Instrument maker

[JAZZCNC]

Don't count on the enclosure to contain the chips. If you don't remove them at the source, and let them build up in the enclosure, they will cause issues with your screws and bearings, which you want to keep clean.

The other thing to bare in mind with dust extraction/enclosure is the noise.? The noise of the Vaccum will defeat the point of the enclosure.!!
Often they are much noiser than the machine doing the cutting.

Also with being enclosed you need to be aware of the danger Static electricty and fine dust. Together they can be quite dangerous.

[Boyan Silyavski]

I would say that 100mm hose extractor will do the job ideally.

There are 2 ways that to be done- high pressure and low pressure. In both acases its important all to be grounded or there will be an explosion from the static electricity especially if a plastic job is done. And believe me even the shock from it is much greater than the typical static shock we experience entering or exiting cars or similar


High pressure

The cheapest high pressure is 1000W and around 100 euro/gbp here or similar. Problem is high power consumption and noise.


If i was going that way I would rather buy 3 stage vacuum motor and design a simple enclosure to silence it mounted directly on top of separator on top of 200l barrel. I have done that in the past and works like a charm. The separator and enclosure is very simple to design and make from MDB

here is the motor:





Problem with the above is they make noise, so have to be isolated and they have high power consumption, plus have to be ventilated outside otherwise they heat the room much.



CLARKE Woodworker DUST EXTRACTOR 1hp could be the other solution. Again separator must be build on top of the barrel as there are no cheap ones for 100mm hose size/ if any/ . The original bag is crap, it will not collect fine dust.






I am in from of the same problem now and for the moment i use a shop vac and dust separator on top of 200l barrel. I don't like it for the high power consumption, small diameter hose and the noise.



I am thinking also about a smaller wattage tangential motor like 350W mounted on top of DIY separator on top of barrel. My friend has the same setup and reports its good. I will go these days at his shop to see with my eyes if small motor could evacuate the fine dust and small chips.

[Washout]

Hi Grambot

I'll add to the advice above by saying hardwoods are not a problem and in my experience better to machine than softwood due to closer grain, more oils and hence less tearout, fraying and tool wear. An example of maple cut on my machine (the neck needed no adjustment, just a light tensioning on the truss rod to stop any rattle, and has not shifted since building the guitar in question):

[Grambot]

Great video Washout, with a lot of detail for someone like me to learn from, I'm watching more of your series now! I'll also be using hardwoods. Where do you source your timber? I'm going to need some quite large blocks to work with.

Boyan, thanks for all these extraction ideas. I've been speaking to Dean about making me a machine, and he agrees that with careful planning it should be possible to work out a solution to a) extra dust, b) keep noise down and c) keep temperature down. These are new challenges for me - I thought I had it hard being a musician trying to practice at home...

[NB70]

If your dust extractor is the type with an exhaust (like a CamVac) you can reduce the noise with a fan silencer:
e.g. http://www.growell.co.uk/fans-filter...silencers.html
Used by people with indoor "grow rooms" who don't want to disturb the neighbours!

[Washout]

Great video Washout, with a lot of detail for someone like me to learn from, I'm watching more of your series now! I'll also be using hardwoods. Where do you source your timber? I'm going to need some quite large blocks to work with.

Hi Grambot, glad you're finding the videos useful - there's more of those to come.

For guitar body blanks I'm using www.guitarbuild.co.uk - they're not the cheapest, but the blanks do come jointed, planed to thickness and part sanded. Service was also good.

For necks I went to www.exotichardwoodsukltd.com - they supplied nice maple blanks at a reasonable price, but their communications could be better (I tried and failed to get a pair of custom sized body blanks and no email response to enquiries). Delivery of the stated stock sizes was fine with no problems.

For the rosewood fretboards I went to ebay - seller was Tonewood1982 - nice wood (although you can't get the really dark stuff purists crave these days for normal money) and the transaction was painless. The rosewood machined beautifully.

Hope that helps and if you have any other suppliers please share, as I'm always looking out for others.

[Boyan Silyavski]

I am sure Dean will make you a nice machine and the Washout series of videos are inspirational. As he said, hardwoods are much better to machine than softwood. I would say you mainly need only to take care for evacuating the dangerous fine dust then. So even a low power solution will be ok. Just saw at ebay uk there a lot of second hand dust and chip collectors, from the silent ones for 50-70 gbp only. Put that on top of a barrel and you simplify much things. And add the silencer and you are done there.

[Grambot]

Used by people with indoor "grow rooms" who don't want to disturb the neighbours!

Thanks NB70, that made me laugh

Washout, I've noticed www.exotichardwoodsukltd.com in the past, and I recently ordered some ebony from them, yet to see what it looks like. I've ordered thin birch ply from eBay twice, first time it was too warped and sent back. Second try/company it was very nice.

I need to find a good source for blocks of timber. Thinking of salvaging from old scrap furniture? A sturdy door or thick table top would do very nicely.

Boyan, yes, thanks for the suggesting Dean to me in the first place, and for all of your advice!