I have a shop (Garage) that is 24'x28'. I do not have a dust collection
system, and since all of my tools are on movable carts, I probably won't
install one anytime soon. I don't mind sweeping up the sawdust and planer
shavings, but the fine dust that floats in the air is terrible to breathe
in, and it floats in the air coating everything in the shop.

So, I've been considering an air filtration system like the Jet AFS-1000B

http://www.rockler.com/product.cfm?page=5489

But, I'm curious if these things really help out that much? Can one filter
system keep my entire shop clean? And, are they like my shop vac that
cleans well when new, but functions poorly once the filter clogs (like
every 10 minutes. ).

If anyone here has an air filtration system like this, I'd love to hear
your experiences with it...

Thanks,

Anthony

On Wed, 18 Jan 2006 10:04:33 -0600, HerHusband wrote:
If anyone here has an air filtration system like this, I'd love to hear
your experiences with it...

Anthony,

I have a similar air filter, made by JDS. I use it in conjunction with a dust
collector, a Jet 2HP model with a canister filter.

The air filter does make a difference. Previously, after a few hours of shop
time cutting or sanding, I'd find a coating of dust on virtually every
horizontal surface. Since I installed the air filter, it takes many more hours
in the shop to see that.

The dust that does accumulate is much finer than before. (I'm sure the fine
dust was there previously, but masked by the more coarse stuff.) This is
probably due to the air filter not getting the very smallest particles. The
blower running probably helps to keep that very fine dust suspended in the
air, too. I wear a respirator mask most of the time in the shop, for that
reason.

IMO, you should consider a dust collector, too. A small one designed to be
used with a single tool at a time, with casters and set up with quick
disconnects, would probably fit your shop.

--
Art

HerHusband wrote:
I have a shop (Garage) that is 24'x28'. I do not have a dust collection
system, and since all of my tools are on movable carts, I probably won't
install one anytime soon. I don't mind sweeping up the sawdust and planer
shavings, but the fine dust that floats in the air is terrible to breathe
in, and it floats in the air coating everything in the shop.

So, I've been considering an air filtration system like the Jet AFS-1000B

http://www.rockler.com/product.cfm?page=5489

But, I'm curious if these things really help out that much? Can one filter
system keep my entire shop clean? And, are they like my shop vac that
cleans well when new, but functions poorly once the filter clogs (like
every 10 minutes. ).

If anyone here has an air filtration system like this, I'd love to hear
your experiences with it...

Thanks,

Anthony

I have had one for a couple years now and I can say it works well. I
have to change/clean the first filter pretty regular and the big filter
on the inside has been changed once since I bought it. The pleated
filter on the outside get most of the large particles and the big
filter inside gets the fine stuff, thus taking longer to fillup.

I worked with some walnut a couple weeks ago and had the filter running
and it changed the color of the outside filter to a dark brown from a
pine yellow color by the end of the day.

I use a better quality filter on the outside than it came with as the
original was just a cheap furnace filter and let way too much into the
more expensive inside filter. The filter on the inside cost about $30
to replace. But I have found at the Local Mike's merchandise, the same
filter for about $5. It requires a little work to make fit properly.

I have the JDS 750-ER which was chosen No.1 by American Woodworker about a
year ago.
You have to be careful with the ratings.
It's how they work when the filter is partially dirty that counts.
Also the amount of blow through back into the shop.

I have the review summary I could send you.

"HerHusband" wrote in message
...
I have a shop (Garage) that is 24'x28'. I do not have a dust collection
system, and since all of my tools are on movable carts, I probably won't
install one anytime soon. I don't mind sweeping up the sawdust and planer
shavings, but the fine dust that floats in the air is terrible to breathe
in, and it floats in the air coating everything in the shop.

So, I've been considering an air filtration system like the Jet AFS-1000B

http://www.rockler.com/product.cfm?page=5489

But, I'm curious if these things really help out that much? Can one filter
system keep my entire shop clean? And, are they like my shop vac that
cleans well when new, but functions poorly once the filter clogs (like
every 10 minutes. ).

If anyone here has an air filtration system like this, I'd love to hear
your experiences with it...

Thanks,

Anthony

I have had one for a couple years now and I can say it works well. I
have to change/clean the first filter pretty regular and the big filter
on the inside has been changed once since I bought it. The pleated
filter on the outside get most of the large particles and the big
filter inside gets the fine stuff, thus taking longer to fillup.

I worked with some walnut a couple weeks ago and had the filter running
and it changed the color of the outside filter to a dark brown from a
pine yellow color by the end of the day.

Just imagine what that dust did to your lungs! ... because you were
breathing that air before the air filter did and since the air filter
does not even come close to getting the very finest dust, your lungs are
the final filter!



--
Joseph Connors
The New Golden Rule:
Those with the gold, make the rules!

Buy the dust collector first. The air filter only extracts dust after
it has been floating in the air. Therefore you are breathing it all
during your work session. A dust collector gets the dust at the source
(well maybe most of it) before it gets to the air.

My order of protection items is dust mask, dust collector, air filter
and chnage out of your shop clothes and shoes before going into the
house.


Joseph Connors wrote:
I have had one for a couple years now and I can say it works well. I
have to change/clean the first filter pretty regular and the big filter
on the inside has been changed once since I bought it. The pleated
filter on the outside get most of the large particles and the big
filter inside gets the fine stuff, thus taking longer to fillup.

I worked with some walnut a couple weeks ago and had the filter running
and it changed the color of the outside filter to a dark brown from a
pine yellow color by the end of the day.

Just imagine what that dust did to your lungs! ... because you were
breathing that air before the air filter did and since the air filter
does not even come close to getting the very finest dust, your lungs are
the final filter!



--
Joseph Connors
The New Golden Rule:
Those with the gold, make the rules!

I agree its most important to try to catch the dust at the source. I would
only add that most hand power tools which create dust can be attached to a
shop vac which is more effective on small tools than a dust collector
(albeit louder).
My priority would be shopvac, dust collector, then air filtration unit in
that order.

My first dust collector was a small Delta 1HP that I could easily roll
around and connect to each machine as I used it which would seem to fit this
shop.

"Howard" wrote in message
ups.com...
Buy the dust collector first. The air filter only extracts dust after
it has been floating in the air. Therefore you are breathing it all
during your work session. A dust collector gets the dust at the source
(well maybe most of it) before it gets to the air.

My order of protection items is dust mask, dust collector, air filter
and chnage out of your shop clothes and shoes before going into the
house.


Joseph Connors wrote:
I have had one for a couple years now and I can say it works well. I
have to change/clean the first filter pretty regular and the big
filter
on the inside has been changed once since I bought it. The pleated
filter on the outside get most of the large particles and the big
filter inside gets the fine stuff, thus taking longer to fillup.

I worked with some walnut a couple weeks ago and had the filter
running
and it changed the color of the outside filter to a dark brown from a
pine yellow color by the end of the day.

Just imagine what that dust did to your lungs! ... because you were
breathing that air before the air filter did and since the air filter
does not even come close to getting the very finest dust, your lungs are
the final filter!



--
Joseph Connors
The New Golden Rule:
Those with the gold, make the rules!

If you are looking to protect yourself from carcinogenic fine dust than
dust filtration systems are useless. The physics of "suction" ensures
that even the best air filter will not remove even a portion of the
dust in your shop for hours. The only way to protect your health is to
remove the dust at its source. Bill Pentz has done a great job in
compiling evidence http://billpentz.com/woodworking/cyclone/index.cfm.
I am a physician and dabble in woodworking on the side. I knew about
dust potentially causing asthma, bronchitis.... but I was not aware of
its carcinogenic potential. I did some research and sure enough there
is enough evidence to make me worry. If you don't believe me look for
yourself on pubmed.com and do the searching yourself.
I did my research and compared several different cyclone dust
collectors including Oneida, Grizzly, Jet, and Penn State. I found
that the Penn State Tempest series offered the best value for the
money.

What Art said. Try to collect the dust at source first and then get a general room
air cleaner for the fines. Cheers, JG.

Art Greenberg wrote:

On Wed, 18 Jan 2006 10:04:33 -0600, HerHusband wrote:
If anyone here has an air filtration system like this, I'd love to hear
your experiences with it...

Anthony,

I have a similar air filter, made by JDS. I use it in conjunction with a dust
collector, a Jet 2HP model with a canister filter.

The air filter does make a difference. Previously, after a few hours of shop
time cutting or sanding, I'd find a coating of dust on virtually every
horizontal surface. Since I installed the air filter, it takes many more hours
in the shop to see that.

The dust that does accumulate is much finer than before. (I'm sure the fine
dust was there previously, but masked by the more coarse stuff.) This is
probably due to the air filter not getting the very smallest particles. The
blower running probably helps to keep that very fine dust suspended in the
air, too. I wear a respirator mask most of the time in the shop, for that
reason.

IMO, you should consider a dust collector, too. A small one designed to be
used with a single tool at a time, with casters and set up with quick
disconnects, would probably fit your shop.

--
Art

A tip for the shop vac used in the wood shop. Buy a drywall-dust filter
bag. These are big paper filter bags that sit in the cannister and hold
a lot of material and have much more filter surface area.
I had the same problem with the shop vac filter clogging and now with
the drywall filter, I can go months between cleaning the filter.
This year I upgraded to a home made dust collector. Pulled a fan and
motor from an old furnace. I housed it in a filter box I made from
scrap wood. Works pretty well and is a lot quieter than the shop vac.
OSHA now lists wood dust as a known carcinogen. You want to limit your
exposure. Here is some info:
http://www.osha.gov/SLTC/wooddust/index.html

Brad Harding
www.hardingpens.com

wrote in message
oups.com...


OSHA now lists wood dust as a known carcinogen. You want to limit your
exposure.


Ah-Hah! That explains all of those old woodworking geezers suddenly falling
over dead in their shops.

Sorry Brad - couldn't resist.

--

-Mike-

Joseph Connors wrote:
I worked with some walnut a couple weeks ago and had the filter running
and it changed the color of the outside filter to a dark brown from a
pine yellow color by the end of the day.

Just imagine what that dust did to your lungs! ... because you were
breathing that air before the air filter did and since the air filter
does not even come close to getting the very finest dust, your lungs are
the final filter!



--
Joseph Connors
The New Golden Rule:
Those with the gold, make the rules!

That would be nothing, cause I wore my personal filtration device.
Made the mistake of working with walnut a few years back and got the
bad end of a sinus infection. That went beyond leaving a wrinkle in my
brain, so as not to make the same mistake again.

most hand power tools which create dust can be attached to a shop vac
which is more effective on small tools than a dust collector

I actually tried this yesterday with my new Dewalt sander. I remembered
seeing that feature listed on the box, so I figured I'd give it a try. I
was very impressed. Normally 30 minutes of sanding is enough to fill the
room with sawdust. But, I spent about 2 hours sanding down doors and there
was virtually no dust in the air, and nothing to sweep up afterwards. The
sander was my "worst offender", so that's a huge achievement.

I need to see if I can find a 1-1/4" extension hose though, as the 2" hose
on my shop vac is fairly heavy when connected to the sander. It took two
hands to keep the sander level. The weight of the hose kept pulling the
back end down. But, the results are worth the extra effort.

My first dust collector was a small Delta 1HP that I could easily roll
around and connect to each machine

Part of the problem is most of my machines do NOT have connections for dust
collection. My tablesaw is just a big open base, and my planer just spits
everything out the backside. So, a dust collector wouldn't be real useful
unless I bought new tools too...

Anthony

I'd look for a shop vac first as well. Check out woodcraft - they have
the Fein Mini Turbo on sale. It sure would be nice to have something
quiet like this...
If you have more money, you could look into a larger dust collector,
but if you use it for sweeping up your shop or if you'll potentially
get screws or bits of metal, you'll want a cyclonic system before the
filter.
I currently have a Ridgid shopvac with a HEPA filter, and a home-made
air cleaner like you were describing (old dryer motor/blower in a box
with some furnace filters). The shop vac at the source makes a lot
more difference than the air cleaner, but the cleaner does help with
the dust suspended in the air, and what would otherwise build up on any
horizontal surface. And I almost always wear a dust mask also. Sure,
I can't smell the pleasant scent of oak shavings very much at all, but
that fact means that a good portion of that scent is particulate, and I
don't want that in my lungs.
That's my system, and it works for me... (Until I get more space and
can afford a dedicated dust collector, anyway)
Andy

Andy,

I'd look for a shop vac first as well. Check out woodcraft - they have
the Fein Mini Turbo on sale. It sure would be nice to have something
quiet like this...

I already have a nice 12 gallon Shop-Vac I bought a couple of years ago. It
is designed to run quieter than most shop vacs, and it's certainly quieter
than my last one. But, it still makes a fair bit of noise.

The biggest problem with the shop vac is the filters clog up too quickly.
Someone here suggested one of those slip in fine dust filter bags, so I
picked up a pack of those today. It will be interesting to see if it lasts
longer than the usual filter.

the cleaner does help with the dust suspended in the air

I'm still considering one, but thanks for the info!

Anthony

I just purchased a new shop vac from Sears. It is a Crapsman 6.5hp
20gallon for about $80. It was a clearance item, with a much reduced
price. I had a Genie 12gallon prior to the Crapsman, the Genie decided
to release its magic smoke while I had it hooked to the planer and that
was that. The Genie was one of those that required ear plugs for any
living thing within a 1 mile radius while it was running. The new
Craftsman is very quiet and has great suction. I got it home and took
it to the shop and thought I would try it out. About an hour later and
a clean shop, I turned it off. I had no idea that the Genie had got as
bad as it had or that it lacked that much suck power.

While the new Craftsman is almost twice the physical size of the old
Genie, it is a welcome addition to the shop, house, autos and etc.