UPdate and a question about dusk collection

Kyle Murphy

Member
Messages
129
Location
Tokyo, Japan
I have not posted in well over a year and unfortunately have not focused on wood working as much as I would like. For the past month or two my woodshop and house up near Mt. Fuji has been under snow. We closed it up at the end of December and lucky we did. We received an inordinate amount of snow and there was about one meter of snow on the driveway and much more on our deck several weeks after it fell. Fortunately, everything seems to have survived the winter. So, after a couple of years of various medical problems I plan to finish the wiring in the shop, up the amperage and actually start making something. I need to bring in an electrician to do this as I have no obvious talents in this area.

I have a fundamental question. I bought a Grizzly PolarBear 1.75 hp dusk collector. Do I really need it? I am interested in primarily woodturning. I plan to do this during the spring, summer and fall months when the shop is open. I will have an air filter system (probably a Jet 400 since they are available in Japan) and I always use a mask (will buy an airfilter type) when I turn. Do I really need to add the Polar Bear? I bought it on Stu's recommendation and I greatly appreciate his advice. I just seem to hit so many hurdles in trying to get my shop up and running. Is this one that I can avoid in the short term?
 
Kyle,
I only use my dust collector when sanding on the lathe and then, only when the doors are closed. When my shop is open I use a small fan to direct sanding dust out the door. Trying to collect all the lathe curlies will fill your DC up in a flash. I contain my curlies with shower curtains and use a shovel to clean up the mess.
 
Vaughn McMillen told me to quit trying to capture everything from the lathe and do some turning.

That statement took a lot of pressure off of me. I religiously use the DC. However, I am content to see the fine dust entering the DC orifice and let the heavy stuff fall on the floor and into my sandals.

My DC really sucks up the fine stuff and that is the stuff that kills you. A dustpan and a foxtail take care of the heavy stuff which I put in the "Green" recycle bin.

I tried many ways to capture all of the stuff coming off of the lathe; none of them really worked. That's when Vaughn plugged in his comment about ignoring the heavy stuff. I do wear a mask---which I really hate. With a mask the moisture content being breathed in makes my nose run. Then I have to take off the mask and blow my nose before I can get back to work. I would like a good mask that would let me breathe in through my nose and out through my mouth--like with scuba.

I will be darned if I am going to end up like Myrna's brother and my uncle Bob---so I wear the darned mask.

Enjoy,
JimB
 
Hey Kyle, welcome back. Good to see you. :wave:

Like Ted (and now Jim, lol) I just use my DC to catch sanding dust, or occasionally I'll turn it on when roughing out something with bark on it, since dry bark seems to make a lot of dust when rough turning. I do wear a Trend Airshield filtered face mask whenever I'm turning, although I'll often tip it back out of the way if I'm sanding and have the DC on. (It should be noted that I use powered sanders, so if the lathe is running at all when I'm sanding, it's at low speed, like 50 to 100 rpm. If I'm doing anything with the wood moving more than about 150 rpm or so, the face mask is down in front of my face.) I like the Trend because it's not only stout protection, but it blows a light stream of cool, filtered air across my face. Never fogs my glasses. But I also like having the DC on when I'm sanding, as it reduces the dust that falls around the shop. I still get plenty of dust around the shop, though, because I also use an air nozzle to blow sanding dust off the piece I'm working on. There's really no practical way to capture it all. The overhead Jet air filter gets some of it, but not nearly all. I do use the fan and open door approach sometimes, too, but most of the time I keep the door closed so the neighbors don't have to hear the noise. (Sander, compressor, DC, and music loud enough to be heard over it all. At 2:00 AM. :D )

In your case, with open doors and fans, you should be OK without a DC, particularly if you can invest in powered mask like the Trend. You'll end up with some residual dust, but you're gonna have some of that now matter what approach you take. Of course, it you have the room and the power for it, I'd still recommend using the DC, but you could get by without if necessary.
 
YOU DON'T REALLY TURN IN SANDALS I HOPE .

I am very sorry to report that I always do. I got some jungle rot on my toes during WWII. It took me 45 years of podiatrists, medications and boring routines two or three times a day to get rid of it. That is a lie, it is not really gone, just dormant. Several times I thought I had it conquered only to have it return. I definitely do not want it again. It is almost impossible to catch and impossible to get rid of. I have worn my Armani suits with my black sandals to formal dinners, concerts, etc. That stuff was no fun. I do not want any remission. I wear sandals period.

I do have a very good central dust collector which vents outside. I have room air filters. I wear good dust masks. I wear hearing protectors. I wear prescription safety glasses. I do not wear safety shoes.

Enjoy,
JimB
 
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