Need Woodturning Shavings Suggestions

[jgt1942]

I have a Thien Top Hat on my modified Grizzly DC and for the last 2 years it has been working great. The other night I turned some green wood (wet) and this generated a LOT of shavings. At the end of the night I decided to clean up so I turned on my DC and started to vacuum up the woodturning shavings.

OK this was not the smartest move on my part and I quickly realized this when I viewed the Top Hat through the Plexiglas. I quickly saw that it was jammed full with the shavings. I turned off the DC, disconnected the input to the Top Hat, cleaned it out.

Aside from manually cleaning up the shavings any suggestions? Possibly I should use a cyclone for the separator?

I'm about to start a redesign of my DC system and hopefully it will included a solution for the woodturning shavings.

[retired2]

Somewhere there is a thread I started about the very same problem.  The difference was I was planing wet wood rather than turning it.  The details are in the thread if you can find it.  I believe the solution if you are going to be turning wet wood routinely s to make your drop slot wider.  I never modified mine since I knew I was only going to be planing wet wood for a single project.

I'm not sure how wide to make the drop slot, but my jams always started at the end of the slot, then quickly built up to a completely clogged separator.   So, in addition to a wider drop slot the end needs to be rounded and smooth so nothing gets caught there.  And that may be easier said than done.  Also you do not want any internal support rods for the baffle like I used because that too will create plugs.

My planer dirt for dry wood is very short shavings and dust that don't hang up on anything.  But the wet shavings are long, sometimes four inches or more, and since they are soft, not brittle, they cling to every edge.

Sorry, i don't have more solutions for you, but I have plenty of experience with your problem.  I had at least three jams that took an hour or more to clean out!


Oh, just found the thread.  Here's the link.  I was trying to put some humor in what was a really bad day!

http://www.jpthien.com/smf/index.php?topic=1159.msg6551#msg6551

[ccgds]

I recently reviewed someone's Thien baffle adaptation on youtube that suspended the baffle from the bottom of the outlet port, mounting it with a plywood plug that fit snugly in the bottom of the port and a couple screws. The outlet port itself was notched just above the plug attachment to create a mouth half the diameter of the outlet and about the same height for an exit opening. The mouth was oriented away from the tangential inlet in the side of the drum as far as possible without being inline with the incoming stream of wood chips and dust. The baffle itself was a full circle with no ramp, leaving a drop slot around the full internal circumference of the catch drum. Using this method, a thinner baffle of masonite with smooth, rounded and sealed edges might create lease drag than a thicker one and eliminate the possibility of larger chips from jamming/collecting in the slot. The test in the video appeared to be very efficient at collecting fine dust, with no notable dust in his shop vac or filter. I am going to construct one similar for my shop vac, and if successful, construct a portable DC for a 1 hp blower I have using a 4" inlet to connect to my jointer, planer and wood lathe. Think the larger hose would be less prone to clogging with long, stringy, damp chips and be more efficient at collecting chips with a larger chute.

Any thoughts from those who may have already experimented with the idea would be appreciated??
Thanks!

[alan m]

I don't think a baffle design is suitable for wet woodturning shavings. they can be a foot long and will clog everything.
if you were doing it regularly I would go for an extra high separator and a very wide slot . maybe 3-4 " . maybe no baffle at all.

use that separator only for wet shavings and have a second separator built for normal work