Grinder in a basement? Idea for less dust included.

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zingo156

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Jan 26, 2015
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I am new to knife making, haven't even finished one yet, I am waiting on some tools. I ordered a Esteem Grinder from Brett Mathews. It is still a few weeks out. I was trying to make room in the garage but realistically I just do not have it.

My question is this: how dangerous would it be to put a grinder in a basement? The basement is not finished and the floor is open concrete. I can build a small room if needed and would probably sheet rock it, I am a bit worried about the sparks and heat causing a fire. I have done angle grinding in my basement, I just setup a tarp around me. I haven't done any work with stainless or zinc coated metals inside, I know grinding zinc coated steel can be toxic, but what about stainless steels if I ever use them? Would it be safe to grind stainless or even tool steels in the basement? I would rather not have any toxic fumes rolling into the rest of the house. I do have a respirator and wear it while grinding.

Second part: I had an idea for catching dust with extremely powerful neodymium magnets of which I have 2. These things will lift 80lbs each. I am thinking about mounting them in some sort of container just under the working plate. I wasn't sure if anyone had ever tried dust gathering with magnets?

The plan is to put the magnets inside a copper housing, I will make it so I can pull the magnets away from the face of the copper housing that faces the gathering point, when the magnets are pulled far enough away from the copper face, the metal fragments gathered there should just fall off into a bucket or whatever I choose. This may sound confusing so when I get it setup I will be sure to post pictures (if it works)...

I have seen lots of people with 5 gallon buckets with a bit of water in them below the grinding area for dust collection, I may do this as well.

Thanks for the replies and have a great day!
 
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I have read a couple threads about basement shops, so far the consensus seems to be: keep it clean, get a hvac system, and keep a fire extinguisher close. I don't have the hvac system, I plan on keeping it clean and have a fire extinguisher I can put within reach.

My concern would still be toxic fumes floating around the house from grinding stainless or other steels. This basement has only one window so airflow might be an issue.
 
If you don't plan on building a basic dust extraction system....don't grind in the basement.

The magnets will help a little, but not all the dust is magnetic, and the magnets won't catch all the steel dust anyway. Magnets are good to have..... I have about half a dozen big welding magnets on my bench to catch grinding swarf..... but they are an ancillary, not a primary.

Use the BF search engine and you will see dozens of basement grinder setups:
https://www.google.com/cse/home?cx=011197018607028182644:qfobr3dlcra
 
Thanks, I forgot about grinding handles. Magnets are useless for most materials in the handle category. I guess I will be parking outside for a while and making room in the garage.
 
Yes you should be concerned about the toxicity of the dust and having a fire extinguisher nearby is wise. But my greatest concern would be explosions. Particulate matter like grinding dust concentrated in an enclosed area which is exposed to an open flame source (water heater, furnace, ect.) is an explosion hazard. Please be safe.
 
I have a coal room in my basement and have sealed it off. I'm wondering if I'll be alright as long as I'm religious about Wearing my respirator?
 
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