Replies

1. 
   forestgirl | Feb 17, 2005 07:15pm | #1

   There are a few people who would disagree with me, but I'll suggest a good air scrubber (JDS is very highly rated).  I can't believe the difference it's made in my shop since I hung one from the ceiling a few months ago.  Place the intake such that not only does it not draw dust past you as you stand at a machine (such as the bandsaw) but also away from the office so the air flow goes away from the office door.

   forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)
   Another proud member of the  "I Rocked With ToolDoc Club" .... :>) 

2. 
   withthegrain | Feb 17, 2005 10:42pm | #2

   Dave,

   We have a very dusty shop and we just set up our computer on a desk in the shop. We bought a bag/filter that is made for computers and it just wraps around the monitor and cpu. It keeps the dust out and has not effected the proformance of the computer. 6 months with no porblems. Try http://www.dirtbag.biz

   Hope this helps, Dennis 

3. 
   Kent_F | Feb 18, 2005 05:19am | #3

   My first thought is this: Your computer is replaceable, and it will be obsolete in 5 years anyway.  Lungs are a lot more valuable. So I'd say improve your dust collection and reduce the problem at the source.

   With a 2 HP collector, you're most of the way there.  On the input side, you may need improved collection at the machines, e.g. an overhead TS hood or a downdraft table for sanding. On the output side, what kind of filtration are you using? A good felt filter bag or cannister filter could be a big improvement.

4. 
   jaypoe | Feb 18, 2005 05:31am | #4

   Seal the office as well as you can. Ambient air cleaner for the shop and I like to seperate shop space and, if possible, office space by two tight, doors. If the office is lower in pressure (HVAC can cause that or open window in office not in shop. The reverse might help your problem) than the shop air will always move into the office space unless very tightly sealed. You can blow dust from your computer with air in a can. I had to do that every two months in a high product shop with very fine dust that seeped into the office.

5. 
   AlbionWood | Feb 18, 2005 08:40am | #5

   If the fine dust is getting everywhere, then your dust collector is worse than useless - it is making the problem worse! It is almost certainly because you are using the stock bags, which pass everything smaller than 30 microns and blow all of it around at high velocity. Woodworker's Supply, among others, sell replacement bags that supposedly filter to 1 micron; I recently put one on my little 1HP DC and can't believe what an improvement it made. The 1 micron bags actually pass more air with less pressure, too.

   Even better, with that 2HP DC, is to use a 1 micron bag on the bottom and a 1 micron canister filter on top. I just set up a PSI 2HP DC that way and it seems to work very well. (It will be even better after I caulk the sheet-metal seams, bolt holes, and other small leaks.)

   The computer equipment etc. in your office is the least of your worries. Think about how much of that dust is going into your lungs, in your eyes, and how expensive body parts are to upgrade. There's no real good reason to put up with that any more, especially if you already have the 2HP collector - spend another $100 on good bags and work in a clean shop.

   "Everything should be made as simple as possible, but no simpler."  A. Einstein

   http://www.albionworks.net

6. 
   Michmesquite | Feb 18, 2005 10:54am | #6

   After you get your DC to stop spitting out dust into your shop, then the best way to keep dust out of a shop office is to have greater ambient pressure in the office than in the shop.

   The easiest way to do this would be to run a small 2" duct from outside into your office and use a desktop fan to draw outside air into the office. (You could also run the outside air through a small squirrel cage fan)

   The greater office pressure will set up a barrier to dust entering your office.

   _________________________________

   Michael in San Jose

   "In all affairs it's a healthy thing now and then to hang a question mark on the things you have long taken for granted." Bertrand Russell 

7. 
   nikkiwood | Feb 18, 2005 02:16pm | #7

   Along with felt bags for your DC and an air cleaner (JDS type), I would first work on sealing up the office space. Weather strip the door -- just as you would an exterior door in a cold climate, including a tight threshold. Also, take any other measures that are appropriate in your particular situation to seal off the office space -- fiberglas insulation (in the rafters), caulk, etc.

   There are a lot of computers these days running in dusty/dirty locations, so the notion of a dust bag designed for the computer is probably readily available.

   The air pressure thing also seems logical, but I wouldn't go there until you have exhausted all the other measures.

1. 
   flactem | Feb 18, 2005 08:57pm | #8

   Thanks for all your responses -- I have about decided that my first step is to get an air scrubber -- probably the JDS 750ER model. My dust collector supposedly has 1 micron filter bags -- they are heavy felt bags -- but I think much of my dust has come from sanding where the dust collector is not used. (I have just built a downdraft sanding section on my assembly table using ideas from the Fold-Down Sanding Table article in the latest Tools and Shops issue of FWW. That seems to work well -- but that sanding dust is going into the DC where it may be blown back through the bags.)If I do duct clean air into the office -- does anyone know of a source for small duct type fans? Most of the ones I've seen on line look way too big -- or not available except through wholesale.Dave

1. 
   Midnight | Feb 19, 2005 06:06am | #10

   Dave..

   An obvious answer to cutting down the dust is simply not to make any... You say most is generated while sanding... quit sanding as far as possible; hand plane with a finish smoother instead. It'll give far better results without any dust.Mike Wallace

   Stay safe....Have fun

8. 
   sedna | Feb 18, 2005 10:49pm | #9

   I made an air filter from a used furnace fan. Just made a plywood housing for the fan (squirrel cage) and two premium furnace filters. It really blows a lot of air through it. In the summer, I may duct it to exhaust outside but for now it recirculates, so it doesn't lose heated air. I would think it pushes over double the air volume of some store bought units. I mounted it to the ceiling over my saw, so I don't bump my head on it, but that would not be a problem with a higher ceiling.

   This is in addition to a dust collector to suck up dust at each machine.
   Keith

   
   

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   Edited 2/18/2005 2:53 pm ET by Keith