello Stewart.
I have a 2hp extractor which as 2 4" outlets on,which does all the machines i use,but i only hook upto the ones i am using at the time.
Which means when i'm turning i have both pipes on the lathe,one above as close to the work piece as i need it,and one as Andrew says hooked onto the toolrest.
When i'm sanding i just lean against the pipe that was attached to the tool rest,again positioning it as close as i can to the work piece.
I doubt that you will ever remove all the fine dust when using any machines or power tools,but trying to remove as much as you can does help.
My lathe is against a wall which i suppose in one way helps as it stops the fine dust from spreading across the shop,and finds it's way down the pipes, if you see what i mean.
As for positioning your lathe i will leave that to you.
Mine is on brackets as we have to put the car away each night and just fits under the lathe bench.See the photo in Chas's which lathe post.
Hope this helps.
Paul.J.