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plantagenon
28th July 2011, 07:07 PM
I looked at one of the older posts on building your own dust extractor using a plastic garbage bin. Its a great idea. I want to avoid breathing in fine dust from sanding on a wood lathe, particularly when using African Wenge. At the moment I am using a disposable 3 stage dusk mask I got from Bunnings. I also saw that Carbatec sell an economy battery powered dusk mask. Can anyone tell me what they are like or whether there are any better ideas.

Thanks

Ironwood
28th July 2011, 08:07 PM
Hi Plantagenon, I think dust masks are a last resort, dont get me wrong, there is nothing wrong with using them. Sometimes I use them myself when I need to. But I think it is better to collect the dust at the source, before it gets into the air you are breathing.

Have a bit of a read of this site Bill's Cyclone Dust Collection Research - Dust Collection Basics (http://billpentz.com/woodworking/cyclone/DCBasics.cfm)

I'm not trying to tell you to go out right away and build or buy a cyclone, but reading Bills great pages will give you some insight into the problems of collecting the dust, and of the dangers of breathing it in.
Any way of collecting the dust is better than none at all.

TTIT
28th July 2011, 11:32 PM
I hate having anything on my face/head so I use a 'big gulp' hood hooked up to the extractor while I'm sanding and get virtually no dust up the snoz at all. The other plus is there's less dust all over everything else as well so you don't end up breathing it in when you are just doing other stuff in the shed :shrug:

HazzaB
29th July 2011, 04:27 AM
Hey Plantagenon,

I have just built an extractor for my little lathe, using a 60litre Drum and a 12volt Blower Fan, and a few metres of Ducting, I will get some Pics together over the next couple of days and post them here.

HazzaB

plantagenon
29th July 2011, 08:35 AM
I'll look forward to seeing it HazzaB. Hopefully if its not too complicated I will try and build one myself. How long does the motor run if it is 12 volt (I assume battery)powered? I need something as the dust is getting to me. After reading about Wenge timber on Wikipedia I'm holding off using it until I get a dust extractor.

Drillit
29th July 2011, 10:26 AM
Hi,
Whatever extraction system you use, I would recommend that you use a mask as well. The trouble with the cheaper masks is that they arent 100% and more to the point they tend to fog your glasses. So as a user of the respirator, mine being the triton type, I think they are invaluable to ensure you dont suffer from the toxic effects of some/most woods when sanding. Hope this helps, Drillit.

sjm
29th July 2011, 10:33 AM
I'll look forward to seeing it HazzaB.
Likewise, I'd be interested as well.

Robomanic
29th July 2011, 11:27 AM
You definately want to collect at the source. Or at least blow it away from you if you are completeley out in the open. Taking the mask off and then having it still all through your clothes doesn't work.
I know it is a bit painful $ wise but you really need to factor in that cost as part of the setup. I use a 1hp dust extractor and although it does not filter out all the fine dust (I must keep the area well ventilated) at least it collects at the source pretty well and moves the problem away. 2hp would be better and I could not recommend using a shop vac unless you are prepaired to hold it right at where you are sanding.

NeilS
29th July 2011, 11:59 AM
I have just built an extractor for my little lathe, using .... a 12volt Blower Fan

My extractor system is driven by 415v - 3HP fan unit.

By my calculations (based on Pentz) it has just enough power to separate the fine dust particles (as distinct from visible dust) from the air I breathe.

While in the workshop I also use a positive pressure air filtered hood of my own design that has about six times the HEPA filter area of the commercial ones you can buy.

There is a dedicated dust extraction forum here (http://www.woodworkforums.com/f200/).

Stay healthy.
.

DoctorBobski
29th July 2011, 01:49 PM
I'm a big fan of the Dust Bee Gone mask paired with a big gulp hooked up to my dust extractor.

plantagenon
29th July 2011, 03:46 PM
I ordered an Economy Powered Dust Mask from Carbatec and bought a good pair of dust sealed goggles from Bunnings that will fit over my glasses. Only took one quick sand this afternoon before I got an eye full of dust and remembered I had forgotten to put the goggles on. They work well particular with glasses and don't fog up.

I will do a bit more research on an extraction system but as I am moving house in a few weeks I might hold off building one or buying one until then. I saw that Aldi has a double cyclone bag free vacuum cleaner on sale. Its a bit like a Dyson. I wonder if this could be used as an interim extraction system with the end of the hose fitted with a funnel and clamped at the back of the lathe. Any ideas?

Woodturnerjosh
29th July 2011, 04:03 PM
Hi Plantagenon,
Those regular shop-vacuums move a low volume of air and are unsuited for larger dust extraction purposes (fine for cleaning up the shed though).
Secondly, capturing all the dust at its source it practically impossible and as it's the particles that you can't see that do the most damage I would always still wear my mask (I use a 2hp dusty with a cartridge filter and a room air cleaner as well).
The discomfort of a dust mask is a small price to pay for a lifetime of healthy lungs.
Stay safe, happy turning!
Cheers

Josh

HazzaB
29th July 2011, 11:53 PM
Hey There,

As Promised, here is some pics of my little Dusty, as I said before, I used a 60 ish Litre Drum with a lid, I cut the inlet pipe at an angle so that it forces the stuff around the side of the drum (theroy is that it loses velocity and falls to the bottom) I cut an angle on the outlet pipe and position it so that it is on the opposite side of the stream of stuff. ( Hope I'm not getting too technical) a few metres of 4" ducting finishes off the jigger. I brought the Blower fan from work, they are used in boats to remove fumes from engine bays, ( and also in Nascars to cool Brakes ) and I got the Power Supply from Jaycar ($ 60.00 ish) I have also put in a Pic that shows that it don't all go into the bin:rolleyes:, I could make up a different shoot arrangement maybe, but as you can see the drum is about half full and there is only about 35mm on the floor, usually the whole lot is on the floor and you have to cleanup every other day, the mess that is there and in the drum is about 4 days worth. I'm happy with the way it works.

HazzaB

plantagenon
30th July 2011, 09:04 AM
Thanks for your reply Josh. I am definitely going to build/buy a dust extractor and use it along with a mask.

hughie
30th July 2011, 07:09 PM
Heres one similar and very easy to make

The Thien Cyclone Separator Lid w/ the Thien Cyclone Separator Baffle (http://www.cgallery.com/jpthien/cy.htm)

and here is one of the best sites around

http://billpentz.com/woodworking/cyclone/cycloneplan.cfm#BuildABlower

hughie
30th July 2011, 08:03 PM
Heres a definitive answer to those who fear fire from static build up in thier PVC DC ducts

PVC (http://home.comcast.net/~rodec/woodworking/articles/DC_myths.html)

TTIT
30th July 2011, 10:53 PM
Heres a definitive answer to those who fear fire from static build up in thier PVC DC ducts

PVC (http://home.comcast.net/%7Erodec/woodworking/articles/DC_myths.html)Vindicated at last!!!:; Thanks Hughie (AKA "The man of many links")

NeilS
31st July 2011, 08:17 PM
Heres one similar and very easy to make

The Thien Cyclone Separator Lid w/ the Thien Cyclone Separator Baffle (http://www.cgallery.com/jpthien/cy.htm)

and here is one of the best sites around

Bill's Cyclone & Dust Collection Research - Cyclone Plans (http://billpentz.com/woodworking/cyclone/cycloneplan.cfm#BuildABlower)

I had some correspondence with Bill a while back on pre-separators to solve a particular problem I was having and he recommended the Thien design as a very efficient chip collector. Only the fine dust would then get drawn through to be separated out in the cyclone.

I built my cyclone to Bill's design (Cone Length Ratio of 3) and am very happy with it. After a number of years of use and countless dozens of garbage bags of chip & dust separated out by the cyclone I still only have about a cup of dust that has travelled through to the air filter stage. An almost perfect design. I can highly recommend it for anyone thinking of building their own, and not difficult to do.
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