Ring Neck Blues Dust Collector

[Mike58]

One of the things I got with the A907 kit and Carvetight chuck kit last week was the Ring Neck Blues dust collector attachment. I also went to Harbor Freight and got the small green dust collector blower and a 4" metal flex duct 8' long to connect them together. The metal duct is what is recommended for connecting them and it makes sense since the HF motor has a ground plug and a metal housing the metal duct provides a ground path between the blower and the adapter mounted on the ungrounded CarveWright machine. I sat the blower down beside the carving machine and only pulled the metal duct out as long as needed to connect the two together.

First I had concerning about the HF DC having enough airflow - it does. It worked great.

The Ring Neck Blues adapter was on sale and I liked the idea of the outlet off to the side so it didn't interfere with bit changes. I ran the machine with my newly install hardware, new caretight bit and new dust collector setup 7 hours 47 minutes the first time used carving red oak that was a 2 sided carve in a 10" plate that has about 1/2" removed on both sides of board in places. A lot of wood shavings! Before this, I was using a small Craftsman shop vacuum and blowing the carvings out about every 5 - 7 minutes to minimize the buildup of carvings getting under the rubber roller as the board moved.

I am extremely pleased with the Ring Neck Blue adapter! There was perhaps a tablespoon maybe two of carvings inside the machine when the nearly 8 hour runtime carve was finished. I blew more than that out every 5-7 minutes of carving time with the shop vac - so to run nearly 8 hours and have so little carvings that didn't get sucked away I think is simple awesome! This is money WELL spent!

[CNC Carver]

Yes collector makes things much better.

[fwharris]

Mike,

Thank you for feedback the DC-INSERT. Great to hear you are pleased with dustless carving. It JUST SUCKS!

[Mike58]

I'm somewhat of a perfectionist. This makes some things hard for me......

With that said, I scrutinized it over pretty good when I unpacked it. First, I couldn't make it for what I paid for it. I have a 3 in 1 shear, brake, roller that's 30" wide so I think I could do it. But how long would it take me to do a one off part? Hours no doubt to measure and cut and bend (and make mistakes and start over). The angles of the bends, the fit of the corners and so forth really impressed me. Whoever did the bending and fitting did an excellent job.

The feedback is deserved, and I am glad to tell others they can buy one without worry. Honestly, this was probably the best $200 I have spent so far. It showed immediate results. The software - well it's a work in progress.....

[lynnfrwd]

Honestly, this was probably the best $200 I have spent so far. It showed immediate results......

Just to clarify that cost was of the RingneckBlues DC Insert & the Harbor Freight DC System.

[Mike58]

Yes! The HF DC blower was around $145, plus the metal hose and clamps then the adapter

[Mike1]

Hi Mike58, I wish I could have used the same wording and description as you, well done. Up until a couple of months ago I was using my home made DC insert and it was OK, or so I thought. Then I decided to buy a RB, world of difference! Like you said, barely any left over dust. I strongly feel that these machines should not be sold without a DC hood, IMHO.

[fwharris]

Mike,

It sounds like you have a metal shop as well as a woodworking shop. I am not even close to your set up. Just an 18" Harbor Freight bending break and a self taught tin knocker!

[Mike58]

in addition to what's in my signature
"a few other things...."
Smithy Industrial Granite 40" 3 in 1 machine, Mig & arc welders, gas torch, 3 in one metal shear, brake, rolling machine on store bought stand, Shop Smith 510, Shop Smith jointer and bandsaw and a stand alone Shop Smith planer, 2-3 routers, a power hand planer, 2-3 4-1/2" grinders, several drills, ceramic tile saw, mechanic tools from years of diesel work with wrenches up to 2-5/8" and 3/4" socket set to about 2-1/2" I think, Snap On parts washer, Snap On engine stand, Cherry picker engine hoist, Huge Makita SDS-plus hammer drill, survey's transit set, a couple of sections of scaffolding with wheels and leveling jacks, countless caulk guns (seems like every time I need one I can't put my hand on one) A/C vacuum pump and 2 different sets of gauges. Vermeer trencher with 60" bar 6" wide trench, John Deere 4720 cab tractor and "a few" attachments, IH TD-9B dozer, John Deere 490E excavator, 14K lb dual axle trailer, 20' enclosed trailer full of stuff from working on single wide mobile home and double wide we own. We also have a commercial Melco single head embroidery machine and a little bit more.....

I've invested around $70K in mechanic tools over the years and a lot of money in the other stuff too. But I have saved more than that by doing everything myself that I can. The tools and machines are things I have really needed (sometimes wanted and got - that later WHERE really needed).

[JimmieDuke]

I agree about the RNB-DC!!
I can't believe I carved for 4 years before getting one.
I had one slight issue... the screw on the CarveTight was hitting the DC but a couple slight bends and it has been smooth carving since.