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Fine Dust Collection

2462 Views 9 Replies 9 Participants Last post by ajthomas5009, Jul 3, 2014

woodify

Discussion Starter · May 20, 2014 (Edited by Moderator)

I woodwork out of my garage (20ft x 23) which my wife parks our van in. I'm told I'm to build an open "mud room" area in the garage (bench, cubby holes to hang our coats, put shoes, a place for hats/mittens, etc). There is not enough space to close in the mud room area. I've been given notice that once the project is finished there will be no more cutting wood in the garage…as the dust will cover our stuff. Right now my only dust collection is a push broom and a small shop vac. I can cut outside for about 3 months before it gets cold again. I'd like to continue to cut wood in the garage year round. I'm thinking some dust collection is needed.

My questions is if I buy a dust collection system to collect dust at the tools and a unit to filter the garage air is it realistic to think I will be able to continue to cut wood in the garage (or would there be a noticeable layer of dust settling on our coats and shoes?)

This is what I looked at so far.

Dust Collector
http://www.kingcanada.com/Products.htm?CD=108&ID=896
$399 CDN

Air cleaner
http://www.kingcanada.com/Products.htm?CD=965&ID=72
$319 CDN

main tools are: Table saw, mitre saw, band saw, drill press, and
Used outside only: belt/disc sander.

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PLK

· #2 · May 20, 2014

Short answer, no. Your wife will not be happy.
Long answer : yes she can hang her coats in the garage while you work.

I work in a room that directly feeds a central air and heating unit. Every breath gets pulled through the entire house through my shop.

So for the short answer, no. Your wife will not be able to keep clothing outside at first. You will have no idea how to set up your tools or dust collection at first. You will need to play around with it.

Long answer, yes. Once you put in a real dc and filter you will even be able to breathe better. I work in a very small area. When I enter my shop, glasses go on and I flip 2 remote switches. One for light the other for the air cleaner ( mine is a jet) I leave a laptop in my shop at all times and have never had to wipe dust off it since I got my dust under control.

Dust collection is something I take very seriously, take a look at my shop. It's normally as clean as the photos depict.

P.S. For the wife, garage dirt dust isn't wood dust

Have a great night

Paul

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bondogaposis

· #3 · May 20, 2014

Time to build a shop.

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Iguana

· #4 · May 20, 2014

Hang a heavy-duty plastic curtain around the mud room area.

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squaretree

· #5 · May 21, 2014

I let my wife have dominion over the kitchen, living room, bedrooms, bathrooms, dining room…...but I draw the line at the doorway of my shop.

That said, you won't regret putting in good dc system. Do your homework and get the best unit you can afford.

good luck

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wapakfred

· #6 · May 21, 2014

There will be a significant reduction of the dust in the room with the equipment you linked. That said, I doubt you will get it all. The miter saw especially seems to escape all attempts to capture the dust. If you do something with hand held power tools, it will also escape the DC. By the time the ambient air cleaner gets its' it's already too late for your lungs and maybe some surfaces (that doesn't mean you shouldn't get one). You didn't include a vac on your list, maybe you have one, but it will be needed as well. It may meet your wife's criteria (or not), you'll have to try it and see. You need that DC equipment regardless of the outcome.

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KS_Sparky

· #7 · May 21, 2014

Funny how mud is OK, but dust is not! How about putting doors on her mud room cabinets? With the DC, I would think that any dust on her stuff would be minimized. Its a compromise, you're giving up part of your shop, she has to open a door to get her coat…but, everybody wins.

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bigblockyeti

· #8 · May 21, 2014

+1 to the plastic curtain idea. Also, the placement of the air cleaner relative to the area you're trying to keep clean can have an effect. That, as well as how far away the fine dust is being generated from where you're trying to keep clean.

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woodify

Discussion Starter · #9 · May 22, 2014

Thanks for the replies. Glad to know it's possible.
@Paul I think no dust on a laptop in the shop is a good measure.
@KS_Sparky: I like the door idea. I had been thinking about closing in the entire area but there is not enough space to do so. I think I'll try designing in a few doors on the cubby holes-now thinking "lockers".
Great input.

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ajthomas5009

· #10 · Jul 3, 2014

Sounds like it's time for a divorce or a new wife lmao. I had a similar standoff over the garage about a month ago. My old lady was arguing about not having room for bikes and patio stuff. I solved the problem by getting 100$ in construction lumber and built a storage attic in the garage now a bunch of junk no one has used in years is out of my way there's a corner for the bikes and patio stuff and I have more shop space than I had to start.

Take your situation and turn it into a win for everyone aswell. Put up some curtains or cheap doors, and get the D/C system you mention. The coats and shoes stay clean, the shop dust is reduced and your lungs get saved. The addition of curtains or doors should add a lil extra dust prevention your looking for. You could step it up another notch by taking about 100$ and buying a large plastic barrel off CL. Set up a baffle and vent it outside through the back of the garage. It will take about 30mins to set up and will get you the best DC possible with out spending 1K$ on a commercial cyclone system.

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