Installing a Curtain Behind Lathe?

Mike Turner

Member
Messages
361
Location
Laurinburg NC
I have a small full shop...20 x 20. I have my lathe near the front door and it is really the only place for it w/o major rearranging. Anyhow I am wanting to put up a curtain to help keep chips/dust etc. from getting all over the shop as much as possible. I have 2 sections of T8 lights right in middle of shop and by putting the curtain up at the only place I can it will go right under the lights..I was going to use a tarp with some hooks hanging on 3/4" pvc pipe and that would run under the lights maybe 4" at the most..I was concerned about safety here..The curtain would be pulled back out of the way of the lights when not in use but didnt want to worry about the lights near the tarp/curtain...Any suggestion?..I thought about having one end on a stand that I would move when finished and the other on a rod sticking out from wall but this would be sort of inconvenient. Be better to have it hanging down from ceiling rafters with lights out of way but I need to go the easiest route and dont want to relocate the lights....Thanks for any ideas....!!!
 
this may sound a bit off, but using a shower curtain may help. can be easily moved, won't absorb any flying finishes, won't get dust and chips hung up in it like cloth, and quite cheap.
 
+1 on a bottom-hem weighted shower curtain (or use a couple $1 spring clamps for weight on a cheapie). I'm fooling with a similar idea for a sanding station. All our shops are different of course but, can you sink some screw-eyes into opposite walls at the plate and string a guy-wire? Also, open-style shower hooks would let you put the curtain up and down quickly if simply shoving it to the side is not an option.
 
I hung a plastic shower curtain behind where I stand at the lathe to keep the chips out of my sharpening station. I'll post a photo or two once I get home.


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Seems like similar solutions to similar problems. I just hung a shower curtain "sim-to" a couple days ago to keep the sawdust from the TS smothering the adjacent wall shelves & contents.
 
I like this idea and look forward to seeing you're set ups.... my lathe is also sitting by the front doorway and I face the doors when working, but still wind up with chips and dust over everything in the shop. Please post your pictures soon. Tks
 
I use shower curtains on an EMT frame hung from the ceiling/wall. EMT works well because you can buy the pipe already bent for the corners and it's more rigid than PVC.

CURTAIN.jpg
 
Finally, here are some pics of mine...

Sharpening%20Station%2001%20-%20800.jpg


The curtain is just hanging on a piece of vinyl-coated clothesline wire strung between two eye bolts that were out in the cabinets on either side. I can pull it off to either side...

Sharpening%20Station%2003%20-%20800.jpg


...but sometimes I just duck behind the curtain to touch up a tool or grab a tool or sanding disk.

Sharpening%20Station%2007%20-%20800.jpg


Sharpening%20Station%2005%20-%20800.jpg
 
I like the ideas for the curtain butttttttt I really like Vaughns cabinets with all the drawers in them a lottttt !!!!!!!!

I just aint good at flatwork and want to spend time turning!!!
 
At one time when I was taking pictures in the shop I did the following:
I took some pieces of light weight cord. They were a bit heavier than string. I tied a loop on each end.
I ran a series of nails along a rafter. The nails were about 16 inches apart.
I hooked one of the loops on a string on each of the nails. This left a series of strings, with loops, hanging down.
I hooked the shower curtain hooks through the dangling loops. To remove the curtain I just unhooked one of the shower curtain rings and closed it so it would stay with the curtain.
I repeated that for each of the hanging strings. The strings are light and won't bang anything if I leave them hanging empty.
The process is fast and easy and the curtain can be stored where ever.

Sorry that there are no pictures. I made a roll-down photo backdrop so the curtain thingie was no longer needed and was removed.

Enjoy,
JimB
 
I like the ideas for the curtain butttttttt I really like Vaughns cabinets with all the drawers in them a lottttt !!!!!!!!

I just aint good at flatwork and want to spend time turning!!!

I was lucky...the previous owner installed a lot of drawers and cabinets in the garage. He was running a data cable company out of his home, so he had lots of organized storage. When I moved in, I also brought several multi-drawer tool and parts chests to add to the mix. All told, I've got over 100 drawers in my shop, and I didn't have to build a single one of them :D
 
I was lucky...the previous owner installed a lot of drawers and cabinets in the garage. He was running a data cable company out of his home, so he had lots of organized storage. When I moved in, I also brought several multi-drawer tool and parts chests to add to the mix. All told, I've got over 100 drawers in my shop, and I didn't have to build a single one of them :D

Boy, that's a good way for me to lose something... it's in a drawer in the garage.
Which one?
I dunno.
 
I'm actually working on a curtain arrangement right now. I'm installing the curtain (0.005" thick x 9' wide plastic sheeting x ? ft long) down a 21' wall along a wall of shelving, then 90° left for 15', then another 90° left for 10' to the final wall. I'm using 1/4" eye wood screws at the beginning & end of a 3/32" steel cable & 1/4"-20 x 4" lg eye bolts/(washers & nuts at the two corners to tension the cable.

I'm now making up a 6" double fold hem to 3" wide that will have 3/8" brass grommets at 1' intervals. Metal shower curtain hooks will then be used to hang the curtain to the cable. Once hung & stretched out along the length, I plan on slitting the curtain at ~ 8' intervals (actual TBD) to allow pulling the curtain to one side when not in use. I'm planning to grind a razor blade with a notch to look like a gutting knife, clamp some weight to it, like heavy vice grips, & hopefully let the razor gravity fall from the top of the curtain to the floor.

Without ventilation, or a comprehension dust collection system I want o protect the items on the shelves, the rest of the shop, and the adjacent family room from dust. We'll see how this all works out. ???
 
Boy, that's a good way for me to lose something... it's in a drawer in the garage.
Which one?
I dunno.

What's funny is that although the drawers are fairly organized, they don't follow any real system...I just know what's in which drawer. I still occasionally have to tell my wife over the phone where to find something, and even from 800 miles away I can usually direct her straight to the right drawer.
 
Ahhhhh pictures of a real humans shop......i think those draws are missing a bit of bradleytizing. :) they do tend to look more organized than mine, heck you only got single layer tools stash. :)

Curtains a great idea.:thumb: Boy Vaughn i dont know how you managing not being in your shop. You have my sympathies my friend. Even though winters kept me out of my temp one i can at least go in there and drool icicles every now and then. Roll on spring roll on.
 
Vaughn what happened to your glasses? Did they finally wear out, or are you yoking with us? Anyway, it looks like the yoke's on us. :rofl:
 
Before my current shop setup, I used a piece of 1" foam insulation. A 4x8 sheet is cheap, and if you cut it in half and put it back together with some duct tape, you can bend it slightly so that it is free standing. It is light weight, folds for storage if necessary, sheds chips, and is cheap.
 
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