Dust collection - Im missing something important

[Frederick Skelly]

Hi guys. I dont use dust collection. Never had the desire. But I've noticed that more than half of the posts on this forum deal with dust collection. Which tells me I might be missing something important.

I use a good mask when sanding. I have a fan/filter box running near the ceiling most of the time to collect fine particles, and I talked to my high school buddy who is a pulmonologist about the risks. He felt the actions I was taking were appropriate and that I was ok without collecting at the source.

But you guys all spend valuable time and good money on dust collection. Could you please teach me about why?

Thank you.
Fred

[Jim Neeley]

Fred,

There's a REALLY good web site on this: www.billpentz.com

If you care about your health you'll spend a couple of hours reading there.. and then make up your own mind.

Bill explains why fan/filter boxes aren't *bad* if used correctly but don't really solve problems.

If you're using a high-grade dust mask all of the time in the shop (like a 3M or other respirator w/P100 filters) you may not need one but few of us want to wear a respirator 100% of the time.

[Stephen Cherry]

Lot's of machines won't run right without dust collection. For example my planer will clog up pretty quickly without the dust collection on.

[Greg Peterson]

Ideally, you want to capture the fines before they are released to the air in your shop. This however, is quite a trick given that most power equipment has fairly poor dust collection in the first place. Hence many of us have to modify our tools or invent devices that help corral the fines.

The fines are nasty little things.

[Jim Andrew]

I built houses for years, and didn't concern myself with dust, but when I set up this workshop, found it very helpful to use a dust system. Even to the point of hooking up my vac to my random orbit sander and belt sander.

[Jim German]

Without dust collection you need to use a good mask whenever you're in the shop, no matter what you are doing. All woodworking machines, not just sanders, produce a fairly large amount of fine dust. And without good dust collection that dust will just settle on the floor/tools/benches, and then when you next go back in the shop it will get kicked up. Without wearing a mask all the time, or having very good dust collection you will be inhaling a significant amount of wood dust particles.

However, that being said, how much dust you can handle without it causing you any health issues is a much more complicated question. Its going to vary tremendously depending on how much time you spend in the shop, what type of woods you use, and your own body. If you're only doing woodworking as a hobby, it might never cause you an issue. If you're doing it full time though, eventually you'll probably have some issues.

The other big thing with dust collection is that it makes for a much cleaner shop. Before I put my dust collector in I would have mounds of shavings from the planer/jointer on the floor for months. Everything else would get coated with a nice thick layer of sawdust pretty quickly as well.

[Jim Neeley]

Without dust collection you need to use a good mask whenever you're in the shop, no matter what you are doing. All woodworking machines, not just sanders, produce a fairly large amount of fine dust. And without good dust collection that dust will just settle on the floor/tools/benches, and then when you next go back in the shop it will get kicked up. Without wearing a mask all the time, or having very good dust collection you will be inhaling a significant amount of wood dust particles.

However, that being said, how much dust you can handle without it causing you any health issues is a much more complicated question. Its going to vary tremendously depending on how much time you spend in the shop, what type of woods you use, and your own body. If you're only doing woodworking as a hobby, it might never cause you an issue. If you're doing it full time though, eventually you'll probably have some issues.

The other issue (that may concern you or not) is that health problems and allergies are developed over time and, by the time they are identified, are either not reversable or require abstaining from the presence of the irritant (no woodworking). Like car insurance, they do not make economic sense unless or until you have a problem. Unlike car insurance, they help you avoid the initial problem. The downside is that if you do it right, you will never see how much you've saved, since you (following the analogy) you "avoided the wreck".

There's just a number of us that enjoy our woodworking sufficiently (and love our good health enough) that we choose to invest in DC-ers to reduce our risk.

[Albert Lee]

I think it is equally important for one to have quality dust extration AND quality mask if you want to look after yourself and your machine, dust on the floor is a hazard too.

[Paul Wunder]

I agree with the preceding posters and would like to add that both of my Pulmonologists (not at the same time) advised me that simple ceiling air filtration is insufficient and recommended more extensive dust collection of fine particles. One doctor was the head of Pulmonary Medicine at Albert Einstein Medical School and Hospital and the other is the head of Pulmonary at Yale Medical School and Yale New Haven Hospital.

You don't say whether you are alone in your home or you have a significant other and possibly some children. Their risk levels shou;ld also be considered.

[Frederick Skelly]

Thank you guys. I appreciate the feedback. Sounds like I need to go read the materials Jim linked to and do some serious thinking. I started looking at those last evening and he refers to detectors one can buy to determine air quality (particle count?). I may need to buy one (if theyre affordable) and convince myself with data on my own personal shop has a problem.

I'll start reading and follow-up with you if I have questions. Once again, thank you!
Fred

[Jim Neeley]

Fred,

Search "Dylos meter" on Amazon. I got one a couple of years ago and they were by far the best deal out there. About $200 to document you've got a problem but also to measure the amount of improvement different approaches you try to lower the numbers really work.

I also found it interesting that sometimes I had better air inside my shop than outside, up until I started working with my power tools. It's also been an influence on my increased use of hand tools where the results are somewhat comparable in time and effort.

Jim

[Frederick Skelly]

Thanks for the lead, Jim. Much appreciated.

Yeah, hand tools crossed my mind too. And you just know what our Neader buddies would say. ; )

Fred

[Mike Henderson]

Even with my dust collection system, I get dust in the shop. Seems that the collection on the tool just doesn't get it all.

Mike

[Paul Wunder]

Fred,

If you consider the Dylos meter, get the one that measures the small .5 microns with more accuracy. They make two versions. The more expensive one (about $250) will be more beneficial, I believe, in a woodworking shop. And yes, with my cyclone, JDS air filter, and generally paying attention to dust, my basement shop's air is cleaner (according to the Dylos) than our upstairs.....most of the times.

[Leo Graywacz]

When I first started in woodworking I was under someone elses employ. We had a dust collector for the planer and nothing else. But it wasn't to bad because we used a lot of hand tools because we were an 18th century reproduction shop. The next shop had better dust collection. At all machines, but not for sanders.

Then after a while I went on my own and was in a small 3 car garage. I had a single bag 1 1/2 HP collector for all my machines that I had to move around and connect to the machine when used. That only worked if I connected it, which I didn't do a lot of times.

Then I moved into my own shop. I brought the collector and again didn't use it much but for the planer, because it needed it. I bought a JDS 750R air cleaner and that helped, but it was only cleaning after the fact. When I sanded there was a cloud in the shop. The JDS took care of it after a while, but I was in that cloud.

No dust collection made a lot of extra work for me. Cleaning out the packed tablesaw. The piles of chips at the jointer, the dust over everything. It all takes time to clean up and effort.

One of the best purchases I ever did for myself was to get dust collection. I got a 2 1/2HP cyclone. It is hooked up to all of my machines. It has a remote control and all the machines have blast gates. I turn the collector 95% of the time a tool goes on. No more packed machines. The dust no longer infiltrated my shop. Oh, don't get me wrong, it didn't get it all. But picking up 95%+ was so much better than before.

Then I picked up a Ceros sander and a Fein dust extractor. Another life changing purchase. No more clouds of dust in the air. I barely needed the air cleaner anymore. It was getting that good.

Now the only problem I really had left was routers and the dust from off the tip of the tablesaw blade. Just recently I got an Excalibur overarm collector. This pretty much completed my dust collection trifecta. That tabletop collector was the last thing I needed to do to keep the shop clean.

But I still have one area to complete. And I doubt I'll ever get it resolved. The chips off my hand held routers. I have a Festool 1400 but hate having a hose connected to it. I see it almost dangerous because it can snag.

So I would suggest you think of getting setup for collection. I am sooooooo much happier in my shop now.

[Robert Delhommer Sr]

And I bet your lungs also thank you! :)

When I first started in woodworking I was under someone elses employ. We had a dust collector for the planer and nothing else. But it wasn't to bad because we used a lot of hand tools because we were an 18th century reproduction shop. The next shop had better dust collection. At all machines, but not for sanders.

Then after a while I went on my own and was in a small 3 car garage. I had a single bag 1 1/2 HP collector for all my machines that I had to move around and connect to the machine when used. That only worked if I connected it, which I didn't do a lot of times.

Then I moved into my own shop. I brought the collector and again didn't use it much but for the planer, because it needed it. I bought a JDS 750R air cleaner and that helped, but it was only cleaning after the fact. When I sanded there was a cloud in the shop. The JDS took care of it after a while, but I was in that cloud.

No dust collection made a lot of extra work for me. Cleaning out the packed tablesaw. The piles of chips at the jointer, the dust over everything. It all takes time to clean up and effort.

One of the best purchases I ever did for myself was to get dust collection. I got a 2 1/2HP cyclone. It is hooked up to all of my machines. It has a remote control and all the machines have blast gates. I turn the collector 95% of the time a tool goes on. No more packed machines. The dust no longer infiltrated my shop. Oh, don't get me wrong, it didn't get it all. But picking up 95%+ was so much better than before.

Then I picked up a Ceros sander and a Fein dust extractor. Another life changing purchase. No more clouds of dust in the air. I barely needed the air cleaner anymore. It was getting that good.

Now the only problem I really had left was routers and the dust from off the tip of the tablesaw blade. Just recently I got an Excalibur overarm collector. This pretty much completed my dust collection trifecta. That tabletop collector was the last thing I needed to do to keep the shop clean.

But I still have one area to complete. And I doubt I'll ever get it resolved. The chips off my hand held routers. I have a Festool 1400 but hate having a hose connected to it. I see it almost dangerous because it can snag.

So I would suggest you think of getting setup for collection. I am sooooooo much happier in my shop now.

[Leo Graywacz]

I've really never had a problem with dust. On rare occasions I'll let out a cough or two, but it really needs to be a full circus cloud in there. Now that rarely happens.

But I'm sure my lungs appreciate it.

[Howard Acheson]

>>>> I use a good mask when sanding.

That is the key element. If you have a proper, good fitting mask, you can work inside a cloud of dust with little or no danger. Neither a dust collector or a dust filter will protect you as well as a dust mask.

[Jim Neeley]

>>>> I use a good mask when sanding.

That is the key element. If you have a proper, good fitting mask, you can work inside a cloud of dust with little or no danger. Neither a dust collector or a dust filter will protect you as well as a dust mask.

I pretty much agree with you Howie... although if you care, the moisture in your eyes are still filtering the fines out of the air and can lead to their own allergies. This, of course, can be addressed with a full-face respirator. Before long you can start to feel like the boy in a plastic bubble.. or you can eradicate the lions share of the problem where it is created.

Choices, choices, choices... :-)

[David C. Roseman]

[snip]
I use a good mask when sanding. I have a fan/filter box running near the ceiling most of the time to collect fine particles...[snip]

Fred, don't know how big your shop is, but you really don't have to spend a lot of time and money to have at-the-source dust collection for your bench tools and main work stations. The Bill Pentz site is terrific, but like some of the advanced discussion you've seen on SMC on the nuances of high-efficiency system building, it can be a bit daunting from information overload. :) For the most efficient system, sure, but you don't have to get too far into the weeds to come up with a system that will make a big difference in your shop. The way I look at it, if you have the basic do-it-yourself skills that I'm sure you have as a woodworker, and can afford $200 to $400 for a basic two or four bag dust collector, and another $200 to $300 in materials, it's not a question of why collect at the source, but why the heck not.

But here are a few reasons that come to mind to supplement what's already been mentioned.

1. Unless your practice is to turn out the lights and leave your shop as soon as you're done sanding, you're breathing many lungfuls of fines before they settle onto surrounding surfaces or hit the ambient air filter. The fines are the most dangerous dust of all. Then, once they settle, they need to be vacuumed or swept up. If you're using a shop vac with a standard filter for that, you're again stirring them up.

2. If anyone else walks into your shop (family, friends), they too are exposed to suspended dust.

3. Do you have pets? Last thing I want is for our dogs and cat to be tracking through, lying in, or worse, any more sawdust and chips on the floor than need to be there!

4. Airborne dust and chips that settle on your hair and clothes inevitably hitchhike along to your living space when you leave the shop. There's a lot less of that when collected at the source.

5. Any of your shop machines that don't have totally enclosed motors are happier if they're innards aren't exposed to excess sawdust.

6. If you work with certain exotics from time to time, and even some native species, mere contact of exposed skin with the dust and chips can produce irritation. Your respirator won't help with that. You probably know this, but for many folks, the sensitivity can become more acute with each exposure.

7. As mentioned in other posts, many basic machines perform better when chips and sawdust are cleared at the source. Planers and jointers, for sure, as well as disc, belt, edge, drum, spindle and thickness sanders, drill presses, mortisers, shapers, router tables, table saws, cut-off saws, radial arm saws.

8. Your ambient air filter will have an easier time doing its job, and you'll be cleaning its filters less often.

9. If you do any finishing in your shop, even with user-friendly wipe-on finishes, the more dust-free the better.

10. Clean-up for me would take much longer without collection at the source. Some woodworkers don't mine lots of sawdust and shavings around until the end of the session or beyond. I'm the opposite.

David

[Frederick Skelly]

Thanks guys. Youve given me even more to think about. I appreciate the viewpoints and the details of your experiences.

As David predicted, I AM feeling somewhat overwhelmed at this moment. A $400 shop vac from Fein, a $1500 system from one of the companies that uses Mr. Pentz' design, permanent ducting to "encourage" me to actually use the system. (Leo wisely pointed out he only used his system sometimes when he had a non-permanent system.) Problem is I really dont want all that ducting because my shops in a garage. And then, I keep thinking that I do all this work and spend all this money instead of actually working wood. Sigh.

Youll all laugh at me, but theres something satisfying in sweeping up the shop after a quiet day of building something. Maybe its a closure thing. Dont know.

But I keep asking myself - "but whats your HEALTH worth, Freddy boy?" And from that viewpoint it begins to look like a mandatory purchase - a "pay me now or pay me later" kind of thing. It sure sounds that way from Pentz' site.

So yeah, if I could build something effective for $ 600-800 like David suggests, I can whine a bit about what Ill have to postpone buying and just go buy the parts and build it. If it takes $2-3000 AND permanent ducting, I might have to live with upgrading my mask to the top of the line and start wearing it every minute Im in the garage. Every minute's going to suck. (Pardon the pun.)

Decisions, decisions, huh?

So I borrowed a copy of "Dust Control Made Simple" by Sandor Nagyz- today and Ill start working my way through it. If one of you can steer me to a SMC thread that describes how to build an effective system like David described for $800, I'd appreciate it.

Im going to sort all this out and move forward on something. Just a bit sticker shocked now, and not smart enough yet. I really do thank you guys for all the assistance.

Fred

[Leo Graywacz]

I do this for a living. And sweeping up at the end of the day makes me no money. As a matter of fact anything that I don't have to clean at the end of the day is something that makes me money easier.

[Frederick Skelly]

I sure understand that Leo. Theres a world of difference in my doing it to relax and you doing it to feed your family, sir. Even if we both love it, your time is money.
Fred

[Stanley Powers]

Get yourself a Dylos particle meter (or comparable one) before setting up your dust collection devices. Will tell you what and if you need collection equipment. You can spend a lot of dust collection and really not know how effective it really is!

[Greg Peterson]

Frederick - I bought a Harbor Freight DC unit for around $150 or so. I purchased a cartridge filter for $125~ and a 5" x 20' flex hose, both from Wynn Environmental. I installed a Thein baffle (made out of some scrap plywood).

I use a 4" reducer on the tool side of 10' section of the 5' flex hose. The inlet size on the DC unit is 5". So, save for about 12", the run is 5". I think this helps the fan breathe better.

I also use a Dylos particle counter, which was around $120, I think. I was able to get in on a group buy here at SMC. Perhaps another group buy will get started. I find myself looking at it frequently.

Single most expensive DC equipment I purchased was the Jet ambient air cleaner. Got it on sale for a little over $300. I've since installed a Wynn Environmental sock filter. The Dylos unit indicates the Wynn filter performs better than the stock filter did. Particle count drops from spikes quicker, and average counts are lower.

For my shop vac, I went with the Ridgid brand with the SNR feature. I would not say this shop vac is quiet, but the SNR reduces the irritating and fatiguing high pitched noise normally associated with shop vacs. I also use a Dust Deputy as this mainly prevents cleaning the filter every five minutes. I use a CleanStream HEPA filter on the shop vac.

There were many steps to get to where I am now, but I have no regrets.

You will likely find the biggest challenge resides in collecting the fines at the source of creation. Here, you have to put on your thinking hat if you can not find a commercially available solution or a shop made solution shared here at SMC.

For the sake of discussion, here are some of my DC solutions:

Drill Press table incorporates a down draft table. Also use a hood that gets positioned by the bit.

Router is enclosed in a box which the DC connects to, and the fence allows me to connect the shop vac. Not perfect, but does a fair job of controlling an otherwise messy tool.

Cross cut sled with DC. Have modified it since this picture so that it now has DC for both above and below the blade. The skirt on the shroud hugs the work piece and while keeping chips and dust corralled for the DC.

And the last one is a finger joint jig. Works excellent for chip and dust collection on the back side of the work piece, but still get a bit of dust from the outward facing side of the work piece. Have not given this one much thought until lately.

Not pictured is the DC solution I applied to my old 6" Delta jointer. This was by far the most complicated fabrication to date. Retro fitting a jointer that did not have DC in mind threw me for a loop. But it works well. Sorry, no pics of this. All the good stuff is inside and it's all back together, hopefully for the last time.

[Andrew Joiner]

I'm a lot like you Frederick. I started this thread out of curiosity http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?195397-How-Often-do-you-Sweep-your-Shop. Knowing that many of the respondents to the thread have good dust collection helped me learn how much dust gets missed/collected.

I'm happy with a broom ,open windows, a fan and a shop vac. I do wear a good mask some times. This is way more protection than I ever had working for years in commercial shops.
I did put a shop vac on my planer and it saves me a few minutes a month of sweeping in that corner of the shop. I use a shop vac to collect the dust off the top of the blade on my table saw most of the time.

I'm an all or nothing guy and a perfectionist. My concern is if I put in dust collection and it doesn't get all the dust, it'll drive me crazy. I do woodworking for fun.

I'd have to say I'm 90% satisfied with the primitive things I do now. If I got into real dust collection I don't think I'd ever be satisfied.

[Jim Neeley]

Greg,

I'm in the process of replacing my work-out crosscut sleds with a few new ones of different sizes and hadn't considered adding DC to the clear guard on top; great idea!

What did you use for the skirting? They look like wide brafting brushes.

Jim

[Frederick Skelly]

Thanks guys. Today, I verified that the cartridges in my mask are P100 (get most of the bad stuff) and Im going to order a clean stream filter for the shop vac - I should have that regardless. Im going to order a Dylos this week. When I get it Ill figure out what baseline measurements to take.

Then, Ill try something easy, like vacuuming the floor instead of sweeping and take more measurements. The, try the shop vac on my CMS and take more measurements. Its a start.

I dont think Im willing to do what it'll take to get the dust to meet OSHA standards - not sure thats even possible with hobbyist quality equipment - but I can definitely reduce the particulate level with some of the suggestions you guys have given plus those in the Sandor Nagy- book. And its a chance to learn something new, right?

Thanks for all your help, advice and patience guys!
Fred

[Greg Peterson]

Jim - Just strips of 3M Scotch Brite. I cut a vertical slit about every half inch so that it conformed to the work piece better. The material is stiff enough so that it doesn't get sucked in, leaving an opening for debris to fly out. And, given its porous nature, it allows some air to flow through it. And of course, it is very inexpensive.

[Robert Payne]

I do not see dust collection as a "housekeeping" issue, but in my humble opinion, it is a key health and safety issue that should not be ignored. I had a talented woodworking colleague whose premature death was 100% attributable to his failure to address anything about collecting the fine dust he produced n his shop and he died of acute respiratory failure after years of breathing the dust he produced while making countless pieces of heirloom quality furniture, mostly from Black Walnut. He did his daily shop sweepng, but had no dust collector or air filtration system to guard against the fine dust he produced from his work. I met him a few years before he died and was impressed with his immense talent (he made period furniture, including several tall case clocks, carved four-poster beds, a few Queen Anne Highboys, several dining room tables and more). But I also asked him about the lack of dust collection in his shop and he repled that he didn't like the added nose. And he didn't wear an adeqate dust mask when sanding either. Sadly, his wfe (who worked with me at my day job) was oblivious to his fate until he fell sick.

Even if you do not capture all the dust (we never can!), you must pay attention to the risks involved -- a dust collector is an essential piece of shop gear that should be among the first priority Personal Protection devices you acquire and use faithfully along with safety glasses, quality sound protection earwear (I use Peltor earmuffs) and a high efficiency cartridge-style dust mask (not the dsposable paper carpentry masks). Chips from your planer of jointer are easiest to deal wth, but to capture the fine particulates generated by many tools (like a belt, drum or random orbit sander, a tablesaw and a router), you must capture the dust at the source and filter the exhaust air after the collector. I am not a proponent of shop air filters since any of the fine airborne dust they collect is getting to your breathing space first if it has not been captured. A Dylos monitor will prove my points. Do yourself and your family a service -- get a decent dust collector with 0.5 micron canister filters. I have good tools in my shop and I bought a high quality cyclone (a ClearVue CV-1800) to help insure that I don't succumb to the same fate as my colleague. To me, it was worth every penny.

By the way, I'm 71 and have been woodworking safely for more than 50 years.

[Phil Thien]

I am not a proponent of shop air filters since any of the fine airborne dust they collect is getting to your breathing space first if it has not been captured. A Dylos monitor will prove my points.

No dust collector will capture 100% of the dust. Some tools have poorly thought-out hoods/shrouds, and there are times when we all use a piece of folded-over sandpaper to knock edges off.

The purpose of the air filter is to get what the dust collector cannot.

Yes, it is true that you're breathing the same air the filter is scrubbing. BUT, it is "breathing" and cleaning it 1000x faster than you.

Shops with air filters have cleaner air than shops without.

[Jim Neeley]

No dust collector will capture 100% of the dust. Some tools have poorly thought-out hoods/shrouds, and there are times when we all use a piece of folded-over sandpaper to knock edges off.

The purpose of the air filter is to get what the dust collector cannot.

Yes, it is true that you're breathing the same air the filter is scrubbing. BUT, it is "breathing" and cleaning it 1000x faster than you.

Shops with air filters have cleaner air than shops without.

I agree, Phil, with one caveat.. Shops with air filters WITH GOOD FILTER ELEMENTS have cleaner air. I've seen those using (for example) a furnace filter that serve as better "dust pumps" than filters. :)

Jim

[Greg Peterson]

Even if you do not capture all the dust (we never can!)...

I am not a proponent of shop air filters since any of the fine airborne dust they collect is getting to your breathing space first if it has not been captured. A Dylos monitor will prove my points.

Capturing the fines is tricky at best, if not virtually impossible on some cuts. Given this reality, an ambient air cleaner is an essential tool for scrubbing the air quickly and effectively. It is certainly not a first line of defense, but rather should be considered as ancillary to an overall effective dust collection strategy.

Given the experimental nature of creating dust hoods and tool specific DC solutions, without the Dylos unit, or a comparable device, measuring the effectiveness of DC solutions is impossible.

[Robert Payne]

Because of some posts above, let me add a key comment to clarify a sentence my earlier post in this thread where I said:
I am not a proponent of shop air filters since any of the fine airborne dust they collect is getting to your breathing space first if it has not been captured.
I recommended the use of an OSHA-certified dust mask as the primary means to capture the fine dust that escapes even the best duct collecting ports or methods versus using a shop air filter for that purpose. I agree that a shop air filter is a great asset, but it should be used as a secondary means to collect that fine dust to get it out of the air space so it does not recirculate after the user removes his personal protection mask. Keeping the shop cleaner with a shop ar filter unit on a regular basis is a better solution that donning one's dust mask acassionaly and attacking the accumulated fines with a leaf blower and blowing the debris out an open window or door. As such, I see the shop air filter as a piece of housekeeping apparatus more than as a safety measure.

[Ole Anderson]

One thing to keep in mind is that effects of breathing dust can be cumulative until at some time all of a sudden, boom, you have an allergic reaction to some type of wood dust. I am trying to keep that from happening now as I wasn't so careful during my previous 30 years of hobbyist level woodworking. So I went with a central dust collection system, an ambient air cleaner and a mask when the two other items might be ineffective. And yes, you will still get dust on the floor, but your air will be much cleaner than before and your lungs will thank you. And there is a great satisfaction when you empty the bag and dump 30 gallons of accumulated dust that you collected with your system. Just be sure to wear a mask when you empty that bag.

[Gordon Eyre]

I am not a fan of wearing a mask and would probably quit woodworking if I had to. For that reason I installed a dust collector and also use a shop vac on my hand held sanders. I don't get all paranoid about dust but do like my dust collector and the fact that it collects at the source and deposits the dust and chips in a can for me. It is much simpler to take out the can every so often than it would be to sweep up all of that myself. A dust collector is money well spent in my opinion. If you would like to see my setup just go to my profile page here on SMC.

[Jim Neeley]

Thanks guys. Today, I verified that the cartridges in my mask are P100 (get most of the bad stuff) and Im going to order a clean stream filter for the shop vac - I should have that regardless. Im going to order a Dylos this week. When I get it Ill figure out what baseline measurements to take.


Fred,

You're probably all over this but for any who may just be learning about DC and respirators, while a P100 filter does a pretty darmed good job of collecting dust it does little to protect you from organic vapors when you are applying finish on your projects, especially if spraying. The filter will capture the dried particles but will not absorb the toxics that evaporate from solvent-based finishes.

For anyone who has never previously used an organic filter on a respirator, the first time you wear one it's pretty amazing. My first time I was applying oil-based polyurethane in a cabinet, about 36" tall x 24" wide x 28" deep with a brush. As you can imagine, without a respirator you're pretty much huffing the solvents. Wearing the fresh cartridge, however, removed the toxics to at least the level I could no longer detect the smell of them. I had quite an awakening when, after completing the finishing and moving several feet back from the cabinet, i remived the respirator and was about knocked over from the strength of the solvents... which weren't detectable moments earlier.

Just my $0.02.. YMMV.

Jim