best investment I ever made!

[dw]

All,

I recently bought a PSI 1hp Dust Collector ($209.00). I had a heck of a time finding room for it but after shifting half the shop around I have it in a corner about 4 feet from where I set up my lathe. I bought one of those lathe hoods too. The lathe hood is a pain in the rear but it does work and with nothing more than a four foot run from the lathe to the DC...well, let's just say that if it weren't a dust collector I'd be very disappointed...because it really sucks!! [)]
I used to wear a Resp-O-Rator. Which kept the most of the dust out of my lungs but the shop was filthy. Even weeks later I was sweeping up fines from every corner...I just couldn't get rid of it.

Today was the first day to try the DC out. Man! What a difference! I had boots (black boots) sitting up on a shelf three feet from the lathe and three feet from the top bag of the DC. At the end of the day no dust on the boots, not even super-fine stuff! And I sanded and CA'd and sanded again and didn't wear anything. I didn't smell CA or wood and there is nothing in my chest or nose.

For those, like me, who are relatively new to this game...do yourself a favor: Buy a dust collector--even if you have to rent out the back bedroom to raise the cash. It's as important or maybe even more important than the lathe or any of the turning tools you buy.

 

[paleydp]

Last week picked up the little Delta (650 cfm) and am also thrilled. Made a cardboard funnel thingy that mounts on intake to direct the airflow somewhat and it's awesome! Thing I learned is . . . don't release your grip on your micromesh (or sandpaper) for an instant . . . getting into that bag to retrieve things is no picnic. I'm now scouring my garage for a piece of chickenwire or hardware cloth to mount in front of the intake! Best part . . . no fumes.

 

[timdaleiden]

Good going you two. CA fumes, Antler fumes, and fine dust can really be a problem. I am glad you did the responsible thing. Keep it safe, and it will be even more fun.

 

[dw]

Denise,

Great mind think alike! I use a piece of brass tube (heavier than what would be used for pens) to sand with. I wrap the sandpaper around the tube and I have a very straight surface that helps to refine the profile of the barrel. I dropped it while sanding to day and the DC grabbed it and sent it to the impeller blade. Whappo!! Ruined the brass tube, no probelm with the DC...but I didn't wat to do that again. So I immediately went down to the hardware store and bought some half inch "hardware cloth." Made a little square grid/filter and I was back up and running.

The folks at American Air Filter (?) told me to open up a 5 lb. bag of flour at the intake--to coat the filter bag...it increases the efficency, so it'll catch even finer stuff. I'm gonna do that tommorow.

 

[ilikewood]

Yup, adding flour will filter out more dust....with a loss in flow. Anytime you add a "precoat", this will in turn make the filter tighter allowing a much finer particle to be filtered. The only setback is you will lose some air flow. It may not be much, but it may be the equivalent of trying to operate a DC with dirty bags.

 

[wayneis]

DW, You can buy a spray from Home Depot that you spray on filters that won't clog up the filters as much as flour. IMHO anyway. It's pretty cheap and lasts quite a while.

Wayne

 

[ilikewood]

Denise and DW,

I was worried about the same thing...dropping things into, or sucking somthing up that could damage the squirrel cage fan. I use a 1600 cfm DC, so it kinds sucks up everything. [] I took a 55 gallon drum with a removable top (all plastic) and cut a hole into the top. From the top, that goes to the DC. I then cut a hole in the side of the drum and plumbed my hose to that. On the inside, I put a elbow on the fitting to start a vortex to centrifugally trap the bigger stuff. I now only have fine dust that enters into the DC. You could do this with a smaller trash can as well...I think PSI sells a lid that you can use for small trash cans. These systems REALLY work, and if you suck something up you need, it is much easier to open the lid and get it out than trying to remove those bags.

 

[William Young]

I also made my own preseparator after trying some of the smaller ones available. It is a 55 gallon plastic drum on the bottom and the top parts acts like a mini cyclone. I call it my poor mans cyclone preseparator.
This my first time trying to post a picture on this site so here goes.......

And here is a shot of the inside of the top part of it. By having it raised above the drum like this, I can fill the drum to the top before any shavings get sucked into the bag. I do a lot of planing and jointing and sawing and sanding etc because I mill all my 1/4" panels for fretwork clocks from 8/4 rough sawn wood from saw mills. I only have to empty my lower bag on my DC about once a year. I just keep emptying the 55 gal drum. Many a time I have had to open the barrel and retreive a small part that got sucked into it . It sure is good protection for your DC's impeller to say nothing of emptying those dusty *cough,..,.. Choke,..* bags.
I have a 1 micron oversize heavy felt bag on the top of my DC which makes a whale of a difference over the standard bag that came with it. I have a plastic liner in my bottom bag so zero dust escapes from that one.
W.Y.