Dust...Everywhere...

timos-

timos-

Knifemaker / Craftsman / Service Provider
Joined
Oct 22, 2012
Messages
2,213
I work in a 10 x 12 ft shed. I built work benches around two walls and have basically a small standing area in the middle with machines and stuff all around me. I did alot of handle stuff over the last few months and I just cant keep up with the dust. My respirator is ok but I also want to protect my skin. Ive been considering a fan in the wall right behind the grinder with a hinged cover when not in use. I dont really want to be blowing this stuff all over my yard though. What are my most bang for the buck options here? Wet/dry vac or some kind of dust collector? The height in my shed is only about 6 ft on the low side.

TIA,
tim
 
Dust collectors take up space so your options may be limited to using an exhaust fan and trying to put some sort of filter on it. I made a dust collection system and use good quality furnace filters with it. I also have a commercial air cleaner that I run.
 
Maybe build a little addition for a dust collector outside? Then it won't be all over your yard but you also won't have the very fine particulates that escape the filters floating around
 
A good filter on a box fan is an idea for limited space. It might not be ideal but should help keep the dust down a little.
 
I use a shop vac (Ridgid WD1450) with the hose right underneath the platen. Between that and the water bucket it virtually eliminates all dust, even when I'm grinding G10!
 
Thanks for the ideas guys. That is a great idea to build a little something on the outside of the shed , I hadnt even thought of that. Maybe If I do that along with a box fan , things should stay pretty clean and fresh without spewing dust all over the yard. Any idea what type of filter I should be looking at?
 
In the process of grinding 4000 soft firebricks for forges, I've spent a lot of time working on dust removal. Each pallet, and I've done two pallets now, produces around 250 lbs. of dust and larger particles, so I'm talking about a LOT of both large and very fine particles. My current system is pretty close to perfect and has reduced my visible dust in the shop to almost zero. It involves a good shop-vac hose mounted right beneath the platen as Aaron mentioned. I have a full bag liner in the vac and one of these cyclones to catch 98% of the particles. It makes emptying the bucket quiet easy. I also have a 4000 CFM circular box fan with three 20x20x1 30-day furnace filters running at about 2000 CFM. It catches most everything else that the shop-vac doesn't. I don't like pleated filters because they clog quiet quickly and get expensive. The cheap blue 30-day filters, in triple taped to each other then taped to the fan, actually catch a lot more dust than you would expect and are very easy to blow the dust out of if you want.



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I will second the cheap and easy 20x20 box fan with furnace filters. I set one up from a free fan i got from a buddy and some cheap filters and was actually amazed how much fine floating dust it took out of the air.
 
Don's system is what I would recommend. It seems like it would be a lot of stuff in the yard, but it is a surprisingly small amount. The lawn mower will distribute it evenly :)


The bigger the blower, the shorter and the straighter the pipe run, the better. 1HP will work, 2HP is best. Look at the amperage draw to see what is the real power, as the HP ratings are often not realistic.

Ron Frazier had a similar system with the blower outside the shop wall in an enclosure that looked like a dog house. He had a long section of 4" PVC pipe going down the front of the bench and under the buffers, with a 4"X3"X4" Tee at every machine. The pipe went through the wall into the back of the dog house. He made pick-up funnels from aluminum and PVC fittings to match each machine's needs. He hung them on the wall behind the machine for putting on the Tee when needed. There was a plug for each port when not in use. Most of the plugs were a tuna can :)
There was a 2' piece of 6" PVC as a discharge pipe coming out the "dog house door". The dust and grit blew right out into the woods, which were 6" deep in pine straw. The blower was dfrom a HF dust collector ( he junked the bags and all).

You can use flex hose for the connection to the outside blower instead of running it through the wall. Just run it out the door to the blower when in use.
 
With outside venting, keep in mind that the air you pump out... must be replaced. If not properly designed, your shop can instantly become the same temperature as the outside air. Not good if you live in a location with more than one season... lol. This can also be very dangerous if you run an oil/gas furnace or woodstove in the same building.
 
Aarons shop vac seems like the cheapest easiest way to go! I may do this myself. As of now, clean up for me involves shutting my garage doors, blowing ALL the dust off the benches, machines, etc, onto the floor, and sweeping. lol.
 
I can only imagine your lawns are always a luscious green due to never having a lack of iron.
No need to purchase Texas Green Sand or Ironite ever again!
 
colu41 said:
Aarons shop vac seems like the cheapest easiest way to go! I may do this myself. As of now, clean up for me involves shutting my garage doors, blowing ALL the dust off the benches, machines, etc, onto the floor, and sweeping. lol.
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That is just nasty... hope you are wearing a bio-hazard suit. Seriously, though... blowing all that crap into the air is bad news, man. Better to vacuum or wipe with rags. I often dust with a rag sprayed with WD-40.
 
Rick Marchand said:
That is just nasty... hope you are wearing a bio-hazard suit. Seriously, though... blowing all that crap into the air is bad news, man. Better to vacuum or wipe with rags. I often dust with a rag sprayed with WD-40.
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Not the most efficient way of doing things, but I have my respirator and "designated" clothing while being in the shop. Will be purchasing a new Shop Vac soon.
 
I run a ~500 CFM inline exhaust fan to the outside; the fan is on the ceiling of a small 3-wall booth that contains the grinder. The fans are very affordable now; there is a good one on Amazon for $90 ("Tjernlund M-6 Inline Duct Booster Fan"). I'm sure the fans aren't designed to vent steel dust, but my current fan has been running for 5 years.
 
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