Thread: What do you make of these dust extraction things ?

wear a face mask jake,
after you encounter the first lump of shrapnell bouncing off the face shield you'll realise there are other benefits.
I just use either a garden visor or me chainsaw helmet, just depends on which is closer at the time. I also use it on the ripsaw.

I have been gunna make a gulp, me dusty is piped to the lathe, just haven't got around to making it.

It is not what gets caught in your nose that you should worry about...that comes out when you blow your nose.
It is what goes further, into your lungs, that you need to worry about...and worry you should. I expect we will see more and more discovery about how wood dust, especially some species, can trigger serious damage to your lungs.

Gordon

Jake, I started turning recently too and am noticing the same things. Blowing your nose shows how much can be caught in your lungs and I got a bit of a surprise.

Now I use the Triton respirator until I can get something else sorted out. In one of Richard Raffan's books he has two 4" outlets mounted just behind the headstock sucking the dust away. He also has two screws on the front of the lathe where another collector was mounted, so he was serious about dust collection. I can scan a pic of the setup if you like.

Another thing that bothers me about the dust is that if you get an allergy to it then your WW days are pretty much over, so it is a good precaution to wear a good mask as a minimum.

Jake,

Those hoody things look like they are pretty easy to make yourself but they won't catch all the really fine dust immediately anyway. This gets sprayed all over the place including onto you. I recommend wearing a respirator during turning AND running as many DC ports as possible and leaving them running for a while after you finish turning.

The dust you see in the sunlight doesn't really matter that much, it's the really fine dust you cannot see that is more dangerous and takes days to settle after being generated.

Wearing a respirator when turning and not running any DC and then taking off the respirator and continuing to work in your shed is also not good for you. That same fine dust also goes straight through most DCs and hangs for days inside your shed unless you vent your DC outside.

I have at least 2 DC ports running during and after turning. One 4" port behind the lathe with a spare saw exhaust hood attached to it - someday I will make a proper hood but as much to stop chips collecting behind the lathe than for dust collection. At the front of the lathe I attach a 4" flexi DC hose so I can just grab it and use it as a vacuum cleaner to stop chips building up.

Cheers

Jake wear some sort of mask to stop all the fine airborne dust.

The gulp and othe bits and peices help but they only get the larger particles.

The mask stops the fine stuff you see in the sunlight, a dust bee gone mask with one of those visor type masks help a lot and not too cumbersome.

The next level of the powered respirators is really the best way to go as they give you both types of protection in dust and flying objects.

Another thing to consider is the Room Air filters as these do filter out a lot of the airborne dust and run on after you finish at the end of the day so you dont get all the residue sitting in the shop over night.

You cannot pay enough for your own health.

As a result of a similar recent thread I bought a Triton respirator and can say that I find it more comfortable than expected from reading the various comments about it. The problem is to get used to put it on every time you wizz into the shed for five minutes.

Hello Jake,
I use the Trend battery powered respirator/safety shield, and it has made a world of difference in my breathing (clean air rather than wood dust). It takes a bit of getting used to, but is better than emphysema. I might say it is better to be a little restricted for several hours turning each day, than to be dead for 24 hours each day. Just my opinion.

Jake I wear a simple face mask and am about to go with a face shield also.
Don't want to wind up with silicossis.
So far you've been told - by all and sundry! Be a good boy and take care of your lungs.

Thanks.

its hard to let myself worry about it , because where I work, when you look up, as the sun comes through the skylights you can see how thick the dust is in the air. We have dust extraction on most of the machines, but drop saws and belt sanders are running constantly.

boss says that laquers are a worry, but not so much dust, because dust decomposes ...so your body will digest it in some way or another.

How proven is it that dust is a killer ? ....... certain your all right its not good for you....... but do the figures suggest that timber workers are in fact dying a lot younger ?

yer lungs can only digest air, nothing else.
Read up on wood dust and OH&S
yer boss needs ter lift his game

I will. I spose I want to know if I'm going to loose just a year or 20.

Jake this is just a small sample of the info on the net that indicates that all wood dust is regarded as toxic, some more toxic than others.
If you catch any pics of Richard Raffans workshop you might see his extraction set up. Apart from his ducting around the lathe he has a large fan [ around 1m in dia ] situated at floor level behind the lathe that sucks the air straight outside.

http://www.worksafe.vic.gov.au/wps/w...ds+and+control

http://www.ubeaut.com.au/badwood.htm

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/8231799

You can pretty well say it can shorten your life and definitely effect your quality of life

Forget about those hoods. They're OK for bolting onto a box (eg. a router table) to provide a port to hook the duct-work to, but are pretty useless as "dust collecting funnels" for turning, etc.

I've tried quite a few different designs and I reckon it's much, much better to simply run the end of the flexible hose up close 'n personal to where you're sanding - like only 1/2" away or so - and hold it in place with an easily adjustable arm/stand so you can alter the position frequently as you change sanding positions.

It won't suck up everything - larger shavings will still go their own ways - but it will get all the fine, risky particles that you don't want in your lungs. (A good dust/face mask is still the better option, though.)

If you want to increase the "area of coverage" then cutting the centre out of a petrol funnel or making one from cardboard and taping that to the end of the hose helps, but only to about twice the diameter of the duct. ie. if you're using 4" ductwork, then an 8" funnel is about the largest effective pickup. In my opinion, that is.

ta.

Particularily like the fan idea Hughie. We've got one of those big pedistal fans at work too. Placed up against a window, running all day. But the rooms a bit big for it to work too well. very high ceilings. nothing moves much

I'm getting a new shed. There's going to be a big 5metre roller door. What if I placed the lathe close to it and the wall, and buy one of those big pedistal fans. Make sure the other windows are open and just blast it out like that. ( I drew a picture ) Might have to wear a jumper.

that adjustable arm idea too skew with the hose. Thinking maybe make a track of sorts running parallel with the spindle. . just slide it left and right as I go. Only problem I have with that is, I like to place my copy turning there where I can see it with out moving my head.

Or maybe learn how to turn so well I don't need sandpaper...but spose there's dust created in shavings as well is there?