Lathe Dust Hood

Completed October 2012. I recently relocated my lathe to a spare bedroom “workshop annex” inside the house. Dust control is a top priority, so I spent a lot of time tinkering to come up with a design for a lathe dust hood that would catch a lot of chips and almost all of the sanding dust. This dust hood is intended primarily for spindle turning chair parts on my Jet 1642 lathe. It is constructed from 1/4” birch plywood, 3/4” strips of pine, a few scraps of cherry, and lexan polycarbonate.

I purchased an Oneida 1 1/2 hp Mini-Gorilla cyclone specifically for the lathe. The cyclone has a 5” hose, so I purchased a “5 universal mounting strip from Woodworker’s Supply and mounted the strip to the bottom of the hood. The bottom of the hood slopes from the front of the lathe bed to the back and from each side toward the bottom. This effectively funnels chips and dust into the bottom port.

I built the hood deep enough to allow the backs of the tool rest bases to reach close to the spindle. I use a Oneway center steady and I also had to take into consideration its height and depth requirements. It fits with plenty of room to reach inside to make adjustments with a wrench.

I was initially concerned that the port was located too far away from the spindle. Chips typically fall where they will. However, I’m able to deflect an amazing amount of the chips with my off hand by paying more attention to the way I grip my gouges or skews. Perhaps only 10% of the chips drop to the floor. The rest either fall through the bed gap (into the hood), on the bed, or straight into the dust hood. Those that land on the bed are easily brushed into the hood.

I use a sanding block extensively to even out the taper on long spindles. The hood is very effective at pulling in the sanding dust across its full length. I’m quite pleased with the performance of the hood when sanding.

The Jet 1642 lathe presented a unique challenge since the front, bottom edge of the lathe is curved over its entire length. I was forced to use 45 degree clamping blocks, contractor adhesive, and a nail gun to force the front edge of the lower portion of the hood to follow this curve. The gap along this seam is negligible. The leading edge of the hood could not protrude above this curve since the hood must travel straight back in order to be removed. I’m satisfied with how the edges meet. The hood is easy enough to install or remove and the small gap doesn’t reduce suction much.

I improved suction by closing gaps with 1/2” closed cell camping foam. I fitted this foam around the tail stock shaft and under the lathe bed. I also added a hinged, 6” viewing window to reduce the loss of suction at the front of the hood. Visibility is through this window is surprisingly good. I used the polycarbonate version of lexan for increased safety.

The hood is securely held to the lathe by a clamping block on each side that attaches to the bed gap. A threaded brass insert is driven into each clamping block. The hood is then secured with knock-down connector through a hardwood cleat at the bottom edge of the hood.

The hood is built for the maximum length spindle I anticipated turning. The tailstock can be moved entirely inside the hood for shorter spindles. I made the opening for the tailstock big enough to allow the adjstment wheel to rotate freely in those instances that the tailstock is inside the hood, yet the wheel is protruding through the hood part of the way.

Adding lexan at the top of the hood allowed more light into the hood, but it still was not bright enough. I installed three LED puck lights to the top front edge and these increased the illumination the right amount. The light is pleasing without being too bright.

I applied one coat of Sherwin Williams primer. I then applied two coats of Sherwin William Pro Classic, semi-gloss paint. The color matches the lathe well. I put enough effort into the hood to make painting it worth the extra work.

-- Mark, Florida