Breathing Easy

Andrew McLurkin

Andrew McLurkin

Joined
Aug 31, 1999
Messages
716
Sorry for the nebulus title, but it's the way I feel. I spent the day setting up a blower to exhaust the air from my shop. I calculated the time it will take to move the volume of air in my shop at 4.3 minutes. I tested it with smoke from a piece of paper at various spots in my shop and it looks real good. The smoke traveled toward the intake and within three minutes I could only detect the smell of smoke in one corner. I'm really psyched :D
 
I got to get one of those things set up in my shop also.I bet it will make you breath alot easier after grinding a bunch of steel and handle material.
Bruce
 
That's great to hear, Andrew. Gotta admit that since I read about the toxicity of vanadium, have been really worried that a lot of makers are endangering themselves frequently.

Bruce -- do it as quick as you can. I think it is real important for your health. You're far too good a guy -- and knifemaker -- to shorten your life unnecessarily.

Given the amount of time that Andrew's setup is taking to completely clear the room of smoke, makes me even more certain that makers shouldn't be in any hurry to take off their respirators when grinding.

Somebody, maybe Andrew, just posted the other day how the right light in the early morning made him see just how much dust there was even from light grinding.

I've interviewed too many people with death sentences from docs for lung problems. I don't want anyone I respect to join that terrible list of folks.
 
Even with a reasonably good dust collection system, my shop is perpetually covered with a fine layer of silt made up of grinding particles from steel and assorted handle material. If I had a way to vent to the outside, I could probably diminish that to some extent, but it certainly underscores the continued need for use of the respirator.
 
I'm psyched because I've just moved my shop to to my pottery studio which has a lot of windows. For the first time I'm actually going to have an exhaust fan directly behind the grinder. I've also got good cross ventilation potential. After reading about the vanadium problems I'm also thinking of investing in a really good respirator, not just the cheap one that I currently have.
 
I suppose there is some advantage to having my "shop" set up in my garage. Opening both doors helps with the dust problem. I also have a fan on one side of my grinder blowing the dust outside.

One thing that I have done is to have the grinding operation AWAY from the work bench. I guess you could say I have a dirty area and a clean area. I've seen some folks have their grinder in the very center of their shop which translates into having dust every where!

The respirator I have filters out dust and fumes as well. Even when grinding on micarta, there is no smell!

C Wilkins
 
I am thinking of building a couple of those filters made with box fans that was showed in the new Knives Illustrated this month,along with a dust collection system running to the machines.
I have also found that those range hoods that are in the kitchen help out above a grinder and they give extra light also...
Bruce
 
I'm glad I'm not the only one thinking about this kind of stuff. I use a vacuum with a microfiler and a mask. Trouble was I would get back over to my bench after grinding something (i.e. carbon fiber) and after about 10 minutes, sometimes less, I would get tired of the mask and take it off. Probably not the best practice.

With my new set-up I have the blower in a adjoining space blowing out a foundation vent. I ran 8' of 4" duct through the shop wall and mounted it at head level near my grinder. I wired a switch on the wall just below the intake. I makes about as much noise as my computer fan. I worked in my shop today and had real good results with this set-up.
 
I have seperated my workshop into a clean and dirty side, which does help. Adding a "dustcatcher" to my grinder also cut down on the dust. (This is simply a bowl of soapy water below the contact wheel)
Here's an interesting phenomenon I noticed while forging: I had to do a bit of grinding while my gas forge was running and noticed sparks in the flame of the forge. The forge is about 10' away from the grinder. I was grinding for less than a minute.

For pics of the dustcatcher, click on the "blades" link below, then go to the "tools of the trade" page. It is really simple and it does cut out more than 80% of the dust that previously ended on the floor.
 
I have my grinder setup in front of two windows both of which contain box fans. I placed a bucket of water directly under the contact wheel and mounted a board on an angle directly behind the grinder to deflect dust down towards the bucket.

Yesterday I did some handle shaping and all the dust just went into the bucket or out the window. The effect was almost immediate. I could smell the wood and then I couldn't. A window on the other side of the room is wide open and quite a draft is being pulled in. I'm really happy with this new set up and feel a lot safer.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top