I've just started turning cork. What a mess, especially in a small shop/room. Wondering what anyone else might do for dust collection?
I was looking at the Rockwell Dust right. Of course I'll always where some sort of mask.

Shop vacs can work fairly well but you'll clog their filters relatively quick. One cheap solution that works well is a simple box fan with a fine furnace filter taped to the front. Set the fan switch to pull air through the filter and set it just behind the chuck on your lathe. Very inexpensive and works pretty darn well.

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What might work is the nozzle of a shop vac taped near the generation of the dust. I do it turning cork on my drill press. And yes, you'll have to take the filter out regularly and tap it over a trash can to clear it..

Do it outside if your weather and situation permits. I mount a make shift lathe on saw horses outside the garage and have at it 10 months a year. Wear a mask for fine particles and use a leaf blower to disburse the mess afterwards.

Tom's suggestion above works well - I've used it in the past when carving cork duck decoys - provided the fan and motor can move a large volume of air and the filter is suitable to the task and frequently cleaned or replaced.

Do you have an outdoor table? Use the Flex Coat Lathe Setup with a drill you already have outside and let the dust fly. No filters, fans or vacs needed. As easy as it gets.

[flexcoat.com]

[www.youtube.com]

Flex Coat Company
Professional Rod Building Supplies
www.flexcoat.com

A few ideas.

I shop vaccum works very well for dust collection.

I made an L shaped stand from lumber such that the hole holding the floor vacuum attachment is placed - so that the line of the floor vacuum attachment is in line with the center of the mandrel holding the cork grip being turned.

In addition, purchase or make a water filter that fits in between the vacuum hose and the inlet to the shop vaccum

The idea of a water filter, is that the air for the vacuum comes from the bottom of a water filled bucket. The inlet for the filter comes in the top of the bucket and above the water line. Hence, all of the wir is filtered by the water and virtually none of the dust ends up in the vacuum filter.

For example:
This is a do it yourself water filter for the vacuum itself:
[www.instructables.com]

Here is a do it yourself water filter for your shop vacuum that will cost less than $10.
[www.youtube.com]

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I use a shop vacuum floor attachment similar to this one:
[www.lowes.com]

I then took a 2x6 and drill a hole in one of the pieces at the correct height to hold the vacuum cleaner nozzle -- that is about a 2 1/2 to 2 3/4 inch hole to slip the attachment end of the nozzle in the board. Then, another piece of the board is cut to form the base of the stand. Then, the top of the L is screwed to the bottom of the L to complete the stand. Slip the nozzle into the stand, connect the hose to the nozzle and after adjusting the position to collect the dust from sanding and you will be in a nearly 100% dust free environment. Also, by combining the water filter in front of the shaop vacuum, there will be very little dust coming into the vacuum to plug up its filter.

Best wishes

Robert Parbus Wrote:
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> I've just started turning cork. What a mess,
> especially in a small shop/room. Wondering what
> anyone else might do for dust collection?
> I was looking at the Rockwell Dust right. Of
> course I'll always where some sort of mask.


Years ago I bit the bullet and put a Cyclone vac sys in my shop

Here is another solution to the clogged filter problem for shop vacs:
[mullettools.com]

Flex Coat Company
Professional Rod Building Supplies
www.flexcoat.com

Something I forgot to mention on the box fan system.... to clean the filter just put it on the reverse side of the fan and turn the fan on for about 10 seconds.

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Another part of the solution is to make less dust by getting close to shape before going to fine grit abrasives.

I try my best not to turn cork indoors - but I have an Oneida Dust Deputy in-line with my shop vac. It’s a cyclone dust collector and it works very well. Set the vacuum nozzle as close to the grip as possible, and I do most of the shaping with a Stanley Sure Form plane and 40-80 grit belt sander belts to minimize the fine particle creation. I guess it beats turning outside in January when it’s 30 below zero ????

Rick Handrick Wrote:
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> I try my best not to turn cork indoors - but I
> have an Oneida Dust Deputy in-line with my shop
> vac. It’s a cyclone dust collector and it works
> very well. Set the vacuum nozzle as close to the
> grip as possible, and I do most of the shaping
> with a Stanley Sure Form plane and 40-80 grit belt
> sander belts to minimize the fine particle
> creation. I guess it beats turning outside in
> January when it’s 30 below zero ????

Yes, I used to live well north of Duluth in Minnesota. You learn to work indoors. The grill cleaning blocks made out of pumice stone also work well for close to final shaping. They can be readily shaped into smooth profiles. Wooden boat builders use them to help fair. You can see the term “fart block” in that community regarding them because of a slight sulfuric odor they release.