• March 2025 Turning Challenge: Identical Bowls or Plates! (click here for details)
  • Congratulations to Ethan Hoff for "Zigzag Basket Illusion Platter" being selected as Turning of the Week for March 10, 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.

Dust Extraction Hood

M

Marco

Joined
Apr 15, 2009
Messages
2
Likes
0
Location
Grimbergen, Belgium
Website
users.skynet.be
Dear fellow Woodturners,

I recently (two months ago) purchased a midi lathe (Woodfast ML305) and I was wondering if it would be of any help and usefull to install a dust extraction hood as shown in the picture. I made some look alike out of carton and connected it to my dust extractor. The results where not convincing, apart when sanding a piece on the lathe.

Has anyone have suggustions or experience with a dusthood ?

Thanks for a reply, Marc.

DKT10_b3.jpg
 
Last edited:
If you search the forum you will find enough info on dust extraction to keep you busy for days.

I don't use a hood, but have a 5" hose from the cyclone that is on a movable arm that can be positioned where I need it. With anything like this,CFMs is the name of the game. In the case of a hood, it would work ok at extracting from an area, but you can't as easily put it right where you need it. I have never seen a solution for chip extraction, but dust is a bigger enemy to your health than the chips.
 
Dust

I only know of one way to catch all of the dust and chips from the lathe ! Remember seeing those cabinets for sandblasters that are an all covered box, with the rubber gloves in the lid. You put your hands into the gloves and the rest is all sealed. Put your lathe in the same type of cabinet, you may even be able to build it yourself.
This is the only way I can think of that there is a chance to control all of the dust and chips produced by a lathe. Most turners expect that removing wood in chips from a log is going to make a mess we will have to clean up. Fine dust can be mostly controled but not eliminated with the use of the dust collector as others have mentioned. But I have never seen or heard of a way to catch everything. If you have a collector that can suck it all in with just some type of hood, then you probably shouldn't stand by it or have kids around it. Even your tools may be sucked in if you lay them down in the wrong place.
 
Last edited:
Welcome to the forum, Marco.
Dust and particle collection is a matter of matching the volume of the space to be evacuated with the amount of vacuum available. You could suck your lathe into that tube (theoretically) with enough vacuum. Reduce the volume or increase the amount of vacuum.;)
 
I'm with Steve you can catch most of the sanding dust with just a well placed hose. I also got tired of moving the lathe to clean up behind it or dropping tools and stuff back there so I took an 8" piece of stove pipe left it open and screwed it to the back of the lathe and the wall making a troff just below the bed.It catches all the shavings when I hollow bowls and the occational tool that vibrates off the bed( I know not the place to set things down) but I can easily reach over the lathe and vacum it out or pick things up. No more moving the lathe or crawling on the floor to clean up.
 
Marco, you have raised an interesting topic. There is probably no totally correct answer so I will give some suggestions that I have found work well.

To achieve a much greater 'area of influence' than a standard hose end you ideally need a flange around the opening. One of the easiest way to achieve this is to source a flat 'bell' shaped light shade (generally made from spun aluminum, you can earth the metal, if required) Shaped like the straw hats that you see in some Asian countries.

You will need to adapt the end to suit your hose, but the nice flange effect of the shade creates a much larger area of collection. The flange affect has been tested and proven ( by others) to work, so the results are not just 'ideas'.

The other is to sand with the lathe running in reverse. This comment comes with much reservation. You have to be aware of the risk of the piece/chuck etc unscrewing. However some lathes do have the capacity to run in reverse ( locking collars etc). Don't try it if you don't have the suitable equipment.

When sanding in reverse you can sand on the top of the piece and with the dust hood (as mentioned above), held on an adjustable arm, you can watch most of the dust disappear. It is interesting to watch the dust head away from the area, only to be caught in the effect created by the flange dust hood and then get swept away.
I hope this helps.

Glenn
 
There's no simple way to deal with sanding dust. First of all one needs to determine if the dust collector one has is removing dust. If it's the typical system found in shops, it's collecting chips and blowing dust all over the shop unless it's outside or in a separate sealed room. There are better filters one can purchase that replace the original found in most dust collectors.

In addition to running a collector, I wear a pressurized mask system while sanding or doing other tasks that produce dust. These systems are expensive but work very well. In addition they provide face protection and don't fog up glasses one is wearing.

I would also suggest wearing a pressurized mask while using a high speed grinder. The dust from the stones is something one does not want in one's lungs.

The dust from some of the exotic woods we turn is especially iritating and there doesn't seem to be information about them as there is for common woods.

Malcolm Smith.
 
I like to give in to gravity, not fight it, so my collection is located beneath and forward of the bed when sanding outsides and beneath and aft when sanding inside. I power sand, so the dust stream produced is pretty compact, and with proper light can be observed running into the collector. I suggest you try your cigar or your fine dust and some light to see what's happening. Old technique for detecting leaks, and it'll help you place things.

Not exotic - it's a dryer vent - but pretty effective. Magnets hold it where the flow of dust goes. The screen protects me from clogging if I forget to clear shavings before I turn it on.

Note that the dust is still attracted by static to that Van De Graaff generator of a headstock. Good paint job!

If you are sensitive to a wood, it's normally the chemicals you're releasing as you crush and cut the stuff, so you'll want to dilute the atmosphere by dragging away as much contaminated air as possible or point protect yourself with some form of charcoal respirator and maybe breakaway plastic gloves for the dermatitis. I would just avoid the wood. Other stuff available.
 

Attachments

  • Dryer-Duct.jpg
    Dryer-Duct.jpg
    86.7 KB · Views: 109
Dear Woodturners,

Thank you so much for your numerous replies and suggestions. ;)

This helped me really a lot helping decide whether to buy or not. Seems for this price it's very reasonable - roughly 45 USD and it comes with a removable and lockable clear plexi hood. Link to product http://www.rutlands.co.uk/cgi-bin/psProdDet.cgi/DKT10

In the meanwhile I ordered the dust hood (same as in the picture from the starting thread) from Rutlands in the UK for hooking up to my JET DC-1000 dust extractor (not the same model sold in Europe than in the US but with the same specs - 4 inch intake - 1000 m3/h = 264172 gallon/h = 35314 foot3/h.)**. I think this should do the job, the dust hood is movable along the lathe bed axis on a sliding rail and can be positioned at the area of work being worked at the time. Since I have a midi lathe this should be most convenient.

Best regards to y'all and happy chip producing. :rolleyes:

** Don't know how air flow is expressed in the imperial system so I gave the two values.
Conversions made with Convert (freeware) : http://joshmadison.com/article/convert-for-windows
 
Steve Worcester said:
Typically, they are expressed in CFM, Cubic Feet per Minute
Click to expand...

Half the information. Other half is the static pressure.

Sadly, most people seize on the least meaningful rating - horsepower.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top