~~~~ dust~~~~

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jttheclockman

jttheclockman

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Joined
Feb 22, 2005
Messages
19,718
Location
NJ, USA.
There is a post by Curtis in this board that talks about his Dad and the problems he is now facing after years of working as a woodworker and dealing with the consequences of wood dust. I hope all do stop by and read it and as I did passed on my heartfelt toughts and prayers as he and his family deal with this.

Within the post Curtis mentions he went out and spent $2000 on a dust collecting system. To me cheap money if it helps prevent the problems his Dad is dealing with now.

I work in construction and have been for over 36 years now and have been exposed to many hazardous materials including dust and fiberglass and fireproofing. Later this year I am going for a full lung and resportory scan. Have not had one in a long time and getting closer to retirement I would like to know what lies ahead.

The point of this post is twofold. one to make people aware of the dangers of dust we encounter in our shops and to ask what are you doing to combat it.????

I have set my shop up with a dust collection system to the large chip and dust producing tools. I have a whole shop microparticle dust remover hanging from the celing and have tried to always use a dust mask ( however good these are I am not sure but it is something) I have started using a Trend shield at times when turning. Not the most comfortable things to wear but it works. Do I encorporate all these safety things every time in the shop and the answer is no. Reading stories such as Curtis' has kicked me in the butt again and will make me more cognasiant every time I walk into the shop or at least for awhile till I get lax again. Till I read of another horror story.

So what do you do and what products are you using to combat the dust or are you worried about it??? Try to be specific with the products in case someone wants to try them. Thanks for the replys.
 
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Oneida cyclone, JDS ambient filter, Trend airshield. Love each of them and would have paid double for them. My kids come in all the time to turn.

Dale
 
I have the Steel City bag filter, but I really want to upgrade to a Grizzly cyclone. My dad has the Grizzly 2hp cyclone and it's awesome. I want to get one and put it in a shed I have attached to my garage...all the dust would be away from me completely. I just have to convince the wife to let me spend the cash (about $1200 w/ ducting), since money is tight for us right now.
 
I have a basement workshop, and no dust collection of any sort...I really need to fix that problem...

It's not because I think I'm immune, or that I'm fearless, but rather that I cannot afford one. And yes, I know it's a small price to pay for one's health, but when one can't afford to have his wisdom teeth removed, then you have to make compromises in terms of shop tools...

So it's on my 'as soon as I have money' list, but it's not going to happen until after the wedding...on the plus side, I also can't afford to buy wood, so there's nothing to make dust for a while! :)

But yes, it's a very serious matter, and I definitely need to look into getting dust collection...
 
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I have a home made system for my lathe with a 3 inch Makita motor/vac/blower system.

My shop is within 6 ft of the house beside and 6 feet of the house behind. Both families have babies - so I had to make mine nearly noise proof - another concern for some people. Not only did it benefit my neighbors, it benefitted me also. I can turn mine on and have a normal conversation, that is how effective the noise reduction is.

In addition, I use a double canister mask and goggles, gloves and keep a towel close by to wipe off CA sanding dust.
 
I've been getting better at this. Started off with just a shop vac, then got the triton setup. Then got the jet overhead air cleaner. Still had dust all over the shop. Just got the Steel city 1 1/2 hp dust collector and use it to suck air right at the lathe, much better than the Fein shopvac. This works pretty good. I don't use the Triton as much as I should now since it seems the DC sucks most the stuff in (although I know it doesn't get everything). Now the problem is since I am using 10' of hose from the DC it ends up being only 3 feet away from where I turn and it is pretty darn loud. I now use earmuffs to dampen the noise so I don't go deaf. Good thing is I got some fancy ones that have a radio built into them and an Ipod jack. If I had room I'd stick the DC outside but alas I don't.
 
DC - just getting started

1- 5 gal shop vac
2- shop vact attached to magnet DC hood at lathe
3- Dust Mask
4- Ear muffs (no radio)
5- Fan blows from lathe to door (8 feet away) Shop with only 5' wide.
6- Bubble face shield
7- can't vent outside and $$ a large restriction for better system.

-joe L
 
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Please remerber, just because you have a DC, that does not mean you are safe. Actually, a DC with standard bags is worse than no DC since it is spewing stuff back in the air and keeping the air stirred up. It is my understanding that bags less than .5 micron are a big risk. Actually, bags themselves suck. As the bag gets clogged, the suction goes down and you are not picking up the stuff you need to at the machine.

Cyclones are expensive but are without a doubt the most safe since the bulk of the stuff they pick up get dumped into the collection bin before it even gets to the filters. The filters are also typically much finer. Mine is .1 micron. I get about 1 coffee cup of super fine dust out of my filter stack ever 3rd 50 gallon drum of big stuff.

I am certainly not trying to say my way is better. Dust collection just needs to be brought to the forefront more.
 
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