air ventilation in small basement workshop, not well sealed and within larger space
Hi everyone, I am new to the forum I hope I am not reposting a boring and useless question. I recently started working some wood in my basement, bought some tools and got only a table sander and a bandsaw. The rest are just hand tools. Yet, due to the small size of the room (2×3 square meters and 2.5 meters high…In case the metric makes someone unease that would be 6.5 x 9.8 square feet and 8.2 feet high, roughly) even the usage of those 2 power tools creates a lot of dust and small particulate that floats in the air for quite some time. Most times I use the sander, the saw less often. To get rid of the dust I thought of 2 possible solutions:
1) an air vent for large workshop environments such one of these 2
https://wenproducts.com/products/air-filtration-system-item-3410
https://www.amazon.de/Luftreiniger-HDA-14-Luftfilterleistung-Werkst%C3%A4tten-Fernbedienung/dp/B093WQ8KDR/ref=asc_df_B093WQ8KDR/?tag=googshopde-21&linkCode=df0&hvadid=559075898829&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=8141504619029348870&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9060640&hvtargid=pla-1463570825744&psc=1&th=1&psc=1
2) a smaller/weaker unit like this (but same price)
https://www.amazon.de/-/en/gp/product/B08YZ8ZD7J/ref=ewc_pr_img_1?smid=ABZ1I1VE92LZZ&psc=1
in addition to this I am going to wear a respirator mask (which I have already) and I am going to get a dust extractor (or just a well sealed vacuum cleaner, to get rid of what’s left around).
Now, although I have a tiny cellar room, the room is not perfectly insulated from the ones adjacent to it (I live in a condo), they are separated by walls made of vertical wooden slats with 1 inch spaces in between them, so air is flowing through. My room has 2 of such wooden walls. The other 2 walls are concrete because it is a corner room. One of the wooden walls is “almost” sealed because I have shelving units on that side, tightly packed with goods, items, boxes, bags, etc… it’s just storage. The real problem is the front wall where the door is: this is just full of holes and spaces.
My original plan was to get a tiny air filtering unit for small spaces in order to filter the small particulate suspended in the air, but I am worried that, given that the suction won’t be so strong due to the air leaks, this will be just a useless hair-dryer on my workbench. However, a bigger unit like the ones I listed in the first point, could be a noisy “overkill” for my needs. The second one… could be OK but it is pricey for what it is and it seems to me more for indoors and living spaces (perhaps in a shop it will get clogged in 2 hours).
Any advice or suggestion on similar products, alternative ones, cheaper ones, effective ones for this kind of environment?
Thank you in advance ! 🙂
Replies
The ideal solution for your condo workshop would be to capture as much dust at the source as possible.
That would mean getting a high quality dust extractor (such as Festool) and connecting it to the tool you are using to extract the dust before it can get into the air.
And since a dust extractor can never be 100% efficient, I would rely on an air cleaner like the WEN you linked to, for additional air scrubbing.
Mike
I have the Wen, and it pulls a fair amount of the airborne dust that my dust collector misses. But not nearly all.
First thing I would do is put plywood up on the walls to keep the dust from getting into the adjacent room. Because dust will migrate.
Oneida makes a lot of good dust collection options. That's a good place to start.
Over the years I've found that an air cleaner (which I believe the WEN is) is not the primary solution. A good quality dust collector with a HEPA filter connected to the machine in use is. An air cleaner is the secondary solution and keeps circulating dust not caught by the dust collector at the source. Depending on the woodworking machines you own, an extractor like a Festool vac may or may not efficiently collect dust at the source. It will work for routers, sanders, track saws, miters saws, and drill presses, but will not be adequate for jointers, table saws, planers, and tools that produce a large amount of chips and dust. You are wise to wear a good quality mask but you need to adequately collect the majority of dust at the source. The best is a 3-pronged approach, using a dust collector at the source, an air cleaner to clean the air circulating in the shop, and a mask or powered helmet to make sure you don't breathe the finest of dust which is the most harmful. You should never have to worry about a dust collector, vacuum, or air cleaner being air starved as they are merely sucking in air, filtering it, and exhausting the "clean" air. With all filtering devices it is best to get the best filters you can afford. HEPA is best. I have never found any cheap solutions to dust collection or air filtration. The cheap solutions turn out to be inadequate in the end or at least not up to fitering the finest particles. It is these particles that are the most harmful to the lungs over time.
As stated, collect at the source and then use an ambient cleaner for anything that gets away. Your method of doing this will vary with your budget, space, etc.
Close up the open walls before your neighbors complain about the sawdust all over their storage rooms and hold a meeting to shut you down. After that, source collection, (don't be afraid to adapt your machines to improve capture) then an ambient air filter. I'm not sure what you mean by "table sander" but I think the respirator will always be your best friend in the conditions you are in.
thank you all folks for your comments! I will try to find something on a budget because I am not a pro and I do not have a big space (also the "shop" is not going to be used so often). I would first get a dust extractor which could be used also next to the power tools in use, to get dust more directly out of the way (as you suggested). The air cleaner with HEPA filter.. I am not super convinced it will work due to the non-air tight nature of my environment... I also would prefer something more compact and that makes less noise (that's why I am leaning more towards the COWAY) but... maybe I will keep this as last (if you have some advice on some device which won't be fancy or serious but could be good for occasional usage, please feel free to comment, that would help!). thank you again ! :)
Is there any chance you can put your bandsaw and table sander on mobile bases, store them in a garage, and wheel them outside in the driveway when in use? Use hand tools only in the basement.
mmh... that could be in general a good idea. however I would not have access to a power plug outside. I know I could pull a power cord but it gets complicated (and right now is also freezing :)). but maybe I could move it just outside my room to a neutral place, still located in the basement but far from my workbench. I will think about it :)
I live in Buffalo NY and only use my power tools on my patio in effort to keep the dust outside for safety reasons. My biggest complaint is moving them outside and back into the garage every time I use them. That is far better than dealing with the safety issues associated with breathing the saw dust.
All this is based on the assumption that your shop is too small for a quality Dust Collector.