Thread: Question for BobL

Advise them that the WWF says to invoke your suggestions of 6" all thebway

Originally Posted by mannum3

Hi Bob,
Our local Men's Shed, 21X9M , half of which is used for wood working contains 2 wood lathes, 3 bandsaws, 1 table saw, 1 planer/thicknesser, 3 scroll saws, 1 drop saw and a drill press.

They have a Clearvue Max with VFD, 10' WC, 9" trunk line to 6" lines to above machines

Good so far.

. . . ., 90mm internal blast gates linked to 4' flexi to machines.

Not good after that.

The biggest problem in a Mens Shed or similar situation is getting people to correctly use the system so all that money and it is a lot does not go to waste. Automating the blast gates effectively makes them use it as it should be done with no choice. My apologies for the advertisement but the issue exists in nearly all sheds with ducted systems from what I can see. Those who don't use a ducted system are a disaster so to speak and why it is allowed by the Association is a mystery. We have just finished a complete installation into a shed and the result is everything it should be and no one has to be yelled at to close or open blast gates or to even turn the system on.

Originally Posted by Chris Parks

The biggest problem in a Mens Shed or similar situation is getting people to correctly use the system
snip
the issue exists in nearly all sheds with ducted systems from what I can see. Those who don't use a ducted system are a disaster so to speak and why it is allowed by the Association is a mystery.

I'll try and proffer a little light ...

Men's Sheds don't have any employees -- everyone, including the committee members -- are volunteers. At this time if the shed employs "no one" OH&S considerations do not apply.
Now I don't believe that any of the "Men's sheds" across the country employ "no one". Last time I looked, OH&S requirements covered the contractor turning up to do an electrical or fire safety inspection, meaning that, technically, that contractor is an "employee" of the shed. The Men's Shed Association does its best to maintain that fiction.

In my experience of Men's sheds, the local council -- who typically provides the facilities used by the Men's Shed and ofttimes funds the shed via a grant -- will go to extreme lengths to keep OH&S considerations from applying to the shed. "extreme lengths" include prohibiting Council employees from entering the shed while they are on duty with the council.

Such actions by the local council just confirm the shed committee in its view that the shed is exempt from ALL OH&S requirements.

Better shed committees adopt the view that the shed is equivalent to a factory, and try and do the right thing with dust control, trip hazards, electrical safety, etc.

I am curious about the cost to automate the gates in the men's shed. It seems like it is very costly.

Originally Posted by Maple71

I am curious about the cost to automate the gates in the men's shed. It seems like it is very costly.

Look at the pricing here -- https://autoblastgates.com.au/pricing

The guys behind autoblastgates.com.au regularly post on these forums

Using our gates which are priced under all the others it is about $300AUD per gate, all the information is on our website. I have yet to talk to someone who thinks that this is expensive against the benefits they give. Keep in mind these sort of capital expenses for MS's are generally done by a grant with no requirement to dip into any other money the MS may have accumulated or at least that is my experience up to now.

Most MS evolve into making some sort of semi commercial project(s) which fund their day to day running and some are fortunate enough to profit quite well from this sort of thing. Others in rural areas might find it not possible but in the end they are filling a very important community need.

If my providing information like this offends anyone please let me know because it may seem to be advertising and I don't want to go there on this forum.

If you want a low cost alternative you could look at this
Making sure your DC is on