Grinding in my Garage?

D

DgrantD

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Would it be safe to grind steel and Micarta,G10 and CF in my garage where people are walking through constantly and stuff is stored in? I would have a collection system, or would this not be enough to make it safe for everyone? would it be neccacary to work in a shop type area, where people arent always walking in and stuff is stored,and eveeryone wears respirators? Just how dangerous is this stuff? Thanks alot.

Grant
 
Steel dust is not to bad as it is heavy and fall quickly to the floor. But Micarta, G10, carbon fiber and the like are really bad. They can stay airborn for a long time. If you have a very good collection system it is not that big of deal, but if not it "could" be a problem.

That being said there are a couple things to keep in mind. How much material are you grinding? How big is your garage? Is there anyway to limit traffic while you are grinding?

Most makers are not grinding 20 G10 handles in one sitting. And most of us work in our garages.

If you can still smell the material say 10-20 minutes after you finish, then there is still alot in the air.

Some solutions. Bandsaw as much of the material off as possible. Work with lots of ventilation. Use a collection system. Use a shop air cleaner. And work with the doors open.

Lastly, just keep in mind that this is one of the most dangerous hobby you can have if you do not take the proper safety measures.
 
R.W. covered it well, but on the other hand, it's all "real dangerous stuff" if you're lookin for a good argument to convince your wife that you need a new shop to work in :D
 
Carbon Fiber is really nasty stuff, I dont use it all for that reason. Otherwise, the other guys have already given you some good advice!
 
For this exact reason I limit my grinding in my garage to steel only. I'm assuming that silica dust also settles rather rapidly as well. I always wear a respirator and I set up a box fan that blows past me and the grinder, then downwind of the grinder I set up another box fan with a furnace filter over it. (Watch out for the downwind filter, it rapidly gets clogged up with steel dust and can be readily ignited by sparks.) In addition I also open the garage door and the door at the other end of the garage. The air happens to flow naturally in the same directon I have my fans set up. It's something of a Mickey Mouse set up but the box fan and filter system actually works very well. I avoid working the handle on the grinder if at all possible, but then I enjoy using files. For that matter I avoid using the grinder and try to limit it to heavy profiling and initial bevel clean up after forging. I prefer to file and draw file blades. Draw filing just creates a nice pile of fuzzy shavings.

It's not only the man made handle material that's dangerous when lots of dust is created but many tropical woods (and domestic woods too like desert ironwood) are also.
 
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