• January Turning Challenge: Thin-Stemmed Something! (click here for details)
  • Conversations are now Direct Messages (click here for details)
  • Congratulations to Scott Gordon for "Orb Ligneus" being selected as Turning of the Week for January 20, 2025 (click here for details)
  • Welcome new registering member. Your username must be your real First and Last name (for example: John Doe). "Screen names" and "handles" are not allowed and your registration will be deleted if you don't use your real name. Also, do not use all caps nor all lower case.

Compressed air at the lathe: where to place it?

John Whitley

John Whitley

Joined
Jul 18, 2020
Messages
104
Likes
108
Location
Seattle, WA
As I wait for my new lathe to arrive, I’m working on installing air plumbing in my shop (another big “finally” kind of thing)… I’m trying to figure out the best placement for a quick-connect mount at the lathe. At first I’d thought to put it on the wall behind the lathe, but I’ve lately been thinking I might put the quick-connect on the ceiling at the tailstock end of the lathe, about plumb with the plane between turner and lathe bed, if that makes sense. I expect I’ll use a magnetic hook on the lathe to corral an air gun.

Wall space is a bit precious as it’s occupied by turning-related storage – a mount would probably be low on the wall, and so less accessible to swapping out. On the other hand, the lathe definitely feels like a spot for a permanent air gun connection, making swapping less of a concern.

Ceiling space is plentiful and easy to reach for swapping connections(**), but risks putting the hose more in the way. On the plus side, a hookup near the tailstock end would serve dual-purpose for both lathe and my workbench.

With all of that (hot 😜) air out of the way, how are those of you with compressed air at the lathe set up?

(**) I have low shop ceilings. The high side is only 94”, and the lathe is on the low side where I can easily touch the ceiling.
 
Pic of mine is attached. I like having the air near the tailstock as I do a lot of turning off of that end. On the nearby wall I have a compressed air gun and two RO sanders. If I were to mound the air on the ceiling it would be a couple feet off of the tailstock so that I could drape the coiled hose down without getting in the way of the lathe. When turning most of the time the sitting is draped to a hook on the tailstock end of the lathe.
 

Attachments

  • IMG_5708.jpeg
    IMG_5708.jpeg
    914 KB · Views: 59
@Mark Fairchild - it looks like you used standard PVC for your air lines. If so, be careful. At 100psi PVC can be a bomb if you ding it swinging a board around.

fluidairedynamics.com

Can PVC Pipe Be Used for Compressed Air?

Using PVC pipes for your comoressed air system is an accident waiting to happen! PVC is not a safe or approved material for compressed air piping. In fact, the use of PVC piping for compressed air can lead to dangerous or deadly explosions.
fluidairedynamics.com fluidairedynamics.com
 
Mine's at the tailstock end on the wall about 4 ft off the ground. Works for me, easy to connect to and nothing dangling in my work space (that would drive me crazy). If wall space were a concern I'd run it inside the wall, the connector only takes up about 4 sqin. As it is it's nestled against the edge of the slatboard on the wall so doesn't really affect storage. I use one of those springy coil hoses in that location so there's not a bunch of hose on the floor but I can still reach several points that I need to get to. I hang the air nozzle on the end of my lathe so it's always handy.
 
John Whitley said:
I’m trying to figure out the best placement for a quick-connect mount at the lathe.
Click to expand...

Difficult to try to help without seeing your space. I can describe what I did. I put my air compressor (5hp 60gal) in a sound-insulated closet and ran the air out to valves, filters, dryers, and regulator outside the closet in the main shop. From there, the air lines go into the walls and ceilings to 8 quick connect outlets spaced around the inside the shop and to outside reels (need air for a lot of things outside at the farm, especially for equipment maintenance.) I regulate the air to about 90 psi.

I decided to mount quick connect outlets at each of two lathes, out of the way on the ends of some separator walls and run coiled hoses to the lathes. One thing was important to me - the type of quick connect fitting! Home depot carried two styles, the only visual difference was one hat a gap between the knurled outer sleeve and the where the hose coupler connected.

The style without the gap required using two hands - one to pull back the sleeve and the other to push in the coupler. The style I used can be connected with one hand - just insert and push!

Air_line_fitting.jpg

Also, I devised a a wire loop on the lathe motor an housing to hang the air nozzle. This stays out of the way but hose is always handy and will reach anywhere I need it.

Air_line_nozzle.jpg

I use air at the lathe not only to blow dust out of small holes and such but to operate one of two small pneumatic random orbital sanders - by limiting the air they can be run at a low speed for gentle sanding with fine grit paper, usually 400-600. (I never use rotating sanding disks on wood.)

sanding_IMG_20171212_094330_319.jpg

As for the PVC pipe I saw mentioned in another post, just search google for "using pvc pipe for air compressor lines" for some information. Or just read this article:
fluidairedynamics.com

Can PVC Pipe Be Used for Compressed Air?

Using PVC pipes for your comoressed air system is an accident waiting to happen! PVC is not a safe or approved material for compressed air piping. In fact, the use of PVC piping for compressed air can lead to dangerous or deadly explosions.
fluidairedynamics.com fluidairedynamics.com

JKJ
 
Please take my professional advice, do not use PVC pipe for compressed air. I have been in the room, with the pipe, with the plumbing contractors, when heavy rubber test caps holding back only 5psi have let loose and launched 30 feet up and 50 feet away. I've seen the shattered pipe and cracked fittings. PVC is not going to warn you of an upcoming failure. The pressure is one thing, it's the explosive and immediate release of the volume of air compressed into that 75psi small diameter pipe that'll ruin your day, your eye, your life... It's sort of like walking across a quick moving shin deep creek, it'll take your feet out from under you and they'll find your body a mile downstream. The pressure is bad enough, the volume is what is never considered.

CPVC pipe, and the PEX varieties, and other plastics are tested and listed for water pressure, but for air, metalic pipe and approved fittings (threaded, brazed, and welded) is really the wise choice for compressed gasses. Talk to a local plumber, he'll probably dissuade the use of plastics for compressed gasses.
 
Last edited:
Steve Tiedman said:
the PEX varieties, [...]
Click to expand...
While PEX isn't rated for compressed air, what I went with, RapidAir's MaxLine product, has similar bendability and ease of connection to PEX but is expressly designed for compressed air. I was originally going to go RapidAir's FastPipe, their rigid pipe solution... but came to my senses and realized that I was about to create a lot more pain in routing and installation in my small, crowded, and already built-out shop space.
 
When I took a course from Chris Ramsey he had his air hoses on reels that you pulled out and had automatic return which prompted me to put mine on a reel. My auto return is me turning the lever to rewind handle, but it works for me.
 
In my current shop, the air nozzle (quick connect with regulator) is on the wall behind me near the tailstock (to my left if I'm standing at the end hollowing) - 4 or 5 feet from the lathe. Close enough that I can reach it easily. I'll sometimes hang the nozzle on the banjo handle when hollowing. There's another quick connect with regulator on the wall at the headstock. And a reel overhead. I have copper running around the walls near the ceiling with those 2 drops and the reel near the lathe, another near the bandsaws, and another near the finishing table. I plan on someday completing the loop all the way around the shop and add a couple more connects.

In my previous shop, the air was overhead. I hung strut channel over the lathe and ran the air line on that. The quick connect was near the tailstock, positioned so that when I hung the nozzle on the strut, the short coiled hose would hold itself out of my way, so I wasn't bumping my head on it (usually).

Current shop has the strut channel over the lathe (it hangs cameras, the vacuum gauge/valve, etc) and I had planned on running air up there too, but the location on the wall is convenient and out of the way when not in use.
 
Bill Blasic said:
When I took a course from Chris Ramsey he had his air hoses on reels that you pulled out and had automatic return which prompted me to put mine on a reel. My auto return is me turning the lever to rewind handle, but it works for me.
Click to expand...
Great solution. I do something similar with one retracting 50' line is high on the wall in the back room of the shop where it will reach out all around the room and even out the rollup door to work on equipment outside. Another 50' reel is on the edge of the front porch on the other end of the building, great for airing up tires. FWIW, one is a Goodyear reel and the other a FLexzilla I'll never buy another Flexzilla - they appear to have designed the ratchet catch to frustrate the user on purpose rather than make it easy.

Also have a smaller retracting reel in garage at the house and one in the barn. A little winter trick for those who have a hydrant in one place on the farm and need a long hose to fill up water troughs in another spot. I leave the long hose permanently in place (half burried!) and connect as usual. In the winter, that long hose will freeze solid. So after use, and before it can freeze again, I fire up the air compressor near the hydrant and connect a fitting with a valve, spread out the coiled end of the hose flat on the ground and blow out all the water! Been doing this for years now. I hate winter at the farm.

In the shop, I also like electrical lines on reels fastened to the ceiling. When wiring my shop, I put receptacles in the ceiling in several places. It's nice to pull down a electrical line in the middle of the shop when needed rather than run an extension cord across the floor.

JKJ
 
Last edited:
Specific to my lathe, I had two in my shop, a 50ft reel mounted under the table saw outfeed table and a second quick connect point on the wall at the end of the bed. I used it mostly for driving the sander. The real workhorse was the dust collection port on the floor.
 
My fitting is in the ceiling, not really visable in this picture but you get the idea: using a 1/4" coiled hose it hangs on a hook on the wall and uncoils enough for me to reach anything needed around the lathe. coiled hose at HF is cheap. out of the way, but in still in reach!
 

Attachments

  • lathe statrion with light.jpg
    lathe statrion with light.jpg
    385.7 KB · Views: 23
I have it hooked up on the tailstock side, and it works great for blowing off the workbench. Since me and my brother @Ethan Hoff turn together, I have another line running up over the 12 foot ceilings in our shop to his side. I works well we each have our own air, I also have a hose reel for car tires, balls, outdoor machines, etc.. That has a quick connect, so it can be hooked to the existing hose, and then run out the door 100 feet. I use a Rolair compressor for the air supply. Here are some photos.
 

Attachments

  • DSCN1569.JPG
    DSCN1569.JPG
    311.1 KB · Views: 12
  • DSCN1568.JPG
    DSCN1568.JPG
    548.2 KB · Views: 14
  • DSCN1567.JPG
    DSCN1567.JPG
    407.6 KB · Views: 14
  • DSCN1566.JPG
    DSCN1566.JPG
    600.4 KB · Views: 14
Bill Blasic said:
which prompted me to put mine on a reel.
Click to expand...
I did have a reel in the shop early on and that was nice! But that was before (infernal/eternal remodel) and the shop itself being really built out. So the reel passed to someone else, in favor of my plumbing air around the shop. The current crowded layout makes running a longer hose around a pain.

John K Jordan said:
In the shop, I also like electrical lines on reels fastened to the ceiling.
Click to expand...
Nice. With my shop plan and low ceilings, I ended up locating ceiling outlet boxes in strategic locations for both machines and general use. For the most part, I can just find a nearby location and plug right in.
 
I have a compressor in my shop, but it is almost never on. About the only time I turn it on is if my car tires are low. I NEVER blow things off because it puts so much dust into the air.

robo hippy
 
robo hippy said:
I NEVER blow things off because it puts so much dust into the air.
Click to expand...
I actually planned for exactly this based off my experience working in co-op shops, namely that it's incredibly difficult to fully control dust in all operations/situations.

First, the big dust collector filters back into the shop. In winter, I can fire it up with a few blast gates open and clean the air up without having to lose the heat. (And yes, I can measure whether that works and when it's done.) Second, I installed a big extractor fan in the back wall. Partially open one of the garage doors, fire up the fan, and the whole shop is cleared out very quickly. It's strong enough to create a breeze through the open door! Even in cold weather, that's not too bad. Most of the thermal mass is in the machinery/walls/floors, so it doesn't stay cold after venting out very long.

Perhaps obviously, blowing things off with the air gun is a mask/PAPR on operation, which is always the case when I'm at the lathe.
 
Gabriel Hoff said:
Is that a light they use at the dentist!!??
Click to expand...

I looked for years for one of those and never found one.

I use some of the cheap swing-arm desk lamps plus a bright light from Woodturner's Wonders. Instead of using the big magnetic base at the lathe, I drilled and tapped a hole for the end of the flexible shaft.

lamp_mount_IMG_20171228_214144_854.jpg

JKJ
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top