Respirators & Air Filtration

seajay62 · Post by **seajay62** » Mon Sep 22, 2008 11:02 pm

I have noticed in recent times that when I do a lot of sanding or scroll sawing I come away from the shop with a bad taste and sometimes some real irratation in my nostrils and throat.

I began reading Sandor Nagyszalanczy's book entitled "Woodshop Dust Control." So in addition to using my shop vac, I am considering an overhead air filtration device and using a respirator.

What do you do to keep your lungs clean? A DC at the tool is one step but what else, if anything, do you do to? Does anyone use an overhead filtration unit? If so, what unit do you have and how satisfied are you with that unit? What about a respirator? I have seen Chris's avatar and have sent him a private message asking him about his respirator. I am interested in finding out how comfortable your respirator is and how satisfied you are with it?

Like so many of you, I enjoy working in the shop and I don't want to give up that time so any help in this search would be appreciated.

a1gutterman · Post by **a1gutterman** » Mon Sep 22, 2008 11:05 pm

I have a respirator; all I have to do is remember to use it.

cincinnati · Post by **cincinnati** » Mon Sep 22, 2008 11:36 pm

I have this unit from Sears

http://www.sears.com/shc/s/p_10153_12605_00971453000P

It is lite weight and seems to work well for woodworking. Not as bulky as the twin filter units. If you read the reviews on Amazon some say the mask is too small for them. I thought that also when I first got it. But unlike a twin filter unit that seals under your chin this one seals between your lower lip and chin. Fits very well once you figure this out.

As far as the over head air cleaners. I have the Delta unit and it works good but I am a believer that they are for use AFTER you close your shop for the day. The way they work is the large blower keeps the the fine dust particals in the air so the cleaner can pick them up. Dust blowing around the shop is exactly what you do not need. Best to capture the dust at the source with a dust collector.

charlese · Post by **charlese** » Tue Sep 23, 2008 2:40 am

seajay62 wrote:I have noticed in recent times that when I do a lot of sanding or scroll sawing I come away from the shop with a bad taste and sometimes some real irritation in my nostrils and throat.

I began reading Sandor Nagyszalanczy's book entitled "Woodshop Dust Control." So in addition to using my shop vac, I am considering an overhead air filtration device and using a respirator...

My first recommendation is to get rid of the shop vac, and buy a dust collector. The Shopsmith DC 3300 with the large hood is a good unit. You would be better served by stopping the source of your irritation. Respirators only treat the secondary symptoms of the hazard, they don't get rid of the hazard (fine dust), only the risk (inhaling the stuff). They are very good secondary precautions, but first you need to stop the source.

Respirators are good for the lungs and throat, but what about eyes and ears. You need to get rid of the fine dust especially the small stuff you can't see. My guess is - your shop vac just isn't doing this job for you.

As far as air cleaners - one of the woodworking magazines in the past year or so, tested (compared) commercially available shop air cleaners. They also compared one of those square floor fans in a wood box with a HEPA furnace filter on the intake side. Surprisingly, the home made filter proved to be just as effective in cleaning the air as the commercially built ones.

Sarcastically, you can always chew tobacco. Although it has it's own hazards, it'll help keep your mouth shut! Although, that might be hard to do while wearing a respirator.

regnar · Post by **regnar** » Tue Sep 23, 2008 8:25 am

Wood dust is extremely bad for you. If your having a bad taste in your mouth then you collection is not working as good as it should. The problem with shop vacs is they usually put the fine dust right back into the air unless you use a Hepa filter. Bill Penz has done a lot of research about dust collection that you might want to read as well. He includes plans on how to build your own cyclone. I cannot say I have built a cyclone at this time but one is in the works. I am making a smaller one to hook up to my rigid shop vac. If you have a popular shop vac you could always hook a hose up to the exhaust and pump it outside your shop. Rigid right now has a dust collect setup for shop vacs at HD that is going for 30 bucks.

Here is the link to Bills site. I personally consider it a must read. http://billpentz.com/woodworking/cyclon ... yTable.cfm

You might want to check this out aswell http://www.envirosafetyproducts.com/pro ... d-pro.html

putttn · Post by **putttn** » Tue Sep 23, 2008 8:36 am

I have the Festool system and find that with the sander/dust extractor I literally have to wipe my hand over the wood to get any dust and there is so little even my clean/nic wife is amazed. I think it might be less expensive and more productive to take a look at their systems. Not cheap but in the long run maybe something to seriously consider if you are bothered with dust. Down to .3 micron filtration with the CT22 & CT33.
I purchased mine at Woodcraft and they have all the Festools there to demo.

8iowa · Post by **8iowa** » Tue Sep 23, 2008 10:04 am

I have a Fein Turbo II shop vac that connects to an inexpensive Black & Decker 1/4 page orbital sander. The sander comes with a plate to punch 5 holes through the sandpaper and I'm amazed at how effectively the system sucks up the snading dust. I also have a Festool 400 sander but have not yet been able to find a means to connect it to the Fein. The Fein and Festool vacs are expensive, but are much quieter operating and are more effective in keeping the dust from returning to the ambient air.

I've also hung an air filtration system on the ceiling and this gets any small particles of dust left in the air.

dusty · Post by **dusty** » Tue Sep 23, 2008 10:58 am

I work under cover in a very open space. I have a 20' overhead door on one side and three open windows on another side.

Will all of these solutions that are being discussed here work equally well in my wide open shop or are they designed more to handle the air in a closed area like a basement shop?

I have a DC3300 and I use it constantly but I am not certain that it is really doing anything to further improve my air quality. Can it be better than the open air in any specific locale?

curiousgeorge · Post by **curiousgeorge** » Tue Sep 23, 2008 11:49 am

Dusty,
IMHO, if your shop is more or less open air all the time, all you need to add is a good exhaust fan to draw the dust away as well as keep you cooler. I figure if a DC isn't filtering to at least .5 micron or less they are only chip collectors, not dust collectors. A .5 micron DC is a good start towards clean shop air but you need to go one step further with an air filtration system of .1 microns or less to really protect your lungs. My reasoning being that it's hard to hook up a DC to a ros or other small dust producing tools and a shop vac (unless hepa filtered) just doesn't cut it for filtration.

Just my opinion and I'm sticking to it.

charlese · Post by **charlese** » Tue Sep 23, 2008 1:13 pm

Hi Joe (seajay), I noticed you joined the Forum a couple of months after some good discussions about using Shop Vacs for dust collection. Here is one of the threads discussing that issue. https://forum.shopsmith.com/viewtopic.php?t=1750

Recommend you read all three pages of it. Chris (crispitude) has done a bit of research into how to improve dust collection using a shop vacuum. I think you have to use the blower capabilities of the vac. Chris would know! What I know is, - if you use a shop vac suction side, the filter quickly gets plugged up Air movement slows dramatically and the machine blows out most, if not all of the dust back into the air.