Dust collectors, are they worth it??

Battle Creek Knives

Battle Creek Knives

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Feb 23, 2010
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Currently I'm trying to devise ways to minimize dust in the shop, when I sand handle material I have a shop vac collecting a good amount... I have a basic box fan in front of the window I grind at, and a backup fan behind me (its too hot to even be out there!!)..

I've almost got my mind made up what exhaust fans I'm going to get, but now have been considering a dust collection system...

I was at HF yesterday picking up some clamps and noticed they have a 2HP 5 micron dust collector on sale, yeah the frame/housing is the typical flimsy junk you'd expect but 2HP seems pretty substantial...

I've never had a dust collector, are they really worth while or are there other options to consider...???
 
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In my opinion, yes. A lot of people buy them, use them a few times and never use them again. It's all personal preference. I won't grind, sand, or weld without a respirator on.
 
Zaph1 do you have one?? I'm curious from personal experience.... I've heard people say with a dust collector you can sand XYZ and not find dust anywhere afterword... seems a little exaggerated to me... but... I really can't comment as I've never had one...

I'm really concerned about containing the toxins/pollutants we work with as they tend to float around quite a while afterward...

anyone use a dust collector, if so how does it work for ya.. ??
 
I have one dust collector for use when handle shaping and a Torit dust collector for steel grinding.

I also have a ceiling mounted air cleaner.

With this combination I have cut down on a lot of dust that use to settle all over the shop. There's still a little dust that gets away, but it is a lot better than it use to be.

Take care

Charles
 
I went for years without dust collectors in my shops and suffered some pretty bad days eating steel and g-10. Recently I was fortunate enough to build a new shop and installed two systems. The first is a ventilation system that removes dust from at each machine filters the air and expels it outside. The second is a large fan that sucks air through 4 large house filters in front of the machines and circulates it through the shop. It was well worth the investment, my eyes, sinus and lungs have never been happier.

Rob Criswell
 
I have a hard piped cyclone type dust collector system in the wood shop but I don't dare use it when grinding metal. It works great, you just have to have the air traveling across the work piece at a high enough velocity to pick up the dust particles. This means you have to keep the nozzle pretty close to the work piece.
 
Dust collection = Lung protection and its right up there with eye protection on the list of safety musts. Respirators are good but it's the invisible particulates (smaller then 5 microns by a lot) that linger in the air long after you take the mask off that will get you. Seeing the motes in air in bright sunlight even with a ceiling mounted air filter and a 2hp dust collector going startled the hell outta me one day. (Imagine what it's like in closed space with little air circulation/replenishment?)

Get the best dust collection you can afford and breathe easier...............FOREVER

Syn
 
I've been using one close to 20 years, with the exhaust piped outside. I'd likely be dead now without it.
 
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