Lots of wood in the space, lots of interest in power tools

[Dan Royer]

There's a lot of scrap (?) wood building up in the space - some stored above the parts wall, the rest hiding the library.
I remember there was a lot of interest in the power tools safety class John C ran a few months back.
Could we kill two birds with one stone and do the power tools class again?

Dan

[Tom Keddie]

Do we have any decent (HEPA) dust extraction to use with wood working tools?  Wood dust is really messy and really unhealthy.

Thanks,

Tom

[Stevemopolis]

You don't need HEPA filter.  Most woodworking dust collectors these days have 1 micron filters which is sufficient for wood dust.  Keep in mind that a dust collector can only filter the dust that it collects and there is no dust collection system that is able to collect all of the dust coming off of a tool.  An air cleaner is also required to get the suspended particles that are missed by the dust collector.

The dust you really need to be concerned about is sanding dust.  This is even true for hand sanding. Sawdust that comes off a saw is actually quite large and does not stay in the air to be breathed.  It's messy, but not generally a health hazard.

In my woodshop I have a dust collector with a 1 micron canister filter and an air cleaner with 1 micron filter suspended from the ceiling.  Both are quite noisy.  If I am power sanding, even with dust collection running, I also wear either a respirator (for exotic, toxic woods) or a dust mask.

Steve

Sent from my 'droid tablet.

[Derek Anderson]

This is all true, but the wood dust is going to build up in all the nooks and crannies regardless of dust extraction. That causes both a fire hazard and a general eyesore. It is probably best that we wait for a space that has better (any) dust extraction capabilities and a segregated area for woodworking.

I had mediocre dust extraction for the first year on my CNC machine (about halfway between sanding and saw dust), and it really played havoc with cleanliness, and took a lot of effort to remediate. I'd advise against it, so agree with Tom, at least `til we have a better space.

That said, Stevem is correct about dust dangers, esp. the exotic ones (worked with some Wenge)?  Right about the filtration too, since I got a proper extraction system, I have been able to keep on top of dust buildup. Once we have a better space, woodworking shouldn't be an issue as long as we get the right gear.

$0.02.

[Dan Royer]

I was thinking extension cords and do it in the alley on a non-rainy day.

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Date: Sun, 4 Nov 2012 18:48:08 -0800
Subject: Re: Lots of wood in the space, lots of interest in power tools
From: de...@armyofevilrobots.com
To: vhs-g...@lists.hackspace.ca

[John Craver]

I’ve used the odd circular saw in the space, and the important thing is to use the shop vac afterwards.  I’d love to have proper dust extraction at the space, but it’ll require us to have more room, for sure.

[David Carne]

I concur with Derek re dust in the space: we'll never get it out of the bearings of the CNC equipment/3d printers if we start cutting wood in the space. [not to mention computers/fans]

--- David Carne

[Stevemopolis]

You're absolutely right, Derek.  Even with dust collection and air cleaners, you're still going to end up with sawdust everywhere.  Not a great environment for electronics.  The space really needs a separate machine room for any sort of machining or woodworking machines.  And it should have a dust extraction system and air cleaner.  A portable dust extractor or two would be much more cost effective than a centralized, ducted system as long as people are conscientious about using them.

As for wood toxicity, you may be surprised at the toxicity risks of some commonly used woods, especially the so called exotic (tropical) woods.  Here is a link to a short wood toxicity article on the Greater Vancouver Woodturners Guild website.  It has a great chart showing the risks of various wood species.  One of the more toxic species happens to be one of my favorite woods for turning - cocobolo.  They say there are two kinds of woodturners, those who are allergic to cocobolo and those who will be allergic to cocobolo.  When working with it I always wear a respirator and nitrile gloves as the dust is very toxic when inhaled and an irritant when it comes into contact with the skin.  The more times you are exposed to it the worse the reaction.  Fortunately, most commonly used domestic woods (other than cedar) are relatively safe to work with although breathing any sort of particulate is still a health hazard.

 

http://www.gvwg.ca/docs/Articles/Wood_Dust%20Toxicity%20Article.pdf

 

 

Steve

[Derek Anderson]

Yep, Wood sensitization is brutal.

I'll note that one of the worst offenders is actually not on the list: Cedar, at least the western variety, is awful for sensitization. I have a bad allergy to it myself (from bouncing off of trees and getting huge slivers, not from woodworking).

Most of my electronics have survived fine, ditto for bearings and worm-screws on the cnc. Cooling fans and open containers of grease/paint/etc. not so much.