Wood Carving
Grizzly G9955 Dust Filter
I decided I needed to add dust control to my high speed rotary carving. Actually I decided that a long time ago. I have finally taken the first step. The Grizzly 9955 is about the cheapest version I could find as none of them do (that is filter) as well as I would like at a reasonable price.
I can’t fault this machine for that problem as it is the very nature of filtration that the smallest particles are the worse kind for human lung health and are also the hardest to filter out.
This filter says it will filter down to 5 microns but I have serious doubt of that, at least on a continuous basis. Most filters actually become more effective (not efficient) the dirtier they become (up to a point of no air flow or media failure) so where when is the 5 microns determined?
Yes, I am an air filtration expert from over 50 years in the HVAC business and having owned an air filtration service.
My propose here is to test the subjective effectiveness of this unit. I don’t have expensive test equipment to make critical measurements and I also don’t think in my case it is worth the effort to be that critical.
Note Grizzly on the label recommends (requires?) the use of the face mask filter when using the machine. So it is pretty clear the user should not depend on just this filter to provide safe breathing air.
I adjusted the poly carbonate panels to provide a narrow gap at the work area. This produces a higher velocity to the air flow at this point and better ensures the dust will be carried back to the filter material.
The filters are listed as 2 inch. That is a bit… Continue reading
Woodcarving and Dust Control
As seen elsewhere in this blog, I have been doing some woodcarving. Some of it is done by CNC machine and the rest is done with power hand tools or just knife and gouge. I like them all.
My PN causes some problems with hand (blade) carving but I still like it very much and it is so simple, clean and basic I just keep going back to it.
The biggest problem I have with powered (rotary tool) carving is the fine dust control. I haven’t yet invested in a good dust control system. That’s big money to do a good job. I will probably design my own to control the cost. I just want to be carving things right now so I use a shop vac or a small fan to blow the dust away from me. That isn’t too effective and doesn’t make for a clean shop!
Carving is much more than just wood. Wood is usually the vision a non carver thinks about when they hear the term. What’s not immediately thought about (and this holds true for all woodworking) is the dust issue. Wood dust is not a harmless “natural” material. I remember the years my grandfather (who taught me a lot about woodworking) worked in the dust and he was a smoker. We learned about the hazards of mineral dust because it was more irritating, but wood dust is no safe haven.
I use both the HB2 CNC carving machine and hand rotary tools like the Proxxon, Dremel (not so much) and I really like the 400,000 rpm air powered hand piece. The later is a super fine dust maker but I love the action. They all definitely need a fine dust collection system before I use them much more.
My dust system will… Continue reading
Wood Plate
Here is a wood plate I made for a family friend. You can see the original in one of the pictures. It was used with a statue of a bulldog holding the plate like a butler or waiter (really).
It was given to me before I started the HB2 project but I did have the Vectric software (but before Aspire). I knew I could make it but not with the smaller Taig mill I was using at the time.
Two of the photos are renderings in Aspire (software) where I designed the plate. Simple, yes but that is all that was desired. Aspire generated the G-code that was used in MACH 3 to operate the HB2. Aspire can be made to do 3D Carve type work if the user plans it well. 3D Carve is another Vectric program.
The board seen in the photos is 12″ x 12″ x .75″ and is Poplar. I was thinking of MDF but couldn’t find it in small quantities. I searched other materials and found 12 inch wide poplar. It is a light wood but fairly stable. I deliberately choose a board that was laminated from several strips. I figure that will help reduce warpage of the thin plate. It kind of looks nice too.
The client will finish the plate and can do what she wants. You can see the original was kind of ugly (just my opinion) and was just painted over something composite like Corian. (That is why I considered MDF first.)
Bottom line, if I can draw it I can make it. Cut time was just over 2 hours but not optimized since it is a one-off project.
Be an Angel
Cherub is more accurate. I made this on the HB2 Sunday. I was of course running the Taig spindle. The roughing and the finish were both done with a 1/8 (0.125) inch ball end mill. The total run time was 1 hour and 35 minutes at 50 IPM. 10,600 RPM.
The spindle is now just slightly warm after that kind of run. The spindle break in has about 5 hours of run time. The motor was HOT but that is normal for the motor and that run time. Taig rates it as a continuous duty motor so heat is not a problem.
Another note:
The Sieg X3 mill motor controller has been replaced (lightning damage) and the machine is back into operation! Yea!
Project Tessa
In case you missed this, here is a picture of a project I made on the HB2 router. I published it over on the Ramblin’ Dan blog too.
The layout was designed in Vectric Aspire and output for the MACH3 controller. Of course it is MACH3 that runs the steppers on the HB2.
Four files and three tool bits were required. One file cuts the outline using a 1/4 inch flat router bit. It leaves tabs for support so I did this first. Next was the roughing file again with the 1/4 flat bit in 1/8 inch steps. The third pass was the finish (detailed) pass using a 1/8 inch ball nose bit with very shallow step over.
The last file was the V-Carve for the name and date.
Total run time on the HB2 was about 2.5 hours. Speeds were 100 IPM for the roughing and 70 IPM for the finish. The HB2 handled them all just fine.
I actually made three runs. The first one is where the coupling broke, the second I spelled Tessa’a middle name as Daniel (Horrors!) and then the final fully successful ran you see here. At least I had a test piece to practice the finish work (and I did).
Three coats of shellac gave the oak the color you see here (no stain). Then the color painting. Last a final coat of clear lacquer.
I also used a table router to cut a T slot in the back for hanging on the wall.
Oh yes, the date is correct. Tessa is one year old!