Replies

1. 
   BG | Jan 13, 2005 03:26am | #1

   Fletch,

   My lathe is about 12-15' away.  There are three things you might want to consider which would all help...bu not cure.  First, I use a 20" box fan with filter right above the lathe, second, build a box of filters around the furnace, and, three, put a direct feed of fresh air fromthe outside to your furnace using 4" plastic pipe or dryer pipe so sucking in the ambient air by the furnace is lessened.   

    

1. 
   Steinmetz | Jan 13, 2005 06:31am | #3

   My former shop was in my garage BUT! it was ajacent
   to the furnace/ laundry room. (Which has a door.) I mostly never closed the door unless I needed a tool from a nest of bins attached to the garage side of it.I created 'Beaucoup' saw, metal and polishing dust
   (Never had a prob 37 yrs) You might consider
   building a closet around the unit,
   with a cut out area at the door's bottom
   sized to hold a furnace filter (Rewashable)Steinmetz

   Edited 1/12/2005 11:01 pm ET by steinmetz

2. 
   cherryjohn | Jan 13, 2005 04:11am | #2

   My lathe and furnace are in the same room in my shop about 10 ft apart.  I have a Miller forced hot air furnace.  If you are worried about a dust explosion , dont.  The amount of dust youd need to explode is so great that you would be dead on the floor from suffocation before that would happen.  The lathe causes dust when you sand on it so what I did is fabricate a chute out of a piece of metal hot air duct work and connected it to my Fein shop vac that has a heppa filter. The duct is set up so that it moves as I am sanding a piece so when I sand I get very little dust .

   Wicked Decent Woodworks

   Rochester NH

   " If the women dont find you handsome, they should at least find you handy........yessa!"

3. 
   CharlieP | Jan 13, 2005 07:15am | #4

   I would not worry about dust near a furnace - my garage shop is next to the gas hot water heater, and there are a lot of basement workshops next to the furnace.

   I would worry about any kind of exhaust - a window fan to get rid of paint fumes or a dust collector in another area.  When you pump air out, other air comes in from someplace, such as down the furnace/water heater chimney, sucking in the carbon monoxide and other fumes you were trying to vent. 

   ________________________
   Charlie Plesums  Austin, Texas
   http://www.plesums.com/wood

4. 
   forestgirl | Jan 13, 2005 07:17am | #5

   Good advice above re: the lathe.  One important thing:  Don't put any propane containers in that space.  (See Dennis, I listened)

   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" .... :>) 

1. 
   nikkiwood | Jan 13, 2005 10:39am | #6

   For those of you with forced air heating/cooling systems, does normal woodshop dust get into the system and blow around your house? Does the furnace filter catch all of this? How often do you have to change the filter -- say if you are using your shop every day?

1. 
   douglas2cats | Jan 13, 2005 03:37pm | #7

   My shop is in an unheated garage and I normally can't work on much from December thru February. The house is on a forced air system. One winter I decided there were some things I could do on a project inside that shouldn't cause any mess. So I set up a workmate in the laundry room and got down to business. I was doing some glue up, chisel and gouge paring, hand scraping, and the tiniest bit (I thought) of hand sanding. A couple weeks later I was upstairs and noticed quite a bit of dust on stuff (more than usual). So yeah, it does get into the system and the filter won't catch all of it.

     

   I love the smell of sawdust in the morning.

2. 
   BG | Jan 13, 2005 04:17pm | #8

   Nikkiwood,

   I had forced hot air system out in Indiana, now we have forced hot water, the issues are a bit different.  Either system needs air for combustion purposes and if the air is full of particulate matter the particles can effect performance...build up of ash electrical components, etc. 

   You can close all vents in the shop area, that will help.  An electronic air cleaner does a wonderful job...but it is on the cold air return side of the process and it needs to be cleaned also.  I'd change my filters in the system every week for a while and see how it goes...you'll will be notified if it's not working....  

3. 
   bones | Jan 13, 2005 04:35pm | #9

   I have Natural Gas heat and Hot water. I think the critical part is two fold. One, where your cold air return is, and secondly how much dust collection you do.  My shop is in my garage which is on the first floor. The washroom which has the furnace and hot water heater is right outside my shop door that enters the house. That door stays open to the house.  The dust collector does a good job of picking up most of the dust. I recently added a delta air filtration system to help out.  Together, they keep dust to a minimum.  My cold air return is on the second floor, and since I have stared back wood working  in the past year or so, I have not seen an increase in the time required to change the filter. The hot water heater has more of a problem collecting lint from the dryer than dust from the workshop.  I have not however sprayed a lot of finishes with a high VOC content.  When spring get's here, I hope to install a good exhaust fan (explosion proof) to vent fumes better in the garage. 

4. 
   JohnWW | Jan 13, 2005 08:02pm | #11

   Hot air systems are set up to draw air from the interior of the house, rewarm it, and then return it to the house, most people don't realize this.  Unless your garage space has a return air pick up, the furnace won't be able to draw dusty air directly from the shop, except through leaks, and circulate it into the house.  The furnace, unless it is a direct vent unit, will draw air from the interior of the garage and use it for combustion, but the exhaust and any dust it contains will go to the outdoors through the chimney.

   I thought that under most building codes it wasn't legal to have a furnace in a garage, a gasoline leak from a parked vehicle would lead to a house leveling explosion. 

   Personally I would never be comfortable having a car parked in the same building my family lived in, as an EMT I saw or heard about too many tragedies caused by explosions or carbon monoxide from attached garages, especially the ones that had living areas above the garage.

   John W.

    

1. 
   bones | Jan 13, 2005 09:39pm | #12

   "Personally I would never be comfortable having a car parked in the same building my family lived in, as an EMT I saw or heard about too many tragedies caused by explosions or carbon monoxide from attached garages, especially the ones that had living areas above the garage".

   Have you ever given me an idea! From now on, when the wife complains about not being able to park in the garage because of my wood working equipment, I can say, I'm just thinking of her safety!

1. 
   Steinmetz | Jan 14, 2005 07:35am | #13

   Bones,
   Owned a Four bedroom colonial home with attached garage (Under a large bedroom)
   From day one, 'till I sold the house; Never had a car in there. Three lathes, drillpress, Big table saw, Milling machine, Air compressor, Sand blast station, large buffing and polishing machine, 10" disc sander machine and a metal cutting band saw. 37 years of pure joy. Now, I live in a 2 bedroom condo with a few power tools. Oh, I forgot, MY wife of almost 50 years. I have access to my son's tool and die shop, so occasionally drop in to gawk at his C N C machines also today I brought in my 01 Impala and WE re lined the brakes
   Steinmetz

5. 
   BARRISTERBUILDER | Jan 13, 2005 06:59pm | #10

   Fletch:

   The following information should prove useful to you regarding your dust explosion concern.  But remember Explosion is not the only risk from wood dust.  Wood dust is flammable.  Accumulated wood dust in the shop can also be a fire hazard.  A spark or flame can ignite the wood dust that has settled in your shop far easier than causing an explosion.  Additionally, the far greater risk from wood dust is inhalation rather than explosion.

   You should have a good source of dust collection and you always use proper respirotory protection; not to mention a face shield with the lathe.

   Regarding the explosion risk:

   UNUSUAL FIRE AND EXPLOSION HAZARDS: Sawing, sanding or machining wood products can produce wood dust that can cause an explosive or combustion hazard. Auto Ignition Hazard: 400 – 500°F.

   PRECAUTIONARY MEASURES: If power tools are used, they should be equipped with a dust collector. If high dust levels are encountered, use an appropriate NIOSH designed dust mask. Avoid contact with eyes and skin. FIRST AID MEASURES IN CASE OF IRRITATION: In case of irritation, flush eyes or skin with water for at least 15 minutes.

   XIII. TOXICOLOGICAL INFORMATION

   WOOD DUST: Wood dust generated from sawing, sanding or machining this product may cause nasal dryness, irritation, coughing and sinusitis.(National Toxicology Program) and the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) classifies wood dust as a carcinogen to humans. The classifications are based on increased risk in the occurrences of adenocarcinomas of the nasal cavities and paranasal sinuses associated with exposure to wood dust.

   MSDS Armstrong Flooring Products Jan. 2004 http://www.armstrong.com/pdbupimages/2077113207.pdf

   Unusual Fire & Explosion Hazards: Wood products do not normally constitute an explosion hazard. Mechanical or abrasive activities which produce wood dust as a byproduct may present a severe explosion hazard if a dust cloud contacts an ignition source. Hot humid conditions may result in spontaneous combustion of accumulated wood dust. Partially burned or scorched wood dust can explode if dispersed in air. An airborne concentration of 40 grams of dust per cubic meter of air is frequently used as the LEL for wood dusts. http://www.clarkegroup.com/technology/msds/msds07.html

   Good Luck!