Shop Dust

[Jake Truxal]

There is another thread going about dust collectors and use of respirators, but I didn't want to muddy that thread further so am starting a seperate thread.

I'm fortunate to have a dedicated 15' X 22' shop in the back portion of my basement (but I could use twice that size !!), the bad part is I have no access to fresh air ventilation (ie window/door).

I have a 1 1/2 HP dust collector from PSI with dust ports to each of my machines and 3 floor sweeps. I also have a ceiling mounted air cleaner. A fair amount of dust and debris still gets spread around the shop.

My pet peeve is all the dust that gets stirred up when I sweep the floor. I swear I end up eating half that dust. Sometimes I'll put on my respirator just to sweep up but most times not.

Anyway I was toying around with a prototype of an accessory for the dust collection system to help alleviate this problem. So far I just have a very rough prototype that I threw together just for proof of concept, it seems to work fairly well but needs refinement. I'd like to use you guys for an unscientific poll to see if you have this issue too and if you think I should pursue this further?

Thanks for any input.

 

[rsser]

It is an important issue Jake and we all need to take care not to breathe in dust if at all possible. The stuff is carcinogenic.

I use a floor sweep on the dusty with one of those cheap plastic vac cleaner-like heads. It has an open rear which I've blocked with a few lengths of duct tape - that improves the efficiency a bit. It's mounted to a piece of PVC pipe then to the dusty ducting via flexible pipe.

It's slow and cumbersome but doesn't fill the place with floating dust.

 

[Mark Warden]

Did you see this Jake? http://www.rockler.com/product.cfm?page=20375

 

[MichaelMouse]

I have floor attachments for my shop DC as well. Work fine where required, but the name of the game is still collection at point of creation. In that you're sort of hurting yourself. The longer the runs and the larger the number/looser the gates, the less effective you are where you need it.

You mention dust which can be brought up with a broom. have you considered doing the sanding that causes that dust over a downdraft table? You have to teat your portable (sanding) tools as you do your machines. Drop the jointer (if you have one) shavings into a box, because it doesn't make dust, and use the outlet for your sanding table. I would buy the brand anyway, but my flatwork sanders are all Bosch, and hook right to the DC or shopvac. Pretty effective.

Nuisance mask while sweeping will keep you from sneezing, as will a spray bottle to dampen before the sweeping. I don't sweep that often, but a concrete floor keeps the humidity high down there and I don't kick dust. If you're raising it and keeping it airborne with your overhead air cleaner, reevaluate the sources.

 

[Jake Truxal]

i like the idea of misting the floor prior to sweeping, I'll give that a try. the direction I was going with my attachment was still to be able to use the push broom to move the dirt to the intakes for the d.c. vs vaccuming the whole floor.

 

[MichaelMouse]

You don't have to do the whole floor. The damp stuff you start with acts like the sweeping compound the old folks remember. Might try just spritzing the bristles.

 

[Mark Mandell]

Loose The Broom

Instead, put in a couple of 4" terminal fittings, 45° bends or wyes, in your dc line rather than the floor sweep fittings, then use your DC as a vacuum cleaner. Brooming wood dust is a waste of time, and will make the dangerous stuff (too small to see) airborne. There are any number of outfits that sell 4" hose and floor tools, or you can use a reducer fitting to drop it down to 2-1/2" shop-vac size. Using a smaller hose than 4" will cause the need to open another port for airflow volume. Only thing I use my shop vac for is hooking to sanders and such whilst doing flat work. When not in use, use a 4" end cap and 6" piece of pipe as a plug.