BB pen's # 3-5 plus tips...

[YoYoSpin]

Got in a package of goodies today from POC, and here's the first three new bowling balls that fell off my lathe:

Someone had mentioned earlier that a vacuum might help with those pesky ribbons of material that tend to wrap around everything and have to be removed frequently...here's the setup I tried today:

...and it worked pretty well, sucking up about 80-90% of the ribbon shavings. However, these little plastic ribbons do get hung-up in the vacuum's impellers and have to be cleaned out after every pen-turning:

 

[Daniel]

Well at least they are out of the way of the work... I was wondering how the vacume would handle them. I had visions of duct work suitable for rats to nest in[]

 

[ilikewood]

Hi Ed,

Do you have an extra 55 gallon plasic drum you can get? I use one on my vacuum system where I bring in my duct about 2/3 the way down into the side of the barrel. On the inside, I put a 90 elbow on and turn it sideways to create a vortex. I then put a hole into the top and take that to the dust collector. This stops 95% of all solids and I rarely ever clean my fan or bags. Make sure you do this with a plastic or metal drum with a removable top so you can empty it when it reaches the elbow. This system works absolutely fantastic for me and was very cheap to make.

 

[Old Griz]

Bill, you don't have to go that far down the barrell... you can actually be almost at the top.. just point the elbow down at about a 15 angle so that the solids are propelled toward the bottom. That way you don't have to empty the barrell as often... I found this system worked a lot better than the adapter top they sell..

 

[ilikewood]

I agree with being able to stick the intake near the top. Of course with my shop and the fact I have a flight of stairs I have to carry the full drum up, I do think someone has exposed me to Kryptonite already. []

2/3 is plenty for me. I also don't use any adapter top because I made my own.