Dust,is it a problem?

[mattyts]

Hi guys...I have a quick question for you all regarding dust and dust extraction.

When turning,I wear a half mask respirator and P3 particulate filters,the highest efficiency ones.

My question is,even though I wear my respirator,do I still need dust extraction? I hoover up all the visible dust and shavings at the end of every day and the respirator is worn from stepping inside the shop to leaving it.

I just wondered because even though the dust is there,I will not be breathing it in because of my mask,if I am correct?

 

[CHJ]

If you were in a commercial environment it would be expected that everything possible was done to collect dust and debris at source, personal protection would be considered as a secondary necessity to catch debris that escaped the system.

All Personal protection systems have to work within the local environment, the worse this environment the harder the PPE has to work and the significance of any percentage of leakage that may occur.

Virtually impossible to collect the shavings at source from a lathe but a significant amount of the dangerous dusts can be vented away from the operator and collected or ejected out of the workshop.

 

[Bodrighy]

Wearing a dust mask, however efficient will only stop you breathing a percentage of the dust created and if you take the mask off in the workshop withing a couple of hours of turning you will be immediately breathing in dust. Extraction is definitely recommended. I have a ceiling mounted extractor and at source extraction but I still get dust on things in the workshop even though the mounted one is left on a timer to run for 2 hours after I leave. The more extraction that you can afford the better.

Pete

 

[mattyts]

I don't have a large work space (64 sq ft) and have only 2 major tools that create dust.

My sander and the lathe,I am considering getting one of these:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/DJM-Direct-Wo ... 27dfe8212b

+ a T or a Y joint,a large hood and another length of pipe.

The extractor will sit inbetween the lathe and the sander and I was thinking of running one hose to the lathe,fitted with the hood on and the other hose up to the sander,would this be sufficient?

 

[woodfarmer]

Problem is after you take off your/my mask I still have loads of dust on my clothes which I end up breathing in. Fortunately I have a small workshop for the lathe and intend having a big extraction fan at the tail end of the lathe as I also have a window at the headstock end. I hope a good percentage of lathe dust will be vented outside. Doesn't help with the various saws, band, circular and chain which I tend to use in and around the barn.

 

[mattyts]

Having a look around on Axminster and Ebay,considering my options.

I have heard of SIP before as a good budget company and they also do small extractors:
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/SIP-01929-Wor ... 58affbee77

I intend on splitting the hose that comes off this into 2 using a T joint with blast gates either side,1 hose leading to the sander and 1 to the lathe.

My other two power tools in the workshop are a bandsaw and a pillar drill but they do not create any where near as much dust as the sander and the lathe.

 

[Tazmaniandevil]

Hmmmm..... dust......
Here's what was pointed out to me. When you finish working for the day and shut up shop, have a look around at all the clean surfaces.
Next time you open up, look again at all the surfaces. You can probably write your name in the dust. Last time you were in there, that was airborne and you were breathing it.
How you deal with the airborne dust is another thing entirely. In a small workshop, an old kitchen cooker hood might well be the ideal tool. One of the youtubers made an extractor to filter the air in his shop from an old dryer motor and some second-hand filters.

When I was still at school I worked part time in a sweet factory. My job on a Friday afternoon was to open up the extraction box, remove the filters and beat them over a sheet of polythene. That dust was pretty much powdered sugar.
Saturday was sherbet day.

I've never eaten sherbet since the first time I cleaned those filters.

 

[Grahamshed]

I have a 1100cm extractor fan in the window next to the lathe headstock, a 760 micro clean filter stood on a bench top, a camvac running ducting to each machine, and am about to fit another cam vac dedicated to the lathe and general hoovering......
I can still write in the dust each time I go in there and wear a trend air shield as well. I am having enough problem breathing after a lifetime of smoking without making it worse.