Maybe the truthful answer to your original question Duane ('what if.......') is that if it's truly the case that you can't afford dust collection then it's not advisable to be woodworking with power tools. (gasps of horror all round!!!)
The whole field is a mess in my opinion. There's so many factors in play that conspire to create the situation:
- The information that is available (for use in industry) regarding the risk that fine wood dust presents tends not to be put in common sense terms - it's typically in dry scientific/H&S/rules (what not why) language, and doesn't explicitly set out likely health consequences, and the hard realities they entail.
- Airborne dust at the roughly 1 micron particle size that is most dangerous is invisible. (our lungs can't handle it)
- We've been using wood for milennia. (but not with power tools that create fine dust)
- Dishonest claims and/or avoidance of information provision by manufacturers.
- Lousy dust handling performance of most DIY/hobby level woodworking machines and dust collection systems.
- Lack of standards in respect of the above.
- Lack of regulation in respect of the above.
- Unwillingness of woodworking publications to call it as it is for fear of loss of manufacturer advertising and co-operation.
- Political interference.
- Patchy, toothless and ineffective regulation even in industry. (lots of bark, but not much bite - and often in practice muzzled by the politicos)
- Lack of availability of reliable data on the performance of even quite widely sold equipment.
- Lack of care in the industry (makers and users), and the resulting culture.
- Our unwillingness to hear the (health) bad news on dust. (the above means we're not short of story lines by which to console ourselves)
- Our unwillingness to invest in solving a problem that typically does not produce short term consequences.
- Inability of most DIY/hobby systems sold to remove the fine dust that is actually the dangerous fraction.
- Readiness of the vested interests to round on and attack anybody speaking directly on the topic.
Etc Etc Etc Etc
It's dead simple, but no different to the purposely created fog of conflicting information that surrounds the many situations in which people make lots of money selling questionable but convenient products to the public. (likely health negative stuff like food additives, fast food, pesticides, many pharmaceuticals, materials that emit unhealthy stuff, polluting energy sources etc etc) In the end for all sorts of selfish and short sighted reasons most people (both sellers and buyers) don't really want to know.
Even the regulatory system seems to hover in a neverland between on the one hand maximising their personal gain (more and better jobs for the boys) - and on the other avoiding the pain of coming into conflict with the more powerful vested interests.
It doesn't take a huge national bureaucracy to do the job. Just some clearly set out air quality targets, and few spot checks with consequences. Better still it doesn't need rules - just put out solid information from trusted and unbiased sources, and let people get on with it.
The result of all this is that by the time the average DIY/hobby punter encounters the topic almost all semblance of truth and basis in reality has been lost. It's a pity in some respects that wood dust isn't either highly explosive, or highly toxic (with immediate health effects) - either or both would have long since ensured we'd have sorted out safe working methods. It's not rocket science....
There's never going to be good answers available until we're ready to properly phrase and seriously ask the right (reality based) questions. The answers would quickly follow.....
ian
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Originally Posted by Chris Parks
