A much needed improvment to my shop

[Xray]

Over the months, just about everything in my garage has been coated with a fine coat of dust kicked up mostly by my scrollsaw.
Especially since I use spirals alot, they tend to produce some very fine dust, it almost looks like light smoke coming off the wood.
I wast thinking months ago, wouldn't it be nice if I had a vent fan mounted right above the scroll saw ? That would suck most of the freshly made dust right out of the garage before it gets a chance to settle. Put that project on the back burner for the winter, but I finally got it done today, and I foresee a much cleaner working environment with this fan. I think this thing will suck at least 50% of the dust right out the vent.

Cost $70, which I thought was a bargain. Goes right through the wall, and has one of those vent flaps on the outside, which opens and closes automatically.
Was a snap to install, all I used was a sawzall to cut the hole, and a drill gun to screw it in. Caulked all around the seam, and hooked up the electrical, tapped it into an existing line.
Would highly recommend to anyone with similar circumstances ,,, I'm going to put in another one on the other side of the garage, where I have a brand new CNC router that will soon be kicking up some dust.

Can't find these just anywhere. The major stores like home depots/lowes don't carry this type, they only have those wimpy little bathroom vents. Found this one at Ace Hardware, for those of you with those stores around.

[Carl E Jacobs]

You will love it !
It will help you cool down some in the summer and if yor ever blub up!

my best ! Carl

[wood-n-things]

Great idea!

[ncsealeveler]

That ought to help with the dust some.
Tony

[Hawaiilad]

Xray, do you just have that vented to the outside or into anything? I could not vent it right outside because my wife has so many plants around my shop that would be covered wit the dust...she would not like that very wel-l. I wonder if it could be vented into a large pipe and into a large drump...maybe that's to much.

[hotshot]

Originally Posted by Hawaiilad

I could not vent it right outside because my wife has so many plants around my shop that would be covered wit the dust...she would not like that very wel-l.

Tell her that "dusting" keeps the insects away and show her a picture of a insecticide duster. It is true . . . sort of . . . . :-)

-------Randy

[Xray]

Yeah, its vented outside about 6 ft up. I doubt if outside accumulation would ever be a noticeable factor. You could even mount the vent facing up, or sideways, if you wanted to ,,, But that would be overkill.
[2nd thought, up would not be a good idea. It has a flap inside that opens when the fan is on, and spring closes when it is off ,,, but rain would pour right in and accumulate if it was mounted facing up].
The majority of the dust blown out will carry away, what little that manages to cling on below the vent will be periodically blown and washed away.

The dust in my garage is not all that bad. Its just a fine coat that gets on everything and is pretty annoying. I have a classic car stored in there, and other things that I don't want pervasive coats of dust to accumulate on ,, Not to mention my lungs.
I vacuum the obvious accumulations around the saw itself, but the main problem is the stuff that gets airborne during cutting, and I think this fan will drastically reduce that.
I tested it with some smoke, and it was sucking smoke towards it 3/4 ft away.

[Hobbyhorse]

Xray, my workshop is in the basement of the house and dust is a problem. I have two extractor fans running with a fan also blowing across the workbench towards the extractors. The fine dust still appears no matter what and I use the blower on the compressed air hose to blow out the whole shop about once a week. The amount of dust kicked up is quite amazing and one does have to wear a respirator while doing it but after leaving the shop for 10 minutes the extractors have turned the air over in the shop and the air is clear again ... the neighbours have yet to comment!!

Cheers.

Rhys

[Xray]

I am also contemplating using another fan to blow dust towards the extractor.
It is true, there is no total solution for dust control, but every little bit helps. I'm hoping for at least a 50% reduction, but if its only half of that, I'd be happy with that.

[ChuckD]

Why do you blow the dust around? Why not collect into a vacuum Cleaner? I have very little dust in my work area. There are several posts on Dust collection. It is so much better for you..