Check Wood Magazine - October 2006
Bernie:
Get the most recent (October 2006)
Wood Magazine, probably on the newstands right now - They did a review of a range of shop air filters, and compared their effectiveness using measured weights of settled dust in their shop after cutting the same amount of of MDF for each tested unit. It seems the best filter unit rating was given to the JDS 750-ER. Interestingly, a box fan with a furnace filter duct taped to it's input side proved to be a fairly effective shop filter, actually better than many of the commercial units - although the furnace filter would be a continual PITA to replace every time it was loaded, the cost was WAY less than a commercial filter. I've had a JDS filter for at least 5 years and it does a very good job (...it's always satisfying when you read a tool review and the winner of the test is already in your shop!), although it's always used together with my Oneida dust collector system while I am sawing, using the planer or joiner, and sanding. You should have a read of this article to see what the criteria were for making their comparisons, and good and bad features of each of the models they tested, just to be more informed about what to look for in shop dust filtration units.
Go to this link to see what the article is about:
http://www.woodmagazine.com/wood/wo...html?tool=woodmall/toolreview/172airscrubbers
Note that you can see some of the tool review table and get a flavor for the article and what it contains from the
Wood Magazine web site above. You can decide wether to find the magazine on a newstand, or download the article for $ 4.50 - I'd go "hard-copy", since there are a few other interesting articles in the issue as well.
Although I have pretty good dust extraction and air filtration in my shop, I STILL use a Trend Face Shield air filter when I sand woods that are known to be toxic, and for most other times when I am sensing too much fine dust. I don't
always use it, but probably should.
Respiratory uptake of dust should be the primary health concern of woodturners over the long haul - even more of a concern than physical injury after one has gotten past the major learning curve of how to turn safely. If you protect your eyes, you should also protect your lungs! Furthermore, if you power sand on the lathe,
definitely look into a face shield filter!! Even with good air filtration and dust extraction, additional lung protection would not be a bad idea, regardless of what wood is sanded. I consider it essential if one is planning on having a long-term marriage with woodturning, especially if you have a love for gorgeous exotics of known toxicity. One of my coaches who taught our health class in high school told us that "you can get in lots of trouble through love, so always protect yourself!" The same should apply to woodturning!
I hope this information helps you to make a more informed decision.
Turn safely,
Rob Wallace