Dust Collection standard?

[Jesse Busenitz]

I hear a bunch of people talking about getting their DC "perfect" so they have very little of even the fine dust in the air, but most of these people do it as a hobby not? It seems like most shops that do it for a living have decent DC but I've also seen many shops with piles of sawdust here and there. So my question is... How important is your DC? Do you just try and keep it from piling up, keep the bulk of it out of the air, or break out the meter and test your system every time you cut a board?

[Michael Stein]

I hear a bunch of people talking about getting their DC "perfect" so they have very little of even the fine dust in the air, but most of these people do it as a hobby not? It seems like most shops that do it for a living have decent DC but I've also seen many shops with piles of sawdust here and there. So my question is... How important is your DC? Do you just try and keep it from piling up, keep the bulk of it out of the air, or break out the meter and test your system every time you cut a board?

My dust collection is more or less to reduce clean up. If I am doing heavy sanding, I wear a mask.

[Rod Sheridan]

Hi Jesse, once the design and testing is done, the meter isn't used again until modifications are made.

My system isn't perfect however it captures almost all the fine and coarse dust.

The band saw needed the most modifications, and my solution is an ugly cardboard hood that fits under the table.

The single biggest thing you can do for a table saw is to add overhead collection to capture the dust from the top of the blade.................Regards, Rod.

[Roy Harding]

i've never expected a DC to collect fine dust, despite it's name. I've always thought they should be called "chip collectors", or some other name which does not lead people to expect them to be the solution to fine dust in the air. I have a very good cyclone DC, vented outside and I'm very happy with it. I also have two air cleaners hanging in the shop. I use a downdraft table (connected to the DC) when sanding small parts. But I'm not surprised or dismayed to find dust on my machinery and benches.

That said - I only need to sweep up the shop weekly, as opposed to daily (or more) as I used to years ago before I had a good DC.

As far as the status of my shop - I am a one man commercial shop making custom furniture and small consumer items. My shop is worked in at least 9 hours a day, six days a week - so I'm perhaps in the shop more than a hobbyist, and perhaps have less time to be worried about what seems to me to be an insignificant problem (by which I mean the fact that my DC system is less than "perfect", not dust collection in general). When I worked in a commercial cabinet shop, with a very good DC system, the shop was dustier than mine, and had more piles of sawdust laying around than ever accumulate in my shop.

However - I don't have any argument with those attempting to achieve "perfection" with their DC, it's just that I don't have the time or interest to worry too much about it in my own shop.

[Chris Padilla]

It depends on the person cutting the wood. Some folks have severe respiratory issues and thus need or like to filter down below a micron. Others just want to get a majority of the dust. There is also equipment that MUST have DC in order to function properly or at least it is highly recommended. Personally, I just want most of the duct taken care of because I hate sweeping it up.

[Jesse Busenitz]

I'm asking probably more from a health perspective..... I'm 24 and am hoping to make a career out of it, and don't want to be a worry wart but also I don't want to kill my lungs either if there was something easy I could have done. Maybe I should ask how many of you have had health complications due to dust? Not a allergies but problems from long term dust inhalation etc.

[Roy Harding]

I'm asking probably more from a health perspective..... I'm 24 and am hoping to make a career out of it, and don't want to be a worry wart but also I don't want to kill my lungs either if there was something easy I could have done. Maybe I should ask how many of you have had health complications due to dust? Not a allergies but problems from long term dust inhalation etc.

From a health perspective, a dust collector is not enough (although it's an extremely important component). You'll need air cleaners, and to wear a mask when doing dust causing things (like sanding). I've been doing this for 40 years, the last 10 full time - and I do have some respiratory problems, but I used to be a smoker - so how much of those problems can be blamed on woodworking is an open question.

[David Kumm]

You really need to buy a Dylos particle meter and assess how the numbers rise when using various machines. Then you have some basis to judge how well your system works and how improvements help. It takes a lot of cfm to get the fines in comparison to the chips. Dave

[Ian Moone]

http://billpentz.com/woodworking/cyclone/index.cfm

Pretty much everything you could want to know about the subject.

how many of you have had health complications due to dust?

My father who i worked 20 years in partnership with died from esophageal cancer & I ended up with badly dusted lungs (taxidermists lung).

The whole thing really boils down to whether you work with solid lumber, or whether you work with man made particle boards like chip board MDF and melamine etc - which are ALL made with Urea Formaldehyde glues.

The "out-gassing" of formaldehyde from man made panel material is potentially deadly!

Dust bags on chip collectors don't prevent the gas from being recirculated around your shop all day because the gas passes thru the filter bags even if the dust doesn't!.

http://www.cancer.gov/about-cancer/c...yde-fact-sheet

The big problem for many of you stateside which we tend not to have is that - you often cannot vent your dust cyclones to external atmosphere coz all your heat from the shop goes out with it!

The BEST solution if you do work with man made panel material with formaldehyde in it is to vent your dust collector outside the shop.

Dust is annoying - formaldehyde will kill you, - you makes your choices and takes your chances!.

You could install a cyclone and vent it to atmosphere and still get killed crossing the road when hit by bus tomorrow!.

[Kent Adams]

I'm asking probably more from a health perspective..... I'm 24 and am hoping to make a career out of it, and don't want to be a worry wart but also I don't want to kill my lungs either if there was something easy I could have done. Maybe I should ask how many of you have had health complications due to dust? Not a allergies but problems from long term dust inhalation etc.

Jesse, you're already ahead because you're thinking about long term safety at 24. Everything you do between now and 44 will have a great deal of impact on your health in 20 years. Health "insults" accumulated during these years start to show up in your 40's and they are irreversible. Keep your shop as dust free as you can is the best advice in my opinion. Don't worry about the chips, but that fine dust you can only see in sunlight. I don't get to work as often in my shop as I'd like to, but I'm amazed at how much dust my overhead filtration picks up and I have a very good dust collection system.

[Robert Engel]

Yes, you are on the right track.

All very good posts, especially Kent above.

I would only add if you have the $$ and/or value it enough, the DC can be the most expensive, most used, and most important machine in your shop.
You need a very powerful unit (much more than a 2HP Harbor Freight which seems so popular today) as well as a dedicated power supply, efficient collection hoods, and most of all: BIG ducts. ClearVue/Pentz comes closest to the ideal OSHA type collection. They only sell a 5HP unit and recommend 7-8" ducting.

It can be quite an investment and the reason why hobbyists can't justify the cost. Most of us are looking for chip collection which lowers the requirements for air flow and ducting quite a bit.

That being said, there is still no substitute for personal protection and air scrubbers.

It all depends on the size of your shop, how ventilated your shop is (related to where you live) the machines you have, and the type of material you're working with (like MDF - ICK!).

I have average dust collection, I wear personal protection when sanding or using the table saw or cutting MDF, and my shop is extremely well ventilated.

I still worry sometimes about what I'm breathing, especially now that we are seeing plywood imported from China with different looking glue.

[Larry Frank]

Wood dust is more than annoying and does have significant health hazards for cancer and pulmonary disease.

One should be aware and do as much as they can do to avoid breathing too much of the fine particles. Not everyone can afford or have room for a 3 hp dust collector and 6" ducting.

My take is that one of the least discussed items is the dust hoods or pickups. Much is said about horsepower and duct size and these are important. But we should not overlook getting as close as possible to the source of dust with a properly shaped pickup. I really like some of the over the blade pickups for table saws and that is my next project.

[Jim Dwight]

Jesse,

I like your ending lines.

I cannot tell you what to do but I can tell you some things not to do. I initially used a small 1hp DC with the bags it came with. Big mistake. It caught chips but circulated all the dust all over the shop. Shaker felt bags were better but I ended up with a cartridge filter. I think you should either vent outside or use a cartridge filter. Reducing cleanup but blowing up all the stuff that could collect in your lungs is not a good trade!

I think PVC works fine for dustwork. I don't think dust explosion is a real issue for home shops. There is some authoritative documents you can find with googling that agree with this. I also think home made blast gates work better than at least the inexpensive plastic commercially available ones. I use couplers for PVC pipe and plywood scraps to make them.

I don't know that I think Bill Pentz is right about all of us needing a 5hp cyclone system but I think his stuff is worth reviewing. Bill has done a lot of work and should probably be believed but I've also seen decently supported documents arguing that the dust level in our shops is not that different than outside air. OSHA has standards for wood dust. If I was doing woodworking for a living I would probably get a meter and see where I was at. It may be possible to meet these standards with a smaller less expensive system and an air cleaner.

I also think cyclones are necessary because without one my experience is you spend way too much time cleaning the filter. I am using a dust deputy on my shop vacuum right now and if I go back to using a DC, it will have at least an Oneida Super Dust Deputy on it, probably ducting outside.

[Lornie McCullough]

I'm asking probably more from a health perspective..... I'm 24 and am hoping to make a career out of it, and don't want to be a worry wart but also I don't want to kill my lungs either if there was something easy I could have done. Maybe I should ask how many of you have had health complications due to dust? Not a allergies but problems from long term dust inhalation etc.

Hi Jesse..... I have coughing/lung/health complications that I believe are the result of thirty years woodworking with no concern for dust control. I take it very seriously now, and I am glad that you are giving it some thought.

Lornie