Tool review: Bench Top DC from Oneida Air Systems
Danny Kamerath reviews a new collector designed to sit on your workbench and collect dust as you sand.
Breathe easier at the lathe too. Thanks to the tool’s light weight and convenient handle, it’s easy to move wherever you need it, including behind the lathe.
Oneida Air Systems has introduced a portable dust collector, the Bench Top DC, designed to sit on your workbench and collect dust as you sand. When I power-carve a bowl, I usually remove 90% of the block of wood I started with, and keeping dust from piling up in my shop and entering my lungs are concerns. So I was eager to give the Bench Top DC a try. It proved to be a winner, so much so that I bought one myself.
Tools for power carving
Safety and stability. (photo, above left) Carving outside whenever possible, Kamerath uses a portable bench/vise, the Triton Super Jaws XXL. He wears leather gloves and a Trend Airshield helmet, which provides filtered air as well as a face shield. He wears ear protectors with the band swung under his chin.
Get to the grinding. For the aggressive first shaping of the outside, Kamerath uses a 4-in. grinder with an Arbortech Turbo Plane attachment. He begins carving with the blank upright, then turns it on its side to round the bottom, rotating it as he goes.