I just got a used x- carve and I am wondering what everyone does to manage the sawdust from the carving?
I am using an older laptop to run the x-carve and I mounted it underneath the x-carve on a shelf.
What else can I do to keep the dust away?
I have the x-carve in my shop where I have a few saws and a lathe.
If you do a search for Dust Boot you will find a number of options. I have the Suckit Dust Boot and it’s great. Some people on here have made their own.
Thanks!
Does this protect the laptop?
Set up properly it will take virtually all of the dust away. This assumes that you have a dust collector or vacuum to use with it!!
I also use the Suckit Dust boot. It does a very good job of evacuating all the debris that is being thrown everywhere. You will also need a good vacuum source to go with it. One problem with dust collection in the form of a dust boot is the weight that can be applied to your gantry or Z axis. Shop Vac hoses are heavy and can apply forces you don’t want to the Z axis and introduce discrepancies in you carvings. To prevent this here is what I set up.
- Suckit Dust Boot
- Dryer Vent hose connected to 4 inch PVC Ductwork with an offset 4 inch adapter to connect to the Suckit.
- The 4 inch PVC duct work is mounted to the Ceiling directly above the X Carve and exist the shop through the wall at ceiling height.
- Thiem Baffle over a 30 gallon trash can to collect the debris.
5 Harbor Freight portable dust collector vacuum to draw the vacuum from the Theim Baffle.
Yes I did say a dryer vent hose. Sounds nuts but it actually works very well. It is extremely light and flexible. When the Vacuum is turned on it tries to retract the vent hose keeping it from flopping around and the weight off of the machine. This actually takes all the weight off of the Z axis and eliminates any unintended errors being introduced. The wire within the vent hose keeps the hose from collapsing. Standard 4 inch dust collector hoses are very heavy and difficult to manage when connected to the dust shoe. Dryer vent hoses are the perfect size, much cheaper, and manage themselves by retracting to the perfect length when the vacuum is turn on.
After the carving is completed, I simply unhook the vent hose from the Suckit and use it to vacuum up any debris that escaped to clean things up. The dryer vent hose extends and contracts easily to allow me to do the clean up.
I have used a shop vac hose before and this is FAR superior. By having the Dust collector motor outside of the shop the it is barely noticeable. Even if it were inside the shop it is much, much quieter than a shop vac. The price for the portable version of the Harbor Freight is more than a typical shop vac but it will outlast several shop vacs as it is intended to have an extended duty cycle as apposed to shop vacs which will fade with long term use.
All of this keeps the dust level in the shop down to a minimum and also keeps the v-wheels from getting gunked up with debris as well as the v-wheel tracks and belts.
Here are a couple of pics:
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I stole this idea a while ago and will never go back!
It’s not steeling when it is freely posted. It is adopting what others are doing that works for them and makes your life easier. I have to admit though, when I first tried the dryer duct for a suction hose I first looked around to be sure that nobody was watching incase it imploded on itself or got shredded with the debris being sucked through it. Much to my surprise it is still going strong after a couple of months of use. I like it so much that if I manage to damage the dryer duct I will go out and buy another to replace it.
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I have a used Suckit Dust Boot I can sell for $35 shipped?
It is working perfectly but it does have a hole through the base due to a end mill mishap:grin:
I can’t recommend this dust boot enough, it is an awesome upgrade to the x-carve.
Kindly send me a pic. and the address were to send the check.
Thanks for the Idea!
I plan to put that in place!
Here is the offset adapter from Amazon for $2.91
4 inch offset adapter that fits the Suckit Dust Shoe
This keeps the hose from binding against the spindle if you are using something like a Dewalt DWP 611
Charley
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Kindly send a pic and where to send the check.