Dust Control

[castingman]

Hi,
After reading all the post for dust control i made a box to hook up to my DC and sat it on an old printer cabnit and is now running in my garage. I ran it in the basement a couple of times and it worked great. The problem is i can't work down there for all the noise and if i ran it it the grage it covered my harley with dust! Can't have that now that the weather broke i need to start rideing it to work [ 50 miles round trip @ $5.00 a gallen fo gas ]
I have 10 placks to make for my lodge officers to give them in november with a alum. casting insert i will post a pic when i get one finished, 3rd one is carveing now.

Michael

[www.go3d.us]

Hey Micheal, you can build a small green house for your CC to keep the dust from flying everywhere. You know using clear vinyl at the fabric store, a wooden frame and some duct tape? :) It will keep the dust and some noise in.
My 2cent. :)
HT

[castingman]

HT
Thanks good idea but i don't think i have the room!

Michael

[www.go3d.us]

I mean a mini green house, just large enough to cover the machine. :)
HT

[castingman]

Ok, I get it , with some reararangeing that may work.

Michael

[SandBuoy]

Hi Micheal, there were some post about showing how to make a mini screen around the machine. Its just big enough to fit around the cabinet your CC sits on. If I can find it I will send it to you. Better yet buddy, build an case around thr Harley, maybe even a duct collection sustem around it :mrgreen:

Heard a bunch of choppers going down the road the other night and reminded me of Mark Landing in the sunner time. Some nice bikes are parked out there any night of the week.

[castingman]

SandBuoy,

Nice to here from you, After last nites carve the bike looks pretty clean , [ better than before ], I have a small dc from sears , it's a pain draging it up and down the steps so now i will buy another one.
I haven't been to Marks Landing for some time but i do know that it is still the place people stop for a fast one and a bite to eat .

Well, gotta get carveing lots to do.

Michael

[wlkjr]

An old squirrel cage blower out of an hvac unit makes a great filtering system. Build a box for it with at least a 16x20 filter in the side. Mine sucks up dust and even overspray in a 20'x40' shop.

[castingman]

wlkjr
Thanks , i was thinking about that myself , one that hangs from the celing would be nice as well. I have one of them in the basement that works great but it needs to stay there if you know wat i mean.
Michael

[Digitalwoodshop]

I am reluctantly posting this as I almost blew up my SHOP the other day.....

I have a lower and upper dust collecting on my machine. I made the Copper Circuit Board upper dust catcher and have been very happy with it..... After maintenance on my machine I slipped a piece of Engraving metal plate half over the bottom 4 inch opening of my black metal carve machine stand. This effectively increased the suction in the upper dust catcher.

What In saw was a Flash of Light near the 1/8 inch bit.... Thinking at first I had hit the ball bearing that In had lost earlier in the day holding the cutting cable in place. Thinking it had fallen into the partially completed cut path and was now gone....

Then with the next project I saw it again.... WTFO..... Turned off the lights and watched it and then again.... SPARKS or Lightning from the hood of my Copper Collector to the Bit.... STATIC ELECTRICITY..... The increased flow of air coupled with the steady supply of dust had been making Static Electricity.... Then I look and my Big GATOR clip was missing from the metal hood.... The other 2 were there... Foil Hose and out feed table.... But not the one clipped to the 4 inch metal 90 pipe.... So I had finally produced the Static I had so hoped to never produce..... The Spark COULD have in the right dust conditions caused an explsion..... Try to explain that to the Insurance guy..... Well I still have not found a Insurance Company to insure my 2 building..... You LASER Cut wood in one and have a WOOD Shop..... Sorry... We don't insure WOOD SHOPS.....

So lesson to be learned here.... Air Volume and dust = STATIC ELECTRICITY..... I also removed the blocking plate on the bottom....

Go with what works...

AL "Sparkie"....

[castingman]

Al Sparkie
Did'nt you ever watch the " Frankenstine " copper likes static ele.
Static electricity can be a danger , I have been thinking about buying a small brass foundry for the only reason he has the tooling to cast alum bronze chain links for the navy and feed mills in the midwest for that same resason.
One of our local pattern makers built a new building a while back and had to bury the dc lines under concrete with bare copper wire in them.

Be Carefull Michael

[Kix]

Ok, so I am trying to learn the lessons here and apply before I blow up anything other than my ego.

I reorganized a chunk of my garage the other day in anticipation of my new CW landing soon. I think I am going to go with a single stage collecter dust unit with one of those two stage add on cyclon trash can lids they sell at Woodcraft for $20.

I am also thinking I can pound in one of those ground rods, you know, they are about 5 ft long, 3/4" diameter, and you pound them into the ground alongside your foundation out by the power panel to ground the house to it. So I can put one of those in and run some gator clip leads or bolt in some to the machine and whatever else needs it.

Any thoughts...?

Lil Red Woodshop was sayin just dont have the machine touching the vacuum system....?

[Jeff_Birt]

If you install a local ground rod, you MUST hook it to your main electrical ground (via a #6 or #4 wire depending on your area, inspector etc). This keeps all points of ground at the same potential. Not doing so is VERY dangerous as there can be a potential difference of 30-50 volts in just 30 yards or so apart.

Just driving a ground rod does not guarantee that it is actually a good ground either.

[dougmsbbs]

I agree with Jeff 110 percent!
I worked as an industrial electrician for years. It's possible to have two grounds some distance apart, and if you touch them both, or touch one while in contact with the utilites ground, to recieve a nasty shock.
Been there, done that.
It's not the charge on each one, it's the two charges differential that will get you.
Take a ground back to the utilites ground if at all possible!

[Kix]

See now that's good stuff Maynard!

Okay, so sounds like I ought to power up the garage then as long as i am at it. I want to build a shed that butts up to the outside of the garage and house a single stage collector and the yard tools and what not in there. The panel sits on that same side of the garage, towards the rear of the house more. I figure if I hire an electrician (man's got to know his limitations) I can run the conduit and he can set new breakers in the 2 open slots and pull out a dedicated line for the CW, another line for the collector and the rest of the tools, maybe get another circuit for the basement, which I wont be finishing till winter, maybe.

When we run the circuits for the power to come into the shed and then into the garage, can we pull a wire off the ground rod right there and bring it through the conduit to drop it somewhere accessible in the garage? Any help on this would be appreciated, I have not much savvy with electricity.

Meanwhile i will go search the rest of the forum for other good ideas on dust collection and grounding.

Thanks

[dougmsbbs]

Local codes vary, but in general have your electrician pull a ground with the new circuits. That will ground them in the panel. I'm sure that panel is already grounded outside, so your all set.
Ask the electrician and he can set you right up. Properly installed metalic conduit is legal to use as a ground, so from that point on any ground needed in the shop could be gotten by clipping onto the conduit. BTW, it's not a bad idea to ask the guy while he's there to double check and make sure the grounding system is in good order....

[Digitalwoodshop]

There is a Ground Rod at your Service Main Panel and that is the Central Ground for the House and your future shop. Grounding of your dust collector will come from the 3 wire plug on your dust collector. Attaching a ground wire to all the dust collector and CarveWright components will be your proper ground. Adding a Ground Rod to any part of the system is like everyone above has written is Dangerous. They call it a Ground Loop.

You could save some money by having the electrician run heavier wire and place say a 60 Amp Sub Panel or a 100 amp Sub panel in your shop. That will cover overhead lights, Dust Collector, and CarveWright. You will find that the electrician will not install the bonding screw in the panel that links the white neutral and bear copper wires. Only the Main Panel has the white and bear copper bonded together.

He will run a 4 wire to the new sub panel. Hot, Hot, White, and Ground. The 2 Hots make 220 VAC if you need it later for a Dust Collector.

Good Luck,

AL

[toms]

If you are going to install a dust collection system, use metal pipe vice PVC where possible and ground the entire system. You’ll eliminate most of your static build up and make your shop much safer. If you can afford it, use a 2 stage collection system. Should you hit a nail or piece of metal with a bit or blade and have it sucked into the dust collector, it will likely fall out of the airstream before striking a metal impeller which could create a spark. As an engineering intern, I saw what happened to a maintenance worker that dropped a light near a dust silo. The sparks ignited a fire ball that burned him severely. Sometimes it’s difficult to motivate yourself to spend a few extra $ on stuff that doesn’t machine material, but the alternative can be much more costly. Please bare with me for one more war story…I used to travel quite a bit with my job and met a guy who had some missing fingers. After many trips to his facility I got to know him well enough to ask what happened. Well, he was using a radial arm saw to rip lumber. He knew he should buy a table saw as it is much safer for that operation, but he felt like he couldn’t afford it. Once while ripping, the board kicked back and pulled his right hand back into the blade. He told me that in retrospect a table saw wouldn’t have cost that much. Safety first!

[Digitalwoodshop]

I agree, Dust Collection Safety is a must.... There is much written on dust and static on places like sawmill creek and wood web.

I too used a Radial Arm saw to rip at one time, used the safety dogs and more than once it caught the board. I now have no less than 5 table saws.... Like CW Machines they keep finding me....... The last one was a Cabinet Saw.... SWEET !!!! FREE....

AL