Wood Allergies

[thostorey]

I’ve always had allergies….could fill a book on what causes them! Cocobolo, rosewood, and the like are nose-pluggers for sure! So, I have my four-inch DC hose mounted directly behind the chucked or mandreled (is there such a work as ‘mandreled? My speller doesn’t like it) workpiece. That seemed to be sufficient to keep the particles at bay; however, yesterday I turned a pen out of Lacewood. I was a little snuffy last night but I thought nothing of it. This morning I turned another. Bad move! Bring on the antihistamine! The moral of this story is: get and wear a respirator when turning unless you are sure you won’t have a reaction. Aint fun. Ahh…pass the Kleenex....ACHOOOOO!!!.

Tom

 

[woodwish]

I have some of the same problems, and I also use a 4" DC connected to a hood behind the work. I also wear a cheap dust mask when sanding, and sometimes put a small fan blowing the dust and chips away from me. I also have a ceiling mounted air cleaner not far away. Between all that I never (maybe very rarely is more exact) have any real problems. I can not stand to wear a respirator, had to wear one at work for too long for me to voluntarily put one on now. I do know from talking with my doctor that environmental allergies, such as wood dust, get worse with age. I am hoping that technology will grow faster than my allergies. I have also learned to like woods that don't affect me.

Ray

 

[ilikewood]

I have allergies to almost everything...except wood. Just lucky I guess. One wood that is VERY dangerous is Chechen. This wood is called poison wood by the locals for a reason. The layer just under the bark contains a toxin that is similar in effect to poison ivy. Some people it will never affect, but those like me will spend alot of time at the docs office getting this one fixed.[]

 

[penhead]

Speaking of DC's..I just built a small shop finished this summer, so far have just been opening the double doors and using a nice strong fan behind me and blowing out the open door..however, it's starting to get a bit on the chilly side here in VA, and I am starting to think I need to start seriously thinking about a DC that would be my Primary DC (PDC) and move the fan to a Backup (BDC) condition.

Any suggestions on good, better, best of the DC's available..

Thanks,
JohnPayton

 

[Doghouse]

Oh, please do not start this discussion... []

OK, Best DC is the one that you can afford to purchase. I would recommend a canister or cyclone if it is in your budget.

Personally I am using the HF 2hp DC (sounds like computer lingo) It works very well and with upgraded bags, works for most situations. Are there better? Yup cyclones and canisters work a lot better. Stronger motors also help. Buying what you can afford and will use is the most important.

(sorry I have been in the recent wars on woodnet over DC's please keep it to facts and related information.)

 

[C_Ludwigsen]

"...please keep it to facts and related information"

Good advice, John.

I have the Shopsmith DC with the fabric bag on top and the collector bag on bottom. I've never been happy with it collecting dust or particles from the lathe. Maybe the problem is the 2-1/2" collection hose. Maybe it is the motor strength. And maybe it is the CFM of the whole combination.

What I'm building now is a multi-purpose air filter/circulator/collector.

I got the idea based on one that I saw in the shop of our club's president. It is basically a box on casters that contains a furnace blower and 3 stacked filters (general purpose, dust, and Filtrete). His had a "periscope" build onto it with a 6" high by 20" wide opening at lathe height. I was very impressed with how well it drew dust in from the lathe even when it was sitting about 20" away. My DC can't do that gould when it is 6" away.

So I'm building the base of mine as one unit, but varying the collector configurations. There will be a similar "periscope" for the lathe. Removing that and exposing the full face of the filters will allow it to function as a shop air filter/circulator. A short "stack" collector will provide the basis for a mated down-draft sanding table. You just wheel it in place, lock it in position and turn it on.

I've got the bottom, top, and sides of the basic blower/filter box cut with dados for assembly. I also have the wiring harness and switch controls assembled (low, medium, and "hold on to your tools"). I have to pick up some more plywood for the endpiece and stack. With that, I'll have 2 of the configurations done and only the sanding table to work on over time.

I'll submit pics when I have it complete.

 

[penhead]

Sorry you are correct...shouldn't have asked...didn't mean to start a discussion on this listserver []

And what is the URL of that other list you are speaking of...sounds like an [interesting?] discussion on DC's..?

Thanks,
JohnPayton

 

[wayneis]

Its like a lot of items that we just have to have. You buy the best that you can afford at that time and plan on not being satisfied because unless your pocketbook is nice and fat you will not have the money for the best. Sometimes we learn to live with it, and sometimes we upgrade at a later date.

Myself, I have a Delta DC and I upgraded the bags and it seems to work fine for me. My only problem is with my tablesaw but its a Delta contractors saw and unless I want to spend big bucks, which I'm not presently in a position to do, then I'm kinda stuck. The way I look at my problem is that I either have to buy a new Cabnet style saw or buy a strong cyclone DC thats strong enough to overide all of the gaps and cracks in a contractors type saw. I don't think that I have been to helpfull now have I?

Wayne

 

[woodspinner]

If your outside temps do not get to bad, as here in AZ., and you live away from other homes just vent outside. This takes care of all particle sizes.

Good turning and be safe
Bill

 

[William Young]

Wayne,... seeing as we're off topic.. But then we do need a table saw for milling some rough sawn wood down to pen blank size dont we..
Regarding your contractors table saw. Get your local tinsmith to make up one of these and make a zero clearance insert for the blade. Cover most of the gaps anywhere else with cardboard and duct tape. (A few gaps are helpfull to draw the air through).
Hook your DC to the bottom and Bob's your uncle ;-)[]
My tinsmith charged me 50 bucks for this one and at the time I thought it was a terrible price. But it wasn't long before I realized it was one of the best 50 bucks I ever spent
W.Y.