Festool for lathe dust extraction?

[Rick Wize]

Anyone have any advice on using a Festool C22 as a dust extraction tool on a lathe? Currently I have a 4" hose attached to a hood. Would a Festool C22 work.

[Chris Tsutsui]

I think you need a dust collector that moves a lot of air (high cfm). I have a CT33, and even on high, I don't think it would serve the purpose you're describing.

It has strong suction, but doesn't exactly move a lot of air like my harbor freight 2HP DC.

[Rick Wize]

Does anyone use the Rockler wall mount collector? At 650CFM, would it be enough for dust extraction on a lathe? My delta mobile unit works well, but I want to use something that I can get out of the way (small shop). Thx!

[Dan Friedrichs]

More CFM is always better. For about half the price of the Rockler unit, you can buy the 2HP Harbor Freight unit, throw away the bags, bag ring, stand, etc, and just use the blower.

[Don Alexander]

are you trying to get the sanding dust or the curlies while turning? its going to take a whole lot more CFM's to get the curlies and personally i doubt its worth the effort

the vac would likely work fine on the sanding dust if you use a standard vac hose diameter instead of the 4" hose ; the vac doesn't move enough air for the larger line

having said all that i personally prefer using my 2 hp DC for this task as its a whole lot quieter than a vac the way i have it setup

[Rick Wize]

I'm not trying to get the curlys, just to get the dust (I realize the curlys are a different cleanup). I just would like to have either a more permanent setup or a smaller mobile unit (my shop is small and Im trying to leverage as much space as possible).

Can you tell me more about what you did with the HF setup? I'm not sure I understand how you are just using the blower to collect the dust? Thanks for the help.

[Jim McFarland]

I use a Fein vac, Dust Deputy, 2.25" O.D fitting vac hose and Veritas magnetic dust chute to capture at least some of the shavings when turning. I don't expect to capture most and just use a broom for the shavings that get away. I put the vac hose end close to the piece when sanding to capture most of the sanding dust. Festool could serve the same purpose as the Fein.

In my experience, this setup is very loud with the Dust Deputy in the loop but it does work and vac bag expense would be very high without the DD.

Edit to add: Pen turning is my primary lathe use and I drill all my blanks on the lathe -- high velocity airflow of the vac is very handy in cooling the drill bit when drilling the blanks.

[Rick Wize]

Jim,

Interesting. Does your setup collect the dust when sanding the pen blanks? What I am really interested in is collecting the airborne dust, not the chips. If this would work, it would be perfect for what I am looking for. I turn pens, but also bowls etc.

[Jim McFarland]

<snip>
Does your setup collect the dust when sanding the pen blanks? <snip

Rick, yes -- I disconnect the vac hose from the magnetic chute and hold the hose end next to the pen blank when sanding and this captures the sanding dust very well. However, I recommend you try this with any shop vac and a 2 1/4" hose to determine how well it works for you before investing in a Dust Deputy. I turn a lot of polyresin and acrylic blanks and these shavings tend to either cling to the tool, me or wrap around the blank. The "close to the work" magnetic chute allows easy removal of these shavings but the shavings fill vac bags pretty quickly. Keeping vac bag costs down is my main reason for using the DD. I don't know that I would bother with the DD if shop vac usage is limited to sanding dust -- obviously it depends on your volume.

[Rick Wize]

Thanks Jim for the quick response. If possible I would like to continue to use my hood, without having to disconnect the hose. Currently my Delta 1.5 HP dust collector works great - it just takes up too much room and I find myself taking unsafe practices around other equipment because it is in the way (I should take the time to move it fully out of the way, but don't).

So my intent had been to see if I could utilize something smaller that was easier to move around. I was contemplating the Festool, but it sounds like the CFM is not high enough.

As an alternative the Rockler wall mount vac has 650 CFM, but so far I have been unable to get much feedback about it.

[Jim McFarland]

Rick, sorry -- I missed the fact you are using a hood now. I agree Festool or any shop vac won't replace a dust collector for that application.

[Don Alexander]

i use the DC which i have located in an enclosure outside my 12x12 shop (space being at a premium is something i know all too well)

what is working quite well is an old 2 1/2 " shop vac hose coming off the 4" line with the end of the hose wedged close up behind the piece on the lathe , you can literally watch the vortex of fine sanding dust being sucked into the hose i would estimate its getting 99% of it as the only dust i'm finding is actually on the sandpaper and my fingers ; fine sawdust triggers my allergies and this arrangement has effectively stopped that annoyance

my DC has no bags or filters as it drops into a chip box which is working out even better than i thought it would (got the idea from Keith Outen's sticky post on the subject)