Showing posts with label air filtration. Show all posts
Showing posts with label air filtration. Show all posts

Sunday, June 14, 2009

Dust Collection

One of my long-term goals has been to install dust collection in my woodshop. I bought a Delta 1-1/2 hp. dust collector from my brother-in-law in North Carolina last November. But he wasn't able to deliver it to me until March. Since then, it has sat in a corner of my basement waiting to be connected.

It wasn't idled for lack of need. As the photo shows, my machines were turning out sawdust piles that were making it hard to move around safely. It also shows some of the tubing I acquired to help solve the problem.
Over the last few weeks, with the help of a friend, I installed a 4 inch main line along one wall of the shop that runs behind my larger machines. Then I installed flexible tubing to connect each machine to the main line. I finished making the connections this morning and tested the system. It works great and will help keep my shop clear of sawdust.
Some work still remains. The smaller tools--router, spindle and belt sanders and drill press--will be connected later via 2-1/2 inch hose that will reach down from a 4 inch line strung overhead. But these machines, with the exception of the router, don't generate as much sawdust and so I feel able to handle them separately. Still, I'll try to get it done in the next couple of weeks, once I get the needed supplies.
Norm

Wednesday, December 17, 2008

Clearing the Air

Everything I have read about shop safety emphasizes the importance of breathing air clean of the fine dust created by woodworking. So I set a long-term goal of installing an air filtration device to help keep the dust down. I did some research and settled on a Steel City model that, as luck would have it, is on sale until the end of the year. I'd planned to order it online and get it via free shipping, but when I was at Hartville Hardware when I was in Ohio a couple of weeks ago, I saw a floor model and decided to buy it on the spot.

Installation was fairly easy. I merely had to install the supplied eye bolts to the top of the machine, drill holes for hooks in the overhead joists and then with the help of a friend I hung the unit from the hooks. You can see the installation in the picture.

My only complaint is that the remote control only works when pointed at the back of the unit. This means that instead of sucking air away from the work area, the reverse is happening, and the exhaust air is blown back toward where I will be working. This may turn out to be a welcome thing in the summer, though.

I have plans to also install a dust collection system using a 1-1/2 hp unit from my brother-in-law, but that will happen next year.

Norm