Dust recovery question.

rayban

rayban

Joined
Apr 14, 2007
Messages
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When working wood on my belt sander, I rig up my shop vac near it and it does a pretty good job of controlling the dust flying around my shop.
I read somewhere on here.....can't find it when I want it.....that it's not a good idea to rig up the same way when grinding steel.....but it didn't go into why it was not a good idea....
Can someone clue me in on this so I don't have to go learning about it the hard way??
Thanks..
 
Hot steel dust plus a cardboard like filter... not a good combo I would expect. You could rig a system that uses suction to suck the dust in and it would then vent a few inches above a bucket of water. A few guys on here have systems similar to that, they would be more help.
 
Patrice Lemee has a nice setup. I don't remember if it's him or not, but someone uses water, and a 180 degree bend to prevent hot sparks from getting in the vacuum.
 
Ever seen a sawdust canon? Fine sawdust can be very volatile if mixed with enough oxygen, so imagine what grinding dust can do. If you have a spark hit the dust, it can cause a fire in the least, and maybe a bit of a bang at the most. Also, powdered steel is very very flammable. Mix wood dust, steel dust, and sparks together, and it makes for a great fire hazard.

Here's a youtube vide to check out....kinda cool. I wouldn't expect anything like this in your shop, but fire is a no-no indoors unless it's in a candle or fireplace.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IvPL7KC1DEA

--nathan
 
That is some serious explosion.
 
Just a crap load of sawdust, compressed air, and a road flair. No other accelerant was used. Non-dairy creamer is even more flammable when aerated.

--nathan
 
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