Hello,

I am new to turning. I got a Jet Mini Lathe (JML-1014) for my birthday
along with the bed extension. I purchased a few tools from Lee Valley
and am very gung ho to start turning and learning. However, its damn
cold out in the garage (shop). All of my other tools and dust
collection system are out there.

My question is: (keep in mind I have never used a lathe) What type of
mess does a lathe make? If it is pretty much all shavings that can
easily swept up, I would be inclined to use it in my basement. However,
if there is a large quantity of airborne dust (small micron stuff) that
will infiltrate every crevice, duct, and eventually my family's lungs,
(Not to mention get tracked all about the house) then I will have to
hold off until spring.

Also, would experienced turners recommend that I learn to use the mini
without the extension and then put it on after gaining familiarity? Or,
is that pretty much irrelevant?
Thanks for feedback.

Eric (in getting cold Minnesota)

"robdingnagian1" wrote:

Hello,

I am new to turning. I got a Jet Mini Lathe (JML-1014) for my birthday
along with the bed extension. I purchased a few tools from Lee Valley
and am very gung ho to start turning and learning. However, its damn
cold out in the garage (shop). All of my other tools and dust
collection system are out there.

My question is: (keep in mind I have never used a lathe) What type of
mess does a lathe make? If it is pretty much all shavings that can
easily swept up, I would be inclined to use it in my basement.
However, if there is a large quantity of airborne dust (small micron
stuff) that will infiltrate every crevice, duct, and eventually my
family's lungs, (Not to mention get tracked all about the house) then
I will have to hold off until spring.

If you are perfect and never need to sand, then no dust. If you're like
most of us, you'll do a lot of sanding and create a lot of dust. A good
quality air filtration system can collect a lot of the dust, but likely
not all. If your furnace is in the basement, the remaining dust *will*
spread throughout the house.


Also, would experienced turners recommend that I learn to use the mini
without the extension and then put it on after gaining familiarity?
Or, is that pretty much irrelevant?

IMO, pretty much irrelevant.


Thanks for feedback.

Eric (in getting cold Minnesota)

Get out to the garage and turn some stuff to warm up!

"robdingnagian1" wrote in message
oups.com...
Hello,

I am new to turning. I got a Jet Mini Lathe (JML-1014) for my birthday
along with the bed extension. I purchased a few tools from Lee Valley
and am very gung ho to start turning and learning. However, its damn
cold out in the garage (shop). All of my other tools and dust
collection system are out there.

My question is: (keep in mind I have never used a lathe) What type of
mess does a lathe make? If it is pretty much all shavings that can
easily swept up, I would be inclined to use it in my basement. However,
if there is a large quantity of airborne dust (small micron stuff) that
will infiltrate every crevice, duct, and eventually my family's lungs,
(Not to mention get tracked all about the house) then I will have to
hold off until spring.

Also, would experienced turners recommend that I learn to use the mini
without the extension and then put it on after gaining familiarity? Or,
is that pretty much irrelevant?
Thanks for feedback.

Eric (in getting cold Minnesota)


A lathe makes quite a mess and when turn out the interior of a bowl and then
look at the floor you can't understand how all those shavings were in the
bowl in the first place.

Roughing out green (wet) wood creates 99.5% shavings. They are easily
cleaned up with a broom and shovel but you'll be surprised how far they can
fly and how they can cling to almost anything. A solution for this is to put
a shower curtain arrangement around your lathe but leaving room for easy
working. I have my lathe in a dedicated room off the regular shop.

Sanding dry wood is where the fine dust in created. I have a cardboard box
on the end of a 4" hose off my dust collector to try and catch a lot of it.
Unfortunately the nature of spinning wood and the sanding process in general
means you will not get it all by any means. I also run air cleaner fans too.
I don't bother to try and catch shavings with the DC because they fly in all
directions so you're going to sweep anyway.

If you are smart you will wear a respirator that will catch particles at the
sub-micron level. By all means whatever you do use a full-face shield and
these are often combined with respirators made for turning. Do a google
search for Triton and you'll get the idea if you don't already know.

You can minimize (not eliminate) what the furnace picks up by using aluminum
duct tape on all cold air return ducts that are in the basement and a
reasonable quality filter over any basement cold air registers that you
don't want to seal. Allow part of your woodworking budget to be allocated to
take your wife to dinner or whatever from time to time because you are going
to track dust and the shavings that cling so well to your clothes seem to
easily fall off in the living room for some unknown reason.

Buried in the above is the suggestion of what you can do now to start
turning. Setup the lathe in the house and turn green wood, no dust,
remember. You can rough bowls for finish turning later by leaving the wall
thickness about 10% of the diameter of the bowl. You can also turn bowls to
completion and even do a bit of wet sanding and then let them dry and warp
into some artsy shape.

Bill

Eric, I think that you can turn frozen wood, but living in S. Florida, I
don't know how much mess remains when the chips thaw out. Maybe you
should try the opposite; keep the turning blank wet down with warm
water. However, my advice to
"ride hard and put away wet" may be as bad for wood as for horses....and
not much better for woodturners or riders.


Turn to Safety, Arch
Fortiter



http://community.webtv.net/almcc/MacsMusings

Hi Eric

Eric stay out of the house.
If you don't, from now on any dust in the house will be from you turning
wood.
Even turning in the garage or shop you will have chips that get tracked
into the house.
Get a wood stove or radiant heater and go do some turning, with or
without the extension.
Have fun and take care
Leo Van Der Loo

Hello,

I am new to turning. I got a Jet Mini Lathe (JML-1014) for my birthday
along with the bed extension. I purchased a few tools from Lee Valley
and am very gung ho to start turning and learning. However, its damn
cold out in the garage (shop). All of my other tools and dust
collection system are out there.

My question is: (keep in mind I have never used a lathe) What type of
mess does a lathe make? If it is pretty much all shavings that can
easily swept up, I would be inclined to use it in my basement. However,
if there is a large quantity of airborne dust (small micron stuff) that
will infiltrate every crevice, duct, and eventually my family's lungs,
(Not to mention get tracked all about the house) then I will have to
hold off until spring.

Also, would experienced turners recommend that I learn to use the mini
without the extension and then put it on after gaining familiarity? Or,
is that pretty much irrelevant?
Thanks for feedback.

Eric (in getting cold Minnesota)

"Bonehenge" wrote in message
...
On Sat, 04 Dec 2004 18:36:26 GMT, Lobby Dosser
wrote:


If your furnace is in the basement, the remaining dust *will*
spread throughout the house.

If the furnace is forced hot air.

Not all are. G

And _if_ it takes air from elsewhere than the first storey on cold air
return. Mine, and all other basements I've had, do not have cold air
returns. The furnace draws combustion air from the inside in an older
installation, and that's sufficient.

For Arch and southern others, frozen wood turns just fine, as long as you're
willing to tolerate icy cold shavings all over your steady hand. Only the
snow and ice on the outside will leave puddles, so I rest it in the basement
over a pan to thaw for a couple of hours before turning. With a choice
between the work or the worker shedding liquid, I'll take the work.

I would say that shavings end up in predictible locations, but this, and the
discussion of close-necked smocks indicates not everyone turns as I do,
where they fall to the floor or are carried and flung against the wall my
lathe abuts when hollowing a bowl. Dust direction is also fairly
predictable if you sand at or below centerline with power equipment, but no
woman of my acquaintance who is not a woodworker would find the uncaptured
10% tolerable in an inhabited area. The plastic tent can come to your aid
in both circumstances, controlling shaving throw if you throw, and
collecting excess dust by static electricity.

Beyond that, perhaps the "logic" I use on Susan, that my addiction is,
overall, cheaper than the common chemical ones, and that the sound of a
lathe in use confirms I am not at the tavern, might help. I also have her
convinced that turning in the evening makes me horny....

Yes a lathe will send shavings and dust everyware within the airspace that
you are working. If the garage is to cold you can turn in the basement. I
can send shavings 20 feet with my lathe, on a good day. What I do is to
build an enclosure around the lathe with plastic. On the jet mini a 4 by 4
enclosure floor to ceiling will work. Make an overlaping flap to enter and
exit, and fit a box fan with filter into one side for ventilation. Keep a
rain poncho close at hand for use inside of the enclosure and clean often.
This also works to help keep the shop cleaner.

Henry Doolittle


"robdingnagian1" wrote in message
oups.com...
Hello,

I am new to turning. I got a Jet Mini Lathe (JML-1014) for my birthday
along with the bed extension. I purchased a few tools from Lee Valley
and am very gung ho to start turning and learning. However, its damn
cold out in the garage (shop). All of my other tools and dust
collection system are out there.

My question is: (keep in mind I have never used a lathe) What type of
mess does a lathe make? If it is pretty much all shavings that can
easily swept up, I would be inclined to use it in my basement. However,
if there is a large quantity of airborne dust (small micron stuff) that
will infiltrate every crevice, duct, and eventually my family's lungs,
(Not to mention get tracked all about the house) then I will have to
hold off until spring.

Also, would experienced turners recommend that I learn to use the mini
without the extension and then put it on after gaining familiarity? Or,
is that pretty much irrelevant?
Thanks for feedback.

Eric (in getting cold Minnesota)

I have my lathe in the basement. In our previous house, I had a
seperate shop but didn't use it 1/2 as much as now 'cause I had to go
outside, trudge through snow in the winter, fire up a heater, wait for
it to get warm, etc., etc. So I love the basement but until I put in a
dust collector system I had a ton of dust all over the house. As
others have said, it's not the turning as much as sanding and if you
are just learning you will be doing alot of sanding.

Another work around if it isn't too cold where you are and you have a
window, put a box fan in the window blowing out, seal around it, shut
the door to the shop. It works great...sucks the air from under the
shop door and causes all the air flow to go into the shop from the
basement and out the window. I did that until I got the dust collector
because the fan bit doesn't work when it's 15 degrees out!

Earl

Thank you everyone for your responses. I wanted to wait until several
came in and now there is too much information to respond individually.
I think that armed with the knowledge that you folks have given me, I
will be able to work something out and get turning.

Thanks again,

Eric

ps. What about a stroke sander? just kidding.

On 5 Dec 2004 12:33:51 -0800, (Rob
Dingnagian) wrote:

Thank you everyone for your responses. I wanted to wait until several
came in and now there is too much information to respond individually.
I think that armed with the knowledge that you folks have given me, I
will be able to work something out and get turning.

Thanks again,

Eric

ps. What about a stroke sander? just kidding.

you'll get all the stroking that you could possibly want here... rofl