# vacuum for use on a lathe



## CraigLD (Mar 27, 2020)

What is a good small vacuum to use on a lathe to clean up the chips.  Currently I mainly use a whisk broom and our house vacuum which is a good Oreck hand vac.  But I know that my wife isn't pleased with me using it this way and I am sure it isn't that good for the vac.  It would seem that the best would be something that had replaceable bags and had a smaller diameter hose attachment that allowed getting into those small places that the chips always find themselves.

Any suggestions would be appreciated.


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## TonyM (Mar 27, 2020)

I use a tin can one with disposable bags from Lidl.


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## crueby (Mar 27, 2020)

I use a small shop vac, with a Dust Deputy cyclone seperator (made by Onieda Air Systems). It goes between the vac and the main pickup hose, drops everything into a 5 gallon bucket, almost nothing makes it to the vac itself. Uses the larger 2" hoses, the smaller 1-1/4" hoses would clog with shavings too easily.


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## kwoodhands (Mar 28, 2020)

At first I used a small vacuum with a 1-1/4" hose. Clogged up often. I switched to my old reliable Craftsmen 6 gallon , 2-1/4 hose. I rarely have to unclog the hose now. I placed a tray I made under the bed to hold most of the swarf. I pull the tray and dump it , then vacuum what's leftover.
mike


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## kquiggle (Mar 28, 2020)

I use a Stanley 5 Gallon Stainless Steel Wet/Dry Vac. The hose does clog up occasionally, but it's usually easy to clean out the clogs. It has the advantage of being small and portable, so easy to move around the shop.  I don't bother with filter bags, I just use the included filter, Every so often I take the filter outside and blow it out with my garage compressor (a leaf blower works too) - just stand upwind!

I also use the tray trick. Just got some of those cheap disposable aluminum cooking trays. The tray catches 90% of the swarf and almost all of the big hose-clogging stuff. The vacuum and a dust brush takes care of the rest.


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## tornitore45 (Mar 28, 2020)

A lathe can make long stringy chips that clog even a 2" hose pretty fast, so anything smaller is not a good solution.


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## Southernsandman (Mar 28, 2020)

CraigLD said:


> What is a good small vacuum to use on a lathe to clean up the chips.  Currently I mainly use a whisk broom and our house vacuum which is a good Oreck hand vac.  But I know that my wife isn't pleased with me using it this way and I am sure it isn't that good for the vac.  It would seem that the best would be something that had replaceable bags and had a smaller diameter hose attachment that allowed getting into those small places that the chips always find themselves.
> 
> Any suggestions would be appreciated.


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## Apprentice707 (Mar 28, 2020)

When I clean down my lathe I initially remove the large (Curly) ferrous swarf with pliers or a magnet in a polybag. This then leaves only the dusty smaller swarf for vacuuming which I do with either a tin canned vacuum or my Craftsman plastic canned vacuum, both work well and seldom clog. This also gives me the chance to retrieve the small nuts, bolts and washers I inevitably drop around (yes I am old and clumsy). Call me mean, but have you seen the price of BA nuts and bolts recently. 

Happy machining everyone.


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## kquiggle (Mar 28, 2020)

I agree that a small 5 gallon vacuum is not ideal, but it's better than nothing and does work most of the time. You can in fact use it for long stringy chips if you accept that they will just form a big clump on the nozzle which you can then transfer to the waste can by hand. Or use the tray trick to catch the big stuff and use the vacuum on the small stuff. There are plenty of other good uses for a small vacuum around the shop - small chips on the mill, grinder dust, swarf on the floor (after getting the big stuff with a broom), and just general all around cleaning.

I use a big vacuum with a 2" hose in my garage wood shop, but I just don;t have room for it in my basement metal shop. 

Perfect is the enemy of good.


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## Southernsandman (Mar 28, 2020)

I've been using a george Hoover (the green one)for quite a few years it doesn't get the long stringy chips up I normally just pick them up and put them straight in the the recycling bin but it gets everything else up without much fuss and of course the George hoover doesn't mind fluids


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## Uhu (Mar 28, 2020)

What Crueby above describes is a great solution. I use a cheap wet &  dry bin vacuum with 2" hose, with an old big pressure cooker with the centrifuge mounted on the lid. Almost all the chips end up in the pressure cooker pot and it is very quick and simple to empty. Hardly any swarf makes it into the W&D bin. Got the idea from Gotteswinter's youtube channel.


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## ytrose2 (Mar 28, 2020)

I have an old Hoover Wet & Dry vacuum that looks like a Dalek. It has a cloth filter which is handy when I am sanding down gibstopping (NZ talk) on plasterboard. It also has a steam cleaner function. It is our second one after the first one's motor rusted out and I have had it over 20 years now. Much to my wife's disgust I recently bought a Karcher bin type vacuum. I consider a vacuum as one of my machine tools and vacuum at the end of every job of work. Of course, long stringy bits go into the bin manually, using suitable hand protection.


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## Joe Mantle (Mar 28, 2020)

I bought a thing off Amazon called a Dust Deputy DIY, it fits on a 5 gallon bucket & catches the heavy stuff before it gets to the vacuum cleaner, works great, catches almost everything.


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## alan.crawley1 (Mar 29, 2020)

I skipped through this earlier then came back to look for something. It was about a Dyson cyclone for cleaning . Now I can't find it have I gone completely........


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## k2steve (Mar 29, 2020)

I keep a vacuum next to the mill. That works great, never tried it on the Lathe, thought it would be more trouble than help.


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## Richard Carlstedt (Mar 29, 2020)

I made a 20 gallon grease drum into a centrifuge in the center of my shop  and have a 5 gallon Sears vac (30 yrs old) outside with my  suction line under the floor to the centrifuge.  I pick up all chips, lathe and mill. I have a coffee can of wood blocks  and when picking up string chips, throw a block into the  suction hose every once in a while.
the blocks are  1 x 1 x 1  or similar size. Nothing larger than will fit in a hose in any orientation. The blocks take out a starting blockage  and are made when I have scrap  1" lumber of broom handles . works like a charm. and you can hear them as they clean all the way to the barrel.
Rich


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## Poppy Ott (Mar 29, 2020)

I split my time between wood- and metalworking.  On the woodworking side I have a vacuum system powered by a Grizzley 3hp vacuum.  Included in the system is this separating  canister that captures all but the sawdust, leaving only wood powder to go on to the vacuum bags.  I seldom am doing wood and metal stuff at the same time, so when I switch from a bout of cabinet making to machining I use the same vacuum system to clean the lathe/milling machine/ surface grinder and so on.  It will not pick up the long metal strings (well, it would, but the strings would clog up even the 4” lines), but once those are cleared away, the vacuum does a dandy job of picking up all the little metal chips, and they all get captured by the canister.


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## alan.crawley1 (Mar 30, 2020)

I use a dedicated Numatic swarf and coolant vacuum, pretty efficient especially the spout for cleaning t-slots


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## Jamie Barton (Mar 30, 2020)

CraigLD said:


> What is a good small vacuum to use on a lathe to clean up the chips.  Currently I mainly use a whisk broom and our house vacuum which is a good Oreck hand vac.  But I know that my wife isn't pleased with me using it this way and I am sure it isn't that good for the vac.  It would seem that the best would be something that had replaceable bags and had a smaller diameter hose attachment that allowed getting into those small places that the chips always find themselves.
> 
> Any suggestions would be appreciated.


Hi, 
I bought an vac intended for cleaning Ash from wood burning stoves on ebay. Cost peanuts (about £10-15 I think) and copes great with swarf. I squashed the nozzle to make it small enough to get into mill T slots. It's also handed for my stove..


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## David Morrow (May 30, 2020)

I have a vacuum attached to my drill press but my lathe is next. I use a short length of 2.50 Inch Loc-Line and nozzle on the end. Very effective. I think with the lathe, the long stringy stuff would go up the tube but the jumble in the tank at the end of a long job would be something to behold I'm sure. I have a Dust Deputy on my CNC router and I would never live without it in that application but I don't think a metal lathe would treat it so well. ( A wood lathe for sure. )


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## Richard Hed (May 31, 2020)

David Morrow said:


> I have a vacuum attached to my drill press but my lathe is next. I use a short length of 2.50 Inch Loc-Line and nozzle on the end. Very effective. I think with the lathe, the long stringy stuff would go up the tube but the jumble in the tank at the end of a long job would be something to behold I'm sure. I have a Dust Deputy on my CNC router and I would never live without it in that application but I don't think a metal lathe would treat it so well. ( A wood lathe for sure. )
> 
> View attachment 116734


I needs to do something on this order.  I have severe reaction to any fumes produced from turning.


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## David Morrow (May 31, 2020)

Richard, you might also want to consider not just something like the Loc-line but also putting some distance between the lathe and the vacuum. In Canada, we have Lee Valley Tools where I get my clear vacuum lines to run along the walls / ceilings. You should be able to easily find this in Seattle or at Grizzly Tools in Bellingham. I get the Loc-Line from KBC Tools here; you also have KBC in the States. And, if it's the fumes, perhaps some sort of filter ? A Dust Deputy to grab the solids and then a filter down stream to pick up the fumes ?

Lee Valley Tools dust collection


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## Richard Hed (May 31, 2020)

David Morrow said:


> Richard, you might also want to consider not just something like the Loc-line but also putting some distance between the lathe and the vacuum. In Canada, we have Lee Valley Tools where I get my clear vacuum lines to run along the walls / ceilings. You should be able to easily find this in Seattle or at Grizzly Tools in Bellingham. I get the Loc-Line from KBC Tools here; you also have KBC in the States. And, if it's the fumes, perhaps some sort of filter ? A Dust Deputy to grab the solids and then a filter down stream to pick up the fumes ?
> 
> Lee Valley Tools dust collection


It's the fumes from oil coolant.  I'm looking at a new lathe which will have spray oil/water coolant capabilities which will do away with the problem completely.  Even so, a vacuum system is always good.


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## David Morrow (May 31, 2020)

I'll be interested to hear how you make out; please let us know. I've read that the mist from some sprays can be an irritant so I think the vacuum will help there as well.


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## Richard Hed (May 31, 2020)

David Morrow said:


> I'll be interested to hear how you make out; please let us know. I've read that the mist from some sprays can be an irritant so I think the vacuum will help there as well.


Ah, never thot of that.  I'm sure you're right.  Anyway the new lathe is down the pike a ways and the prob still exists till then.


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## SmithDoor (May 31, 2020)

The vacumm is better air for cleaning
The air will blow chips in to bearing 
In my shop the air was band for cleaning lathes and mills

Just rebuild a machine tool and find chips ever where

I use low cost shop vacumm 

Dave


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## Richard Hed (May 31, 2020)

SmithDoor said:


> The vacumm is better air for cleaning
> The air will blow chips in to bearing
> In my shop the air was band for cleaning lathes and mills
> 
> ...


That's sort of what I was thimking.  A cheapo vac, the only prob with them is the noise, is there a solution for lower noise?  I was thimking maybe a squirrel cage blower used as a vacuum--One doesn't need a LOT of vacuum, just enough to suk up some air/fumes.  "Unfortunately" I have a collection of all sorts of squirrel cages.  Also, we have a local junk dealer who has various junk all the time, can get a squirrel cage from him and he almost always has exercise machines junked--I mention that because I bought a powerful DC motor from him last year but didn't thimk to take the controls too.  Someone on this forum, I thimk, told how they used it as a variable speed for thier lathe or mill.  Cool


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## tornitore45 (May 31, 2020)

Stringy swarf clog the vacuum in a hurry. They are not going to stay parallel but will coalesce, clump and tangle like a bunch of springs.  I collect all the long stringy by hand and then vacuum up all the short chip.


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## Richard Hed (May 31, 2020)

tornitore45 said:


> Stringy swarf clog the vacuum in a hurry. They are not going to stay parallel but will coalesce, clump and tangle like a bunch of springs.  I collect all the long stringy by hand and then vacuum up all the short chip.


Yes, of course.  I'm only trying to keep the air clear of fumes that causes bad asthma attacks with me.


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## SmithDoor (May 31, 2020)

just put the vac out side and use a long hose

Dave



Richard Hed said:


> That's sort of what I was thimking.  A cheapo vac, the only prob with them is the noise, is there a solution for lower noise?  I was thimking maybe a squirrel cage blower used as a vacuum--One doesn't need a LOT of vacuum, just enough to suk up some air/fumes.  "Unfortunately" I have a collection of all sorts of squirrel cages.  Also, we have a local junk dealer who has various junk all the time, can get a squirrel cage from him and he almost always has exercise machines junked--I mention that because I bought a powerful DC motor from him last year but didn't thimk to take the controls too.  Someone on this forum, I thimk, told how they used it as a variable speed for thier lathe or mill.  Cool


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## Richard Hed (May 31, 2020)

SmithDoor said:


> just put the vac out side and use a long hose
> 
> Dave


I live in town, don't like disturbing neighbors when I work late.  I know I don't like neighbors making noise.  I thimk I will go with the squirrel cage option


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## ytrose2 (Jun 1, 2020)

Instead of a vacuum, have you thought of a pressurised mask that draws air from elsewhere and gently blows it over your face?


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## ranger (Jun 1, 2020)

How about something like a bathroom type extractor fan exhausting outside? Usually very quiet, reasonable priced and should be ok for removing  just fumes.
Doug.


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## Richard Hed (Jun 1, 2020)

Lots of goo ideas.  I will have plenty of time to work up a solution.  If I'm lucky, I will be able to get that new lathe this year, then I will need a solution if the spray is an irritant, which, frankly, how could it NOT be?


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## Peter Twissell (Jun 1, 2020)

Kitchen cooker hood. This is exactly what they're designed for (removing fumes), they're quiet, usually have a handy light in them and perfectly functional ones are thrown out whenever someone falls for 'shiny new kitchen' marketing.


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## Richard Hed (Jun 1, 2020)

Peter Twissell said:


> Kitchen cooker hood. This is exactly what they're designed for (removing fumes), they're quiet, usually have a handy light in them and perfectly functional ones are thrown out whenever someone falls for 'shiny new kitchen' marketing.


Whoa, goo idea, and occassionally  one sees these at garage sales and more often at the scrap yards.  THAT I will keep an eye out for.  Thanx


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## ALEX1952 (Jun 2, 2020)

How about the portablenextraction that welders use!


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## Richard Hed (Jun 2, 2020)

ALEX1952 said:


> How about the portablenextraction that welders use!


Don't know what that is, but will look into it.  I do my welding outside the garage, so I don't get fumes inside.


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## SmithDoor (Jun 2, 2020)

It would great 
But the cost is hight.
A simple bathroom or kitchen fan from Home Depot will work and under $100.00

I used vacuum for chip removal and if put vacuum outside it quiet too.
Then only the neighbors CAT  will be mad at the sound

Dave



ALEX1952 said:


> How about the portablenextraction that welders use!


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