Removing chips from hollow form

[Paul Lajoie]

I’ve been working on a spalted maple urn, hollowing with an elbow style system. I usually just blow out the chips with my air compressor but the deeper o go the longer it takes and my compressor cycles on off 2-3 times before I can start again(it’s a small husky 1.5 gallon). Wondering if there is a better/quicker way?
Paul

 

[Larry Komroff]

The only idea I can think of is a compressor with a larger air reservoir.

 

[Kevin Jesequel]

You can bend a wire into a small hook and drag most of the shavings out, then blow out the last bit. I also use a cheap blow gun from HF that has a long nozzle that I use to get under the shavings when doing taller pieces:

Air Blow Gun Set

Amazing deals on this Air Blow Gun Set at Harbor Freight. Quality tools & low prices.

www.harborfreight.com

 

[Curt Fuller]

I made an adapter for my shop vac from a piece of scrap wood and a 12" piece of 1/2" pex plastic pipe. The late Wally Dickerman gave me the idea once when he was talking about how much less messy sucking the chips out is than blowing them out.

 

[hockenbery]

Like above,
Any sort of a mini rake of a bent spoon.
Also a long nozzle on the blowgun

. Bigger compressor

 

[Kirk Amidon]

I use a small tube on a shop vac as well. Still takes a while, and is a pain to start and stop constantly, but it works.

 

[Paul Lajoie]

The only idea I can think of is a compressor with a larger air reservoir.

I like this idea but my wallet doesnt

The only idea I can think of is a compressor with a larger air reservoir.

You can bend a wire into a small hook and drag most of the shavings out, then blow out the last bit. I also use a cheap blow gun from HF that has a long nozzle that I use to get under the shavings when doing taller pieces:

Air Blow Gun Set

Amazing deals on this Air Blow Gun Set at Harbor Freight. Quality tools & low prices.

www.harborfreight.com

That’s the style air gun I have now

I made an adapter for my shop vac from a piece of scrap wood and a 12" piece of 1/2" pex plastic pipe. The late Wally Dickerman gave me the idea once when he was talking about how much less messy sucking the chips out is than blowing them out.

I was thinking this also, probably go with this for now

Thanks for the ideas

 

[Norm Marentette]

I use a dinner knife with a 90 degree bend in it to pull a lot of the shavings out when hollowing. A spoon would work too if you make handle long enough.

 

[Charles Cadenhead]

How about one of those telescoping back scratching rakes from the dollar store?

 

[Kevin Jesequel]

You could also look into an air vac if your compressor is quieter than your shop vac:

Air Capital Aluminum Body Air Vac (Heavy Duty)

PN: 12169Aluminum Body Air Vac This "Mina-Vac" original features the Venturi-type design, heavy-wall aluminum construction, locking trigger, and 12" flexible hose. Comes complete with air fitting, bag and bag clip. Operates off of standard shop air.

www.yardstore.com

You can probably find surplus ones for 1/2 the price of new.

 

[Phil Hamel]

I bought this kit for my shop vac. I use it on all kinds of stuff now. Works great for getting chips out.
Milwaukee Air tip long hose attachment

Milwaukee 49-90-2037 AIR-TIP Long Reach Flexible Micro Hose Set​

 

[Paul Lajoie]

How about one of those telescoping back scratching rakes from the dollar store?

This is a great idea!

 

[hughie]

I have a piece of 6mm or 1/4" rod about 18" long threaded both end with a washer held on by nuts at each end, two different sizes for various hollow forms, you choose the size to suit what you do. Simple and effective, takes the bulk if you want more then a quick squirt with the air removes the rest

 

[Richard Coers]

No comparison to the speed of removing chips with air pressure compared to raking them out. No way will you remove all the chips with a rake. when going through a small opening. That's one of the reasons I'm not a big fan of the Rolly Munro and other shearing cutters. It takes too long to rake the curls. Get a 30 tank and let your compressor fill that. You can use the tank with a vacuum chuck as well.

 

[John Hicks]

If you don't wan't dust flying everywhere; An adaptor for the shop vac works very well.

 

[Rick Moreton]

Would some old bellows work? Might get a workout

 

[Paul Lajoie]

I have a piece of 6mm or 1/4" rod about 18" long threaded both end with a washer held on by nuts at each end, two different sizes for various hollow forms, you choose the size to suit what you do. Simple and effective, takes the bulk if you want more then a quick squirt with the air removes the rest

Another great idea!

 

[Paul Lajoie]

No comparison to the speed of removing chips with air pressure compared to raking them out. No way will you remove all the chips with a rake. when going through a small opening. That's one of the reasons I'm not a big fan of the Rolly Munro and other shearing cutters. It takes too long to rake the curls. Get a 30 tank and let your compressor fill that. You can use the tank with a vacuum chuck as well.

30 gallon, you buying? Seriously I am looking to upgrade soon.

 

[Paul Lajoie]

Would some old bellows work? Might get a workout

Well I do need to get more exercise! But… lol

 

[Bill Alston]

I made an adapter for my shop vac from a piece of scrap wood and a 12" piece of 1/2" pex plastic pipe. The late Wally Dickerman gave me the idea once when he was talking about how much less messy sucking the chips out is than blowing them out.

I agree, far better to suck them out than blow wood dust and shavings about. I’ve got a shop vac and an air filter to keep the dust down in my shop, blowing it about with an air gun from my compressor seems nonsensical to me.

 

[Ed Weingarden]

Paul:
I just participated in an IRD done by Cindy Drozda where she was doing a mid-size hollow form. She uses a piece of aluminum (I think it was aluminum) with a bend on the end; something like the back scratcher but without fingers. She inserts the device with the lathe spinning and withdraws; the shavings are readily removed from the interior in about 5 seconds, and then she's back to hollowing. Seems to be simple, effective, and efficient.

 

[Rusty Nesmith]

I have a blower that is around 16” long. I shove it all the way in and squeeze the handle. That way it is behind the chips blowing them toward the opening.

 

[Paul Lajoie]

Paul:
I just participated in an IRD done by Cindy Drozda where she was doing a mid-size hollow form. She uses a piece of aluminum (I think it was aluminum) with a bend on the end; something like the back scratcher but without fingers. She inserts the device with the lathe spinning and withdraws; the shavings are readily removed from the interior in about 5 seconds, and then she's back to hollowing. Seems to be simple, effective, and efficient.

ED good to hear from you, I’m thinking about coming up with some kind of rake. Your “elbow hollower” still going!

 

[Brian Gustin]

You are talking like $260 will destroy you.

For some of us, it seriously could. Not everybody's got money coming out their ears. For a $260 Item, I'd be saving pennies and trimming my budget for 3 or 4 months to save up for it...

 

[Ed Weingarden]

Your “elbow hollower” still going!

Paul:
Glad to hear the hollower is still going, and you're getting good use from it.

 

[Dean Center]

You don't need a whole new compressor. You can add an air tank of 5-10 gallons, available at farm supply stores, and maybe hardware stores, for $30-50. (5 gallon air tank)

Your compressor fills it when you first turn it on, which will take longer than the usual start-up, but when you need to shoot air, it will last longer before the motor powers on again. The motor will have to stay on longer to pressurize the extra volume (extra tank + regular tank). It's the same amount of work for your motor/pump, but in less frequent, longer bouts.

 

[hughie]

No comparison to the speed of removing chips with air pressure compared to raking them out. No way will you remove all the chips with a rake. when going through a small opening. That's one of the reasons I'm not a big fan of the Rolly Munro and other shearing cutters. It takes too long to rake the curls. Get a 30 tank and let your compressor fill that. You can use the tank with a vacuum chuck as well.

Yup it will take longer with shearing hollowers, unfortunately with my hollow forms raking is often the only way I can go.

 

[R Henrickson]

I got tired of this problem. Whenever I do a hollow form now, I do it as two pieces. I can have as small an opening as I want, without the frustration of fighting with getting the shavings out. With a bit of thought, the join is invisible.

 

[Brian Gustin]

Pennies? That would take quite a while. How many years did you save for your lathe? 40-50 years?

Pennies, Nickels, Dimes, Quarters, whatever - Yard Sales in the spring, buying generic at the store instead of a brand name, you name it - in other words, Penny Pinching... and yeah I bought my $300 used Harbor Freight lathe (with no-name 4-jaw chuck in the deal) after I had already been saving up for 4 months with the original goal of buying a small bandsaw, but then the lathe popped up on Facebook.... and I have been saving up for the past 3 years in every way I can to get a better lathe (a Jet 1640) and I'm maybe halfway there - Helps that I put the savings into a high yield savings account so it compounds a bit faster, but with any sort of luck (Which for me is exceedingly hard to come by) I may be able to afford that new lathe sometime this fall or spring of 2025 .... So yeah , seriously I rather dislike when some y'all rich folk (What us poor penny pinchers would call "Rich" anyway) go disparaging someone for trying to save a buck or two.

 

[Rusty Nesmith]

Pennies, Nickels, Dimes, Quarters, whatever - Yard Sales in the spring, buying generic at the store instead of a brand name, you name it - in other words, Penny Pinching... and yeah I bought my $300 used Harbor Freight lathe (with no-name 4-jaw chuck in the deal) after I had already been saving up for 4 months with the original goal of buying a small bandsaw, but then the lathe popped up on Facebook.... and I have been saving up for the past 3 years in every way I can to get a better lathe (a Jet 1640) and I'm maybe halfway there - Helps that I put the savings into a high yield savings account so it compounds a bit faster, but with any sort of luck (Which for me is exceedingly hard to come by) I may be able to afford that new lathe sometime this fall or spring of 2025 .... So yeah , seriously I rather dislike when some y'all rich folk (What us poor penny pinchers would call "Rich" anyway) go disparaging someone for trying to save a buck or two.

Some people have never been there and don’t understand. We all just do the best we can.

 

[Doug Freeman]

I tend to make hf’s with as small of a hole as possible (depends on size, reach off the rest). I also do most of them with wet wood, which means curls vs dust. Curls have to be dragged out of small holes. Even with larger holes I find a proper rake as quick or quicker than blowing or sucking air for curls. Prefer using a vac if there is lots of dust. Both blowing and sucking are used to get all of it out in the end.

I’ve made many types of “rakes” - kitchen knives and spoons (sometimes a little grinding), larger wires and rods up to ~ 1/4”, with a hammered “flat” on the end, hammered and bent into a hook. @hughie ’s idea of all-thread with nuts and washers is new to me and worth a shot, thanks.

 

[DON FRANK]

I blow chips out sometimes but I usually use a wood dowel rod with a flat washer screwed onto the end. It works great for dragging the shavings back to the opening. I have a couple different sized ones

 

[Michael Nathal]

I have a forceps, about 8-10 inches long. I use it to hold sandpaper to sand the inside of the form. It also works great to remove curlies; I have also used spoons as hoes and compressed air, sometimes, depending on the wood species and moisture content, and shape of the hollow form, you need 2 or 3 options to clean it out.

 

[John Tisdale]

Normally I'll use variants of the rake. Hard to improve on a 24" wood dowel with a credit-card cut into curve.
While a little slower, a little time to reflect on the upcoming masterpiece is a nice break. Less dust too.

 

[Paul Lajoie]

Just want to say thank you to all who replied with your ideas and comments.

Also I get a copy of Woodturning magazine from across the pond and this is one of the projects for this month. I honk I see a back scratcher/rake in my future!

 

[William J Smith]

I use a small rechargeable air dust blower that has about 3/8" nozzel. See "hand-held dust blower" on Amazon. I move my dust collection hose port close to the opening, put the duster nozzle in or beside the hollow form opening, and pull the trigger. I don't catch 100% of the shavings and dust, but it's less trouble than using an air compressor. It's got a USB port for charging and lasts me more than a few days. The one I bought, shown here, was just under $50. In addition to cleaning out hollow forms, I use mine to blow dust off my equipment and workbench before sweeping up for the day (mandated by my wife). More convenient for me than a compressor.

 

[Neil S]

If you don't want dust flying everywhere; An adaptor for the shop vac works very well.

I never want wood dust flying everywhere, never!

Fine wood dust is known to be very bad for the lungs. I go to a lot of trouble to extract fine dust from the air in my workshop with a highly efficient cyclone... then to go and deliberately spray wood dust into the air with a compressor is completely counterintuitive to me. Anyway, your lungs, your decision!

For hollow forms, other than those with the smallest opening, I pull the bellmouth up to cover half the opening... the air rushes into the open half, swirls around inside and collect the shavings on its way out into the bellmouth.

For hollow forms with smaller openings I use rakes and a shop vac with DIY fittings.

I like the sound of William's method. With a highly efficient DE system and the bellmouth close to the opening I might get closer to 100% fine dust capture.

 

[Paul Lajoie]

I never want wood dust flying everywhere, never!

Fine wood dust is known to be very bad for the lungs. I go to a lot of trouble to extract fine dust from the air in my workshop with a highly efficient cyclone... then to go and deliberately spray wood dust into the air with a compressor is completely counterintuitive to me. Anyway, your lungs, your decision!

For hollow forms, other than those with the smallest opening, I pull the bellmouth up to cover half the opening... the air rushes into the open half, swirls around inside and collect the shavings on its way out into the bellmouth.

For hollow forms with smaller openings I use rakes and a shop vac with DIY fittings.

I like the sound of William's method. With a highly efficient DE system and the bellmouth close to the opening I might get closer to 100% fine dust capture.

I should have mentioned I do wear a “power cap” whenever I’m turning. So my lungs are protected.
Paul