Air Filter in lieu of vac system in small room?

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cyfan964

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I live in an older home and have just started turning. My "woodshop" is relegated to a 12' X 7' room that was actually the original coal room of the home. I only turn small items and don't make a lot of mess, but dust is still an issue. In a room this small I just can't justify spending the money on a vac system. Does anyone have any recommendations on a possible air filter that might do the job?

Thanks!
 
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cyfan964 said:
I live in an older home and have just started turning. My "woodshop" is relegated to a 12' X 7' room that was actually the original coal room of the home. I only turn small items and don't make a lot of mess, but dust is still an issue. In a room this small I just can't justify spending the money on a vac system. Does anyone have any recommendations on a possible air filter that might do the job?

Thanks!
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A few of my friends have the same problem and what they have done is to get an old furnace cabinet with just the fan in it. They can be found anywhere for free these days. Put it near where most of you sanding will be, this can also be ducted to location with some good filters in line before the fan. Most of these do have petty good CFM. But most of all wear good dust protection.

Lin.
 
Personally, I think that I would recommend a belt and suspenders approach. A small dust collector or shop vac to catch most of the dust and chips at the source and an air filter to catch the stuff that gets airbourne. You could use small filter system, budget allowing, or use an old furnace housing or even a box fan with a furnace filter attached.
 
An air filter and a dust collector are two different things. A DC captures the dust at the source, as you are making it. An air filter filters the air in your shop and removes the fine dust the DC did not capture.

When I started I took a 1 gallon milk jug and cut the bottom off. I stuck my shop vac hose into the top of the jug and stuck the open bottom as close as a could to my work. I used it for about 18 months when was I was only turning small items. It worked very well. It did not get everything but did get a lot of the dust and mess.

The size of your shop doesn't matter. You need something so you are not breathing all that sanding dust.
 
Ward --- it is the really fine particles that are hard to see in the air that are the most dangerous in your lungs. Those are hard to filter from the air, and because they are so small, get caught in your lungs and accumulate.

You are looking for effective filtration down to 1 micron size to avoid the long term health issues. It will take some money, but you and your health are worth the cost.

3M/Racal has an effective and expensive filtered air helmet with face shield. It has all kind of certifications and is designed for industrial usage.

Trend Airshield Pro has good effectiveness for half the price, but the user needs to be diligent with maintenance. The face shield is an effective one for moderate impacts.

There are half face respirators that with the correct cartridges, are good filters, but without face shield protection.


Go for good stuff that you know works for the fine particles.
 
Always best to remove the dust at the source, before it gets to your face, compared to clearing the dust from the entire room. Several new shop vacs do a wonderful job, down to really fine particles. Then an air cleaner can help.
 
Ward; Dust and chips are not the only thing you need protection from. The fumes from CA or other finishing materials should also be avoided. The air filtration system can only remove air born particles that are already in the air and your lungs. They also do not remove any chips that are generated by your turning, or fumes that come directly off your work piece into your face. They are great for removing air born dust in the air after the fact however. I think your best, and least expensive solution, would be a smaller wet/dry shop vac on wheels. The milk jug or lathe hood mounted behind your work, attached to the vac, will draw chips, dust, and fumes away from you. Now you have something that can easily be moved around your space and also used for other household tasks, plus cleaning the shop floor. ( Selling point for the wife to justify the purchase !! ) When I am doing small tasks, I don't want to run my large dust collector, so I have purchased several mid size wet/dry vacs to hook up to my machines instead. I also have several small Stanley vacs that are hooked to smaller machines like the belt sander and disc sander. At times I also use a box fan sitting on the floor and either blowing dust and fumes away from me, or filtering the air. Just purchase a furnace filter and set or tape to the fan so the air is sucked through it. Best and safest way is to eliminate the problem at it's source before it becomes air born. Mid size wet/dry vac should run you about $50 or less. A furnace filter another couple bucks. Problem solved !!! Jim S
 
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Thanks for the tips everyone! I'm currently running a box fan with a furnace filter... I'll get a shop vac for catching the large pieces and drawing fumes away... maybe look into a dc unit. Is there a relatively inexpensive respirator you would recommend? I'm using a cheap 3M N95 throw aways currently.
 
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