Setting up shower curtains around lathe

[randyrls]

I am starting to turn larger objects, but the first time I chucked up a piece of wood, the chips and shavings went everywhere! After searching the Internet I saw where people are using shower curtains to contain the chips. I thought of doing this with some PVC pipe hung from the ceiling and shower curtains to keep the chips contained. But I can't seem to find any way to attach the PVC pipe to the ceiling. I want to use three-quarter or 1 inch pipe connected with down tubes to make a curtain around the lathe.

Does anyone have any idea how to attach the PVC to the ceiling? It doesn't appear that they make flanges for small PVC pipe.

Any ideas are appreciated.

 

[jimmyz]

Drill a hole, the size of the pipe in a 6" or so 2x4, with a plywood cleat nailed to the top. Screw thru the cleat into the ceiling joints.

 

[KBs Pensnmore]

Simplest way I can think of is, as you've a lathe, turn some short pieces to fit inside the PVC about 2" long and then screw a piece of 3/8" ply to it, so that it forms a flange. Screw the flange to the ceiling and then install the PVC on it using a screw to the side of it to hold it in place.
Kryn

 

[leehljp]

Randy,

This subject has been on my mind for several years now, but I just have not had the time or opportunity to do it. I also want to do it in sections in my shop so that I can have an area for painting some small pieces of wood.

I had not thought of PVC pipe. Thanks for posting; looking forward to the answers.

 

[wood-of-1kind]

McMaster-Carr

Perforated wire strap sold from the likes of Lowes and HD will be practical and economical to use. Wrap the strap around your PVC tube and hang from joists in your beams.

 

[JimB]

Keep in mind that doing this will also keep dust, especially sanding dust, in a very concentrated area. Be sure to have good dust collection. Sanding larger items creates a lot of dust.

 

[jttheclockman]

Hello Randy

Not sure what down tubes are or how you plan to do this but you can use these to hang the pipe. This is how we do it in the electrical industry. You can get them in Home Depot or electrical supply house. You can use rod of any length or just screws.

www.elvessupply.com/Minerallac-7SB-...-Height-Stainless-Steel-Silver_p_1634151.html

Keep in mind though that you want to be able to open and close the curtain like a shower curtain and the less hangers the longer you can slide the curtain. PVC may not be strong enough to support long distances. You may want to opt for thin wall emt. You can buy connectors and you also can bend it with the proper bender too.

Good luck.

 

[TellicoTurning]

I am starting to turn larger objects, but the first time I chucked up a piece of wood, the chips and shavings went everywhere! After searching the Internet I saw where people are using shower curtains to contain the chips. I thought of doing this with some PVC pipe hung from the ceiling and shower curtains to keep the chips contained. But I can't seem to find any way to attach the PVC pipe to the ceiling. I want to use three-quarter or 1 inch pipe connected with down tubes to make a curtain around the lathe.

Does anyone have any idea how to attach the PVC to the ceiling? It doesn't appear that they make flanges for small PVC pipe.

Any ideas are appreciated.

Randy,

This subject has been on my mind for several years now, but I just have not had the time or opportunity to do it. I also want to do it in sections in my shop so that I can have an area for painting some small pieces of wood.

I had not thought of PVC pipe. Thanks for posting; looking forward to the answers.

I saw somewhere else about putting the shower curtains around the lathe, and was planning to do something similar.... when I turn I wind up with wood chips everywhere and spend as much time sweeping as i do turning... I was looking at the curved shower curtain rods, but they seemed a little pricey... had not thought about the pvc pipe.... I have an excess of that from a wood rack I built that has since fallen apart, but the pvc is still good.... thanks for the ideas....

 

[Crayman]

I have used steel electrical conduit and iron pipe hangers with threaded rod and mounting plates. Looks a lot like sprinkler system in an industrial setting, would probably need fewer of these that a pvc version. I used this to span 8 foot wide 9 foot high windows in our loft.

 

[randyrls]

Keep in mind that doing this will also keep dust, especially sanding dust, in a very concentrated area. Be sure to have good dust collection. Sanding larger items creates a lot of dust.

I do have dust collection, but it doesn't work sell for shavings coming off larger pieces.

 

[JimB]

Keep in mind that doing this will also keep dust, especially sanding dust, in a very concentrated area. Be sure to have good dust collection. Sanding larger items creates a lot of dust.

I do have dust collection, but it doesn't work sell for shavings coming off larger pieces.

That will be true for most, if not all dust collectors. When I turn larger items my DC gets the dust and some of the chips but most chips end up on the floor. I guess that's why it's a dust collector and not a chip collector.

 

[flyitfast]

Try this website for flanges and sizes that might work.
http://www.spearsmfg.com/super_sourcebook/SSB-1%20Part%202%20Technical%20Information%20Catalog/008%20PVC%20%26%20CPVC%20Injection%20Molded%20Class%20150%20Flanges.pdf
Gordon

 

[Edgar]

Just thinking out loud here (so to speak), but how about going floor mounted rather than ceiling mounted?

Perhaps use 2-4 one-foot pieces of 1x12 or similar sized 3/4" plywood, drill a hole the size of 1" or 1.5" pvc in the center of the wood pieces and glue a 6' piece of pvc into each piece of wood for a riser. Then use elbow or tee joints on each riser with reducers to 1" or 3/4" pvc for runners to hang the curtains on.

If you use 3 or 4 such risers, you could arrange them in a sorta semi-circle around the lathe, as close to or as far away from it as you want.

The appealing thing about this approach to me is that you could adjust & position the setup to suit your needs and easily experiment to see what works best. If you don't glue the runners into the joints, the setup would be easy to take down and store out of the way if you don't need it all the time.

 

[jttheclockman]

To piggy back off Edgars thoughts. Maybe room dividers of some sort. You can fold them and store them away easily. Set them up any way you see fit.

 

[lorbay]

This https://www.alibaba.com/product-detail/curved-hospital-curtain-track-roller-with_1980995099.html is what I used and it was really cheap at Lowes plus the curtains can go all the way around. Hangs about 1 1/2" off the ceiling. There is also one that has the roller inside the track but I was think if chips got in there it would jamb the rollers.

Lin.

 

[moke]

In my Portrait Studio, we have muslin backgrounds 10' wide, hung on clothes line type plastic covered wire. It is attached on each end to a heavy "L" bracket, stretched tight and then I used those little c-clamps with threaded ends (sorry I don't know what to call them).
Some of the backgrounds have special little clamps on them, but they all end up on shower hooks......I have had little kids swing on them and nothing happened.....I can't imagine this wouldn't work well.

 

[Herb G]

I just built a frame of PVC pipe & used 90* connectors for the feet on the legs.
Think of a clothing rack you see in the stores. That's how I built mine.
It can easily be moved to vacuum up all the dust & chips when you clean up.

 

[Terredax]

I have 10' ceilings in my shop, so if I were to try this, I would probably use SCH40 PVC (it's more ridged with a thicker wall) and use eye bolts/lags. One at each end and a length of chain. The height would be adjustable for the ceiling height.
These are the hardware... https://www.boltdepot.com/Eye_bolts_and_Screw_eyes.aspx

If using the bolts, a small hole at each end. Close enough to the end to be able to reach in to put the nut on. If using the lags, a small pilot hole and thread them in. The benefit to the lags would be the ability to place them any place along the length.

Just an option.

 

[liljohn1368]

This kind of fitting could be screwed to the ceiling. Then use a pvc threaded couple.