Down Draft Completed

[Steven Alford]

I have not had the time I would like to have to play with my new toy. There is always something else to do; mow, weed, water, feed the dogs, etc.
But finally I found the time to put my down draft together.

I bought the Dewalt planner stand and cut a slot in the MDF top that corresponds with the hole in the bottom of the CW. Then I put weather striping around the hole in the CW to help create a tight seal.

I had a piece of plastic gutter left over from a repair job on my shed so I cut a piece of this the width of the CW and glued it in place. I cut a 3" hole in the gutter and glued in a 4" to 3" reducer that is to be hooked up to the dust collector. It would have been nice to put a 4" hole in the gutter so it would have hooked up straight to the dust collector without a reducer but the bottom of the gutter is only 3" wide.

The dust collector is a mini collector by Steel City. It only cost $79. It fit perfect under the CW on the shelf below. I placed a small sheet of Styrofoam under the collector motor to cut down on the noise and vibration.

When I turn them both on (CW and Dust collector) and lift the lid on the CW, you can feel a good rush of air going into the machine and down the bottom.

Steve

[Kenm810]

Steve.

Nice job, You and the Machine will be able to breathe a bit easier.
Any system that helps control the dust and chips produced by the carving machines is a big plus to you.
You'll quickly see a an improvement in the clean up time needed after each carving project. http://www.carvewright.com/forum/images/icons/icon14.gif

[TWOATLOW8]

That looks great i just completed mine this week and also have the dust colector below and am gettting a very good vibration and was going to add soem rubber bumper below......Great job....

[LittleRedWoodshop]

you rock...

Nice to see members of te TEAM succeeding. Downdraft looks great, I'll pray that you have more time to use your machine.

[LittleRedWoodshop]

you rock...

Nice to see members of the TEAM succeeding. Downdraft looks great, I'll pray that you have more time to use your machine.

[Steven Alford]

Thanks guys.
My thing now is trying to get to know this software. I don't wont to waste a lot of carving time (and wood!!) on things that I will never use or sell (test carves) so I want to make sure I know how the software works. I have been taking artwork from Lora S. Irish's book, "Classic Carving Patterns" and converting them to something that can be done on the CW. So far they are looking great. I will post a few later.

Steve

[fwharris]

Steve,
Great job! Nice compact set up. Like Ken stated you will notice the difference on your first carve. Steve, did you do any grounding of the machine for static control? just had to ask..

Looks like you had a great day in the Springs for the picture also..

[Steven Alford]

Yes, I actually bought some alligator clips with about 15' of wire on the end so I can clamp them on the machine. Just hope I remember to do it when I run another carve.

[Spanglerg@hotmail.com]

Looks like a great Idea. Do you have any concerns about static electricity effecting the operation of your machine?

[Steven Alford]

That's why the last poster asked me about a grounding wire.

Steve

[Spanglerg@hotmail.com]

Steve, I'm sorry I offended you by questioning your grounding method. But there is a little more to properly grounding equipment than "some wire & alligator clips". I would advise that you consult the NEC before proceding, after all you would'nt want to burn down your work area as well as frying your machine, would you?

[Amonaug]

Speaking of grounding, I just completed a downdraft system too. Isn't the dust collector grounded via the electrical plug? And if the tubing, etc is connected to a wooden table would there be a need for further grounding?

[LittleRedWoodshop]

I was told by people within LHR not to worry about grounding the machine... if the downdraft isn't actually connected to the machine.

This grounding thing was an issue when people were attempting to hook downdraft into the MUFFLER outlet.

And yes if the downdraft system is connected to a wooden table then I see no need to to ground. I have been running 2 machines WITH NO GROUND for over a month now.

[Kenm810]

You have to remember that some of the damage and malfunctions of the machine's sensors, LED readouts, Touch pads, Flash Cards,and circuitry has been caused buy older Shop Vacs and other vacuuming devices or equipment that can generate a static electric charge by drawing dust and chips through the its hose. Anyone that has vacuumed their machine while it is on and had the led pad go blank can verify that. If you do pause the machine to vacuum while carving, stay away from the machines electronics.

[Gunner]

GROUNDING : The whole idea behind grounding your machine and any downdraft system is to prevent static electricity from causing a spark which could ignite sawdust or damage the electronics in the machine. Running a bare copper wire through the inside of the plastic collector hose and out to the system ground can prevent this. Also connecting the frame of the machine to the system ground is another point of contact that should be considered. Contact your local electrical contractor for information on how to do this or have them do the work. Proper grounding will prevent you from getting an electrical shock if one of the wires happens to wear through the insulation. 120 volts can kill you. Also DO NOT coil your electrical cord or extension cord. This has been shown to actually increase voltage applied to the machine, just as a transformer does. Work carefull, work safe. Happy carving.

[Amonaug]

GROUNDING : The whole idea behind grounding your machine and any downdraft system is to prevent static electricity from causing a spark which could ignite sawdust or damage the electronics in the machine. Running a bare copper wire through the inside of the plastic collector hose and out to the system ground can prevent this. Also connecting the frame of the machine to the system ground is another point of contact that should be considered. Contact your local electrical contractor for information on how to do this or have them do the work. Proper grounding will prevent you from getting an electrical shock if one of the wires happens to wear through the insulation. 120 volts can kill you. Also DO NOT coil your electrical cord or extension cord. This has been shown to actually increase voltage applied to the machine, just as a transformer does. Work carefull, work safe. Happy carving.

It isn't the volts that will kill you, it's the amps :)

[Gunner]

Yes, and at 120 volts with a 20 amp circuit breaker, your dead.

[Jeff_Birt]

It only takes a few 10s of milliamps to kill you, which is very little current. A bit more or less current and you much better off. The size of breaker on the circuit is irrelevant. The path the current travels through your body is the biggest factor aside from being in the 'current sweet-spot'. Having it travel through your chest, from arm to arm is the worst. Watch a (good) electrician when he is working on a live panel. He only has one hand in the panel at a time.


Also DO NOT coil your electrical cord or extension cord. This has been shown to actually increase voltage applied to the machine, just as a transformer does.

I very seriously doubt this (not to pick a fight). Without getting into a lot of boring, geeky, EE stuff, try this: Grab yourself a clamp-over-the-wire type current meter. Clamp it over the closest power cord you have handy (so that it is clamped over all the wires in the cord. Can you actually measure any current this way? Now clamp the meter over only one wire (hot or neutral doesn't matter). Can you measure current now? These meters work via induction (like a transformer).

[Digitalwoodshop]

Everyone is a little "Testy" this morning.... One grounding question and the result was a bunch of "Static"... You can feel the tension in the air.... WOW....

In my opinion.... The small amount of dust going through the down draft hose is not enough to create a serious static problem. To error on the side of caution I use a piece of wire with 3 industrial alligator clips on each end and connect it to 3 places on my dust collector and 3 places on my machine. I use clips for the convenience. The dust Collector is grounded so that is my path to ground. I even use foil dryer hoses for collection. Not the most efficient as far as air flow but with a 2 HP collector it cleans up nicely.

I agree that the Shop Vac's sucking a load of chip and the chip's motion through the plastic hose will generate a good amount of static killing many machines.

Reading a story of a guy using plastic PVC pipe with the copper wire running through it in his shop. He brushed up against the outside of the pipe and woke up on the ground.... The outside had carried enough of a charge to knock him out.....

Here is some night reading.... just the tip of the ice burg....

http://home.att.net/~waterfront-woods/Articles/Electricity/static.htm

http://www.steamengine.com.au/ic/faq/static.html

AL

My thinking is with Jeff on the induced voltage, no change in a coiled cable with 3 conductors. But I am open to new ideas.... That chunk of Ferrite you see clipped to audio, USB and DC small power wires is to kill Electronic Noise.

Someone here posted about a year ago that worked at the UL Testing facility when they tested the CarveWright and they went from a 3 wire power cord to a 2 wire power cord to pass the tests. The X or sand paper belt drive is a 115 VAC motor and then it goes to the power supply and is low voltage after that. If anyone were to get into trouble it would be with the X Motor and future breakdown of the motor insulation in a few years. Add a pile of sawdust inside the lower machine and you have a Cave-a-que....

[Gunner]

I didn't want to sound " Testy", if I did I'm sorry for the way it sounded. I was trying to pass on information learned at our saftey meetings. I am a retired Line Construction Electrician. One of those silly sob's that climb poles and plays with electricity. I some times come off as an ole' cuss but, I try not to. I've been playing with electricity in one form or another since I was a kid. I am not the most knowledgeable on everything electrical, as I've gotten shocked a few times myself. I just try to do things in a safe manner, and pass on the information I have learned. Again , sorry if I offended anyone. Happy carving.

[fwharris]

Looks like my question to Steve got more than the dust standing up on the back of our necks!

I feel that it is better safe than sorry and the cost of a little bit of wire and a few clips out ways to possible bad consequences.

I started out my DC system just using a 6 gal shop vac hooked up to my wooden box under the CW. I had it grounded at 3 points on the CW (both out feed tables and on the back side cover screw) then connected at the point the vac hose attached to my DC box with the wire wrapped around the hose to the shop vac. I could still see small amounts of static dust building up on the out side of the vac hose. I think it was the plastic hose and the fact that one really has to insure when when you attach the clips to the CW you make a good connection. Just clipping it to metal does not mean you are making a good ground. Test for continuity to be sure!

Since then I have gone to a Delta 1 hp DC system and with the 4" hose that has a wire built into it I have not seen any static dust build up.

Jason makes a good point about how the DC system is attached to the unit also. Another thing to consider is the relative humidity that you are working in. With Colorado's low humidity we are prone to static shock.

Oh, by the way Steve I really like your set up and glad to hear that you did ground it!

[Steven Alford]

Steve, I'm sorry I offended you by questioning your grounding method. But there is a little more to properly grounding equipment than "some wire & alligator clips". I would advise that you consult the NEC before proceding, after all you would'nt want to burn down your work area as well as frying your machine, would you?

JARBOON,
You did not offend me in the least. I am sorry I sounded that way. I will take your suggestion very seriously. Thank-you!!!

Steve

[Steven Alford]

My main concern with grounding is to keep away any static build up that could cause damage to the CW. And also to help keep the dust from "sticking" to everything inside the CW. I am not too worried about preventing shock to the user.

And yes,Floyd, you are right, here in Colorado the humidity is very low and the static is very high!!

Steve

[wlkjr]

I've never had a static fire before but years ago I did catch a vacuum cleaner on fire by sucking up some chips from a router. It was an old metal cannister type and I keep seeing some smoke coming out. When I took the top off, the filter had already burned up.
From everything I've ever read about static electricity, the home shop is not as prone to static fires as industrial machines.