Fletcher's DC - carve it yourself

[Alan Malmstrom]

I bought some attachment parts from Rockler and they fit the Fletcher DC perfectly. All I did was cut a hole in the clear cover plate and the first peice fits snugly right on the wooden DC and then I close the cover and the threaded dust collector attachment fits right over the first one and even helps to keep the cover closed. I also have a coper wire screwed into one of the screws holdong the DC on the machine. I also put a sock in one side of the DC to get more air flow on the Touchpad side of the machine. I'm telling you I have hardly any dust left in the machine at all.



Alan

[Fletcher]

Nicely done Alan!

[b.sumner47]

Nice work Allen. I will carve mine now after seeing your set-up. Thanks , Capt Barry

[usd5000000]

Hello, Thanks for the DC design.

Any chance moving the hose attachment ring a little to the left side? Wouldn't this help in two ways:

1) have more suction on the left where most of the carves are happening.

2) keep the hose out of the way to make changing bits easier?

I understand some suction on the right side would be sacrificed.

Thanks,
Jeff

[jaustin]

I haven't tried it yet. But next carve i plan on putting tape over the right side to see if it helps more.

[jgowrie]

I am running this project now and just flipped the board to continue the FRONT side of the project... Is it possible that the machine asks for the 1/8" cutting TWICE? I am pretty sure it asked for the 1/8" cutting bit which I loaded. After it ran through it's checks it stopped and is again asking for the 1/8" cutting bit.. This is the first carve I've done where the DRILL tool is used and I'm thinking maybe it asks for the 1/8" bit twice because of that?

I'm a little nervous to start the front carve until I know for sure if I read everything on the screen correctly. I guess my alternative is to delete the REAR carve and restart the project with just the front carve so I'll be able to start the process over.

[AskBud]

I am running this project now and just flipped the board to continue the FRONT side of the project... Is it possible that the machine asks for the 1/8" cutting TWICE? I am pretty sure it asked for the 1/8" cutting bit which I loaded. After it ran through it's checks it stopped and is again asking for the 1/8" cutting bit.. This is the first carve I've done where the DRILL tool is used and I'm thinking maybe it asks for the 1/8" bit twice because of that?

I'm a little nervous to start the front carve until I know for sure if I read everything on the screen correctly. I guess my alternative is to delete the REAR carve and restart the project with just the front carve so I'll be able to start the process over.

YES, it does (at times).
AskBud

[jgowrie]

Thank, Bud. I ended up reloading the mpc with only the front carve and I did notice it asked for the DRILL and CUT bit separately, even though it's the same bit for both processes. I didn't notice that subtle difference the first time.

[Fletcher]

Hello, Thanks for the DC design.

Any chance moving the hose attachment ring a little to the left side? Wouldn't this help in two ways:

1) have more suction on the left where most of the carves are happening.

2) keep the hose out of the way to make changing bits easier?

I understand some suction on the right side would be sacrificed.

Thanks,
Jeff

You're welcome... Most of my carvings were using the full width, so I designed it to work for the whole width. Changing bits has never been a problem for me with the DC in place.

[mikedn]

I want to thank the OP for the MPC for this dust collection modification.

I received my first carvewright last week and I was itching to get it to work. After spending a couple of days watching the instructional video, reading the hardware and software manuals cover-to-cover, and perusing the forums for any last-minute 'gotchas', I put together a basic design for a bathroom sign last weekend and put the unit to work.

I was surprised (although shouldn't have been, I suppose) about the amount of wood dust that collected in nooks and crannies of the machine. I could rapidly see how this was going to become a major issue with long-term maintenance and care of the machine. I have to admit I am surprised that CW doesn't have a better dust collection system in place -- another poster alluded to this, you would think the addition of a dust-collection port would help them significantly with warrantee issues and overall, better customer satisfaction.

Anyway, I have a delta 50-850 unit for DC. My workshop is small, so all my tools are portable on casters for easy relocation when they're not in use. To use my carvewright, I have to set it on my table saw and roll up the delta unit to its side.

Being I was excited to get started using my unit, I found this DC modification and decided to implement it. I used a spare piece of poplar I had laying around which was the right size... I figure this will paint up nicely. I didn't, however, have the patience to take the circular connector and glue it up, so I took one of my 4" PVC DC flanges I had laying around and attached it to the output port using two small screws from the underside of the unit, after trimming it to size using my dremel. I also used a fair amount of silicone sealant on the inner and outer edges to help seal the unit. I found man-handling my heavy-duty 4" DC hose directly to the adapter a major PITA, so I found a 3" PVC elbow to install on the unit. I secured this with a single screw in the front (near the cutting head, not pictured) to keep the elbow from wanting to sag under the weight of the heavy-duty hose.






Once installed, I carved out a new sign for one of the stalls in my barn... and it worked beautifully. Virtually no dust on the workpiece... still a small amount of fine particulate matter inside the unit and along the backside, but compared to previous carvings, a 1000% improvement!



I think the only other modification to this setup I may make is to switch the 90 degree elbow to a 45 degree elbow.... I'll have to pick one up next time I'm near the depot.