Hi Guys - My husband loves woodworking and I love him, but the sawdust,
woodchips, and whatever else that is continuously tracked into the rest
of the house from the basement is making me crazy. It's not like he
doesn't try to clean up after himself, but there is a lot of small
sawdust that does not get vacuumed up. I thought I'd ask the guys who
would know, what do you do to keep the dust down? - Janice

wear overalls/aprons/sweatshirts/etc. and take them off in the shop at the
door. I also have shoes that I use only in the shop, and take them off
before going in the house (I have a detached garage as my shop). I also use
the shopvac on myself if I'm particularly dirty.

One of the biggest improvements was to get a good dust collector and make
sure I use it diligently. It helps a lot, but isn't perfect. A little dust
will always make it into the house, so I throw my clothes in the hamper and
take a shower right away.

That's about all you can do, I think.

The thing I've tried to get my wife to realize is that a little dust and/or
wood chips is not the end of the world and to try to chill out and not make
such a big deal over it. Hasn't worked yet hehe

Mike


"Janice Brown" wrote in message
.. .
Hi Guys - My husband loves woodworking and I love him, but the sawdust,
woodchips, and whatever else that is continuously tracked into the rest
of the house from the basement is making me crazy. It's not like he
doesn't try to clean up after himself, but there is a lot of small
sawdust that does not get vacuumed up. I thought I'd ask the guys who
would know, what do you do to keep the dust down? - Janice

Janice,
A nice 30' x 50' heated and airconditioned shop out back would take care of
most of the problem. If that isn't an option a good dust colletor and air
cleaner will go a long way but I don't think there is anything that is going
to be 100 percent. If he has a compressor he might use it to dust himself off
but be sure it is set at a very low pressure. I also found that wiping my
feet on one of those door mats that have the prickly plastic things took care
of the odd chips on my shoes.

Good luck.

Stuart Johnson
Red Oak, Texas

In article , Janice Brown
wrote:
Hi Guys - My husband loves woodworking and I love him, but the sawdust,
woodchips, and whatever else that is continuously tracked into the rest
of the house from the basement is making me crazy. It's not like he
doesn't try to clean up after himself, but there is a lot of small
sawdust that does not get vacuumed up. I thought I'd ask the guys who
would know, what do you do to keep the dust down? - Janice

In article ,
Janice Brown wrote:

Hi Guys - My husband loves woodworking and I love him, but the sawdust,
woodchips, and whatever else that is continuously tracked into the rest
of the house from the basement is making me crazy. It's not like he
doesn't try to clean up after himself, but there is a lot of small
sawdust that does not get vacuumed up. I thought I'd ask the guys who
would know, what do you do to keep the dust down? - Janice

Two "equipment" solutions - a dust/chip collector - attaches to various
tools (or all of them at once with a fixed duct system if the tools stay
put) which keeps a lot of the dust and chips from ever getting out to
bother things. An air cleaner - which is basically a fan with a fine
dust filter that recirculates shop air to catch floating dust. A dust
collector with good fiters can do the job of both. A shop-vac is
neither.

Well, OK, the third, really big, "equipment" solution is the detached
shop outside the house. This may not be a fiscal reality, but it is a
great solution.

Many "behavior" solutions - coveralls, aprons, hats, shoes that stay put
in the shop. All of which tend to be a pain if there is a lot of running
in and out of the shop. Foot-scrapers, doormats and foot brushes
(generally sold for outside doors, but...). A mirror just outside the
shop door. A good tight door on the shop.

--
Cats, Coffee, Chocolate...vices to live by

On Mon, 22 Nov 2004 20:33:34 GMT, Janice Brown
wrote:

Hi Guys - My husband loves woodworking and I love him, but the sawdust,
woodchips, and whatever else that is continuously tracked into the rest
of the house from the basement is making me crazy. It's not like he
doesn't try to clean up after himself, but there is a lot of small
sawdust that does not get vacuumed up. I thought I'd ask the guys who
would know, what do you do to keep the dust down? - Janice
Beer does a good job washing it down ;-)

Seriously, a shop apron keeps a LOT of the dust out of his clothes
(leather apron is easy to keep dust free). Blowing the dust off with
an air gun helps a lot. A mat at the top of the stairs that has
bristles so the dust on his shoes will fall into the bristles.

A dust filtration system is helpful but I think the bulk of your
concern is dust he carries on him rather than a cloud of dust
following him up the stairs. A dust collection system on all of his
power tools will significantly reduce the amount of dust that can be
tracked or get imbedded in his clothes - these tend to be noisy so you
need to make a tradeoff on which you prefer...

TWS

In article ,
says...
Hi Guys - My husband loves woodworking and I love him, but the sawdust,
woodchips, and whatever else that is continuously tracked into the rest
of the house from the basement is making me crazy. It's not like he
doesn't try to clean up after himself, but there is a lot of small
sawdust that does not get vacuumed up. I thought I'd ask the guys who
would know, what do you do to keep the dust down? - Janice


All the suggestions for dust collectors and such are going to help but I
believe my wife came up with the ultimate solution. It consists of a
hook on the back of the door where a change of clothes are hung along
with a pair of slippers.

Of course there are times when I try to circumvent the solution but for
the most part.........................



--
MikeG
Heirloom Woods
www.heirloom-woods.net

On Mon, 22 Nov 2004 20:33:34 GMT, Janice Brown
wrote:

I thought I'd ask the guys who
would know, what do you do to keep the dust down?

I can't, so I keep it out. Workshop wear is smooth fabric trousers
(cheap mil-surplus combats) and similar shirts. I'm usually wearing a
sweater, and that comes off and gets left in the workshop.

For woodturning, I wear a French Cheesemaker's Smock in a smooth
surfaced linen.
http://www.folkwear.com/102.html
This square pattern with armpit gussets is ridiculously easy to sew
up, and one of the most comfortable shirts for heavy "long reach" work
that I've had without spending over a day in sewing and fitting it.

Mum has a tiled kitchen and porch-like utility room. Dad doesn't get
let back into the carpeted part of the house until she's hoovered him
8-)

I also try to control dust in the workshop. There's a bench brush
hanging behind the bench and it gets used every couple of minutes. The
cabinet saw keeps most of its dust inside it, but the other machines
have dust extraction. The main culprit for dust is a router, and I
don't use that much, preferring hand planes.

--
Smert' spamionam

"Janice Brown" wrote in message
.. .


of the house from the basement is making me crazy. It's not like he
doesn't try to clean up after himself, but there is a lot of small
sawdust that does not get vacuumed up. I thought I'd ask the guys who

If its just stuffed getting tracked into the house - then I have a dedicated
coverall and pair of shoes that stay in the shop. That pretty much takes
care of 95% of keeping the house sawdust free. On those days when I know my
hair caught some dust - I either take a ShopVac hose to my 'mop' or give it
a blast with compressed air.

Industrial / research places also make some adhesive paper, about the size
of a floor mat, that you step on when leaving. Think of it as walk-able
flypaper for sawdust. I have no idea where you'd find this stuff. The
dedicated shoes and coveralls work for me.

Andy Dingley wrote:

Mum has a tiled kitchen and porch-like utility room. Dad doesn't get
let back into the carpeted part of the house until she's hoovered him
8-)

Given the ribbald and unmoderated tenor of rec.woodworking, my reading
of this comment shows that your smiley is well deserved!

Ken Muldrew

(remove all letters after y in the alphabet)

On Mon, 22 Nov 2004 21:40:07 +0000, Andy Dingley
wrote:


Mum has a tiled kitchen and porch-like utility room. Dad doesn't get
let back into the carpeted part of the house until she's hoovered him
8-)
Nothing like a good hoovering every now and again...


I also try to control dust in the workshop.
Gee Andy, I thought you mostly made chips and curls not dust...

TWS

"patrick conroy" wrote in message
...

"Janice Brown" wrote in message
.. .


of the house from the basement is making me crazy. It's not like he
doesn't try to clean up after himself, but there is a lot of small
sawdust that does not get vacuumed up. I thought I'd ask the guys who

If its just stuffed getting tracked into the house - then I have a
dedicated
coverall and pair of shoes that stay in the shop. That pretty much takes
care of 95% of keeping the house sawdust free. On those days when I know
my
hair caught some dust - I either take a ShopVac hose to my 'mop' or give
it
a blast with compressed air.

Industrial / research places also make some adhesive paper, about the size
of a floor mat, that you step on when leaving. Think of it as walk-able
flypaper for sawdust. I have no idea where you'd find this stuff. The
dedicated shoes and coveralls work for me.

this is for sale as a mat for in front of the cat litter box in the pet
store.

On Mon, 22 Nov 2004 22:39:27 GMT, TWS wrote:

I also try to control dust in the workshop.
Gee Andy, I thought you mostly made chips and curls not dust...

'been routing plywood last few days. Took me a good while to find
where I'd put the router table !

Last week I made a frame for a stained glass window (internal dorway -
indoors both sides). Like a total muppet I ended up hand planing
twenty four foot of complicated moulding. Good fun, but it's no way
to make a living.

I was also using shop-bought timber (the shame!) which was brand-new
pineywood. Obviously kiln-dried, the knots in it were hard enough to
chip my favourite carving gouge. Fortunately I did this while I was
cutting them back to save the irons in the moulders, or I'd be
_really_ annoyed.

Put the shop as far away from the house as possible..........that way the
dust shakes off on the way to the house!

Barry


"Janice Brown" wrote in message
.. .
Hi Guys - My husband loves woodworking and I love him, but the sawdust,
woodchips, and whatever else that is continuously tracked into the rest
of the house from the basement is making me crazy. It's not like he
doesn't try to clean up after himself, but there is a lot of small
sawdust that does not get vacuumed up. I thought I'd ask the guys who
would know, what do you do to keep the dust down? - Janice

TWS wrote:
[sinp]

Blowing the dust off with
an air gun helps a lot.

[snip]

All the things mentioned here do help but this is a good tidy up - he can
even step outside to do this.

Josie

Janice Brown wrote:
Hi Guys - My husband loves woodworking and I love him, but the sawdust,
woodchips, and whatever else that is continuously tracked into the rest
of the house from the basement is making me crazy. It's not like he
doesn't try to clean up after himself, but there is a lot of small
sawdust that does not get vacuumed up. I thought I'd ask the guys who
would know, what do you do to keep the dust down? - Janice

Um, none of us has been in a real house for over three years. Just one
of the sacrifices we make to do woodturning...

....Kevin
--
Kevin Miller
http://www.alaska.net/~atftb
Juneau, Alaska

Hi you All

Yes using air to blow off works BUT we had a guy get KILLED that way,
apparently a sliver of steel got into the blow gun and then when
triggered cut a small cut in the guys neck and artery, air got into the
artery and killed him on the spot.
This was not a wood shop and we used high pressure, still
O.K. that never happens right, well it did, so take care.

have fun and take care
Leo Van Der Loo

firstjois wrote:
TWS wrote:
[sinp]


Blowing the dust off with
an air gun helps a lot.


[snip]

All the things mentioned here do help but this is a good tidy up - he can
even step outside to do this.

Josie

On Mon, 22 Nov 2004 21:13:27 GMT, TWS vaguely
proposed a theory
.......and in reply I say!:

remove ns from my header address to reply via email

Blowing the dust off with
an air gun helps a lot.

This was one of the first things I was taught NOT to do with
compressed air.

Jeeezus! IIRC we had a guy here saying he blows the dust off the
inside of his glasses (implication was that he was wearing them! Maybe
I misunderstood.)

I thought he was joking.

He might try telling you like I told my wife, just shut up about the dust
getting in the house. She then told me that I might not see her for several
days, and she was right. After the third day I was able to see a small sliver
of light out of my right eye. G

Have him get a good dust collector system.

Jim

"Leo Van Der Loo" wrote in message
...

Yes using air to blow off works BUT we had a guy get KILLED that way,
apparently a sliver of steel got into the blow gun and then when
triggered cut a small cut in the guys neck and artery, air got into the
artery and killed him on the spot.

That's a good warning!

I don't ever point the gun at my head or neck.

Bob

"Andy Dingley" wrote in message
...

For woodturning, I wear a French Cheesemaker's Smock in a smooth
surfaced linen.

I have to smile when I read about all these people who use aprons, smocks,
and other such garb while woodworking. I live in a rather warm part of the
world. We practically work naked for a better part of the year. Oh yeah
and its wet sometimes. In the last 24 hours, some surrounding areas are
reporting 20 inches of rain. Dry wood is a relative term around here.

Glub, Glub Gurgle.

Bob Davis
Houston, Texas

On Tue, 23 Nov 2004 07:00:07 GMT, "Bob"
wrote:

We practically work naked for a better part of the year.

Please don't post binaries to rec.woodworking.

On Tue, 23 Nov 2004 12:24:14 +0000, Andy Dingley
wrote:

On Tue, 23 Nov 2004 07:00:07 GMT, "Bob"
wrote:

We practically work naked for a better part of the year.

Please don't post binaries to rec.woodworking.
or anywhere else for that matter...

TWS

Bob wrote:
"Leo Van Der Loo" wrote in message
...

Yes using air to blow off works BUT we had a guy get KILLED that
way, apparently a sliver of steel got into the blow gun and then
when triggered cut a small cut in the guys neck and artery, air got
into the artery and killed him on the spot.

That's a good warning!

I don't ever point the gun at my head or neck.

Bob

On Mon, 22 Nov 2004 20:39:50 -0500, Leo Van Der Loo
wrote:

Hi you All

Yes using air to blow off works BUT we had a guy get KILLED that way,
apparently a sliver of steel got into the blow gun and then when
triggered cut a small cut in the guys neck and artery, air got into the
artery and killed him on the spot.
This was not a wood shop and we used high pressure, still
O.K. that never happens right, well it did, so take care.

have fun and take care
Leo Van Der Loo
Geez, thanks for the info. I will be sure to discharge the sprayer
toward the floor before I use it on ANYTHING any more.
Shuddering...
TWS

In article ,
TWS wrote:

On Mon, 22 Nov 2004 20:39:50 -0500, Leo Van Der Loo
wrote:

Hi you All

Yes using air to blow off works BUT we had a guy get KILLED that way,
apparently a sliver of steel got into the blow gun and then when
triggered cut a small cut in the guys neck and artery, air got into the
artery and killed him on the spot.
This was not a wood shop and we used high pressure, still
O.K. that never happens right, well it did, so take care.

have fun and take care
Leo Van Der Loo
Geez, thanks for the info. I will be sure to discharge the sprayer
toward the floor before I use it on ANYTHING any more.
Shuddering...
TWS

Regardless, don't use the damn things on people. Tain't worth it. You
don't even need a sliver if you have an old (or user-modified new)
blowgun without the side holes - the air itself can open a hole. Use a
brush.

--
Cats, Coffee, Chocolate...vices to live by

On Mon, 22 Nov 2004 20:33:34 GMT, Janice Brown
wrote:

Hi Guys - My husband loves woodworking and I love him, but the sawdust,
woodchips, and whatever else that is continuously tracked into the rest
of the house from the basement is making me crazy. It's not like he
doesn't try to clean up after himself, but there is a lot of small
sawdust that does not get vacuumed up. I thought I'd ask the guys who
would know, what do you do to keep the dust down? - Janice

Shower and changing room between basement and house? lol

2 things come to mind, since it's a basement shop.. the obvious is for
hubby to vacuum himself off before he leaves the shop, (sounds weird,
but a lot of us do this), and take off his shoes before he comes in
the house..
the other thing is something like doormats that trap dirt and sawdust
on the stairs from shop to house..

TWS wrote:

On Tue, 23 Nov 2004 12:24:Sexes000, Andy Dingley
wrote:

On Tue, 23 Nov 2004 07:00:07 GMT, "Bob"
wrote:

We practically work naked for a better part of the year.

Please don't post binaries to rec.woodworking.
or anywhere else for that matter...

Mental note never visit wood workers in Texas, I really don't need any more
nightmares! G

I were my apron as protection as much as to keep clean

See if you can find a big piece of "Astroturf" to put in front of the
stairs. Lots of Dept. stores use it in the foyer to keep the street crud
from being tracked into the stores. - - - I've seen it sold as door mats
too.
RJ
"Janice Brown" wrote in message
.. .
Hi Guys - My husband loves woodworking and I love him, but the sawdust,
woodchips, and whatever else that is continuously tracked into the rest
of the house from the basement is making me crazy. It's not like he
doesn't try to clean up after himself, but there is a lot of small
sawdust that does not get vacuumed up. I thought I'd ask the guys who
would know, what do you do to keep the dust down? - Janice