I am wondering if anybody could help me with ideas about dust collection. I work in the television and movie industry. Typically we work in industrial spaces for 4 to 8 weeks at a time building a show. The space is used temporarily and we move onto the next show and the next work space, so everything must be mobile (can be moved with a pump truck onto a cube van). We use a great deal of MDF and the dust stays airborne for days and really never settles. Our spaces are around 4000-5000 square feet and up to 25′ in height. What I am looking for is a system that can be easily set up and that people would use. The whole MDF dust scares the hell out of me and has me seriously thinking about leaving the business due to the health risks. If anybody has any ideas about this it would greatly be appreciated.
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I don't see you conditioning the entire space, so you have to control point of use.
Portable dust collection isn't rocket science, but what tools are you having a problem controlling? The odd cut or two is off the map, but this should be simple. The size of the collection unit, or types and amounts, will depend on your tools, so what do you pull out of that van, and what do you do with them?
Probably the biggest offenders is the hand held routers and orbital sanders that are used on peoples benches. The table saws throw quite a lot but we have a system in place but are having a hard time getting people to use the overhead collection system.
having a hard time getting people to use the overhead collection system.
It sounds like an easy solution then;
Company meeting, carefully explain the problem, the solution and the costs.
problem is too much free dust.
Solution is use the system
Cost is you get sent home when I catch you not using the system. Cost is we lose customers when they get unhappy because of careless dust collection. Cost is that you end up in hospital because of airborne particles someday.
BTW my random orbital sanders only get about 80% when hooked up to the vacumn but that's way better than nothing and I can still breathe at end of day.Excellence is its own reward!
Put the hand-held routers in router tables with a common collection system. A friend's shop has four tables in a circle with a vac in the center, it works well.
Being in the film industry you probably already know that when they filmed The Grapes of Wrath they created the dust bowl scenes by having six guys run their routers through sheets of MDF with a couple of fans set up behind them.
One of the solutions I have is to find old air handlers at renovation and remodel sites and rip out all of the guts except for the blower and motor. Hook-up a switch (properly grounded of course) and put a pleated filter on the suction side and you have an all purpose area filtration unit at little or no cost. Also, with a little imagination and some minor carpentry, these can be converted into downdraft tables(my wife's favorite).
Edited 6/23/2002 11:12:31 PM ET by JAMES70114
Edited 6/23/2002 11:13:19 PM ET by JAMES70114
Hey Mongo; Is that true?
PS anybody know how to change my sig? OK! I'll run to the sandbox to play...Old Pro, or both...
You bet it's true. Why would I make up a story about some guy's router table/dust collection setup?
I had a dust collection under my bed when I was a teenager...my mom made me get rid of it.
Just think what that vintage dust collection would be worth today. I had an original Spider Man Comic Book with Peter Parker the original Nerd. A Good one of them goes for 20,000 today
Excellence is its own reward!
Although probably not suited for effective router dust collection, I taped a 3M Filtrete to a typical 3-speed square window box fan that costs maybe $8, cheaper then the Filtrete.
Works great for drawing air away from me and collecting much of the dust and is very portable.
I use it mostly for circulating air and grabbing dust during the process. There may be several fans involved.