Sawdust on the Floor

This past weekend I was watching an episode of “Ask This Old House” and the guys were spoofing Norm Abrams, of the New Yankee Workshop. They joked about Norm’s propensity to wear plaid shirts, and also a little jive about Norm’s weekly safety reminder that goes,” Remember there are no more important safety items, than to wear these” where upon Norm will touch his safety glasses.

While Norm’s love of the plaid shirts would drive some fashion experts to question his mental state, his safety comments are right on the mark. The problem isn’t the message that Norm is delivering, it’s the fact that week after week Norm dutifully delivers the exact same message. And, since we as woodworkers are all human, we stopped listening to the message a long time ago.

I don’t think that anyone of us ever go into our shops, and plan to have an accident. We don’t finish that last cup of coffee, and then tell our spouse, ” I think I will go out into the shop and do something really dangerous, and if I’m lucky you wont have to drive me to the ER this afternoon.” I do think that as we become more comfortable with the tools and techniques that we employee we become too comfortable, or maybe a better word would be that we become complacent.

I know that’s what happened to me. Several years ago I was working in my shop late one Sunday afternoon. I was trying to cut something really close to the blade, and of course I wasn’t using a push stick. I knew better but it was late and I knew what I was doing, Yeah, sure I did. While I was doing this really stupid thing, I was distracted by something else in the shop, and the next thing I knew I had a bloody mess on my hand, literally. I spent that afternoon in the ER and the next three days in the hospital. Today I still have all ten fingers, well maybe 9 3/4 would be a better statement, and I have scars that will always be there. But I was lucky.

The cause of the accident was clear to me, My fingers were too close to the blade, but that is the secondary cause. The primary cause that I had become to comfortable with the tools and forgot just how quickly an accident can happen.

Before you think that I ran off and starting working for OSHA, relax. I just wanted to take a few minutes to remind all of my fellow woodworkers that the day we go into our shops and have no respect for the potential for injury that lies within, is the day we become dangerous to ourselves and anyone working with us. I would really love to never hear of another woodworking accident, so guys Please………….be careful and be safe.

I saw a tee shirt at one of the woodworking stores, that was inscribed, “How to tell if you’re a woodworker”. One of the items on the list, was something to the effect of ” If you blow your nose, and sawdust comes out……..then you may be a woodworker”. At first I thought man that’s funny, then my adult brain kicked in, and I realized that this was a serious issue.

If you are one of the fortunate few who live in an area where you can work with the doors and windows of the shop open year round, air filtration may not be a large issue. Unfortunately, most of us live in areas where this is not possible, we have to be concerned about the possible air contamination in our shops.

Several manufacturers offer solutions for the woodworker. One system is the Jet dust collection system, and the other is the Jet air filtration system. Dust collection systems work somewhat like the standard shop vacuum, but with much better air filtration. The dust collector can be connected to machines like the tablesaw, jointer, router table, shaper or thickness planer with a 4″ flexible hose. Basic dust collection systems consist of very few actual parts, the motor and vacuum assembly, and two removable bags. These bags are normally mounted vertically, one on top of the other with the open ends of each meeting in the center. The lower bag will collect the saw dust particles, while the upper bag filters the air before it returns to the shop. Larger, more expensive units may have a series of collection and filtration bags, these units also will have larger motor and vacuum assemblies.

Some woodworkers move the hose from the collection system between machines as they are used, while others favor a more permanent arrangement. These installations may have a combination of rigid tubing and flexible hoses connecting various machines and the dust collection unit. The tubing can be either plastic pipe, or metal 4″ pipes. Most of the smaller system, do not have a large enough motor to apply vacuum to several devices at the same time, so shut off valves are installed at each machine. As each machine is used, the operator opens the valve, also known as a blast gate for that machine, and closes the one for the machines not being used at that time.

When tubing is used, it is advisable to use “wye” connections, and not “tee” connections. There is too much resistance to flow in to the “tee’s”. The “wye” must be installed with the flow toward the collection unit. It is also advisable to run a bare copper wire inside the tubing and connect it to all of the machines connected to the dust collection unit. The flow of the saw dust through the tubing and hoses can create a static build up, which can result in the operator receiving an electrical shock, or static sensitive tools can be damaged. The bare wire acts to put all of the tools at the same electrical potential, which reduces the potential for a shock.

There are maintenance items for the dust collection system. Some of the units have cloth bags, which do not allow the operator to see just how full the collection bags are. When the collection bag get too full, the collection system does little more then make a lot of noise. The other issue is that the bag that filters the return air, are also made of some cloth material and these bags need to be cleaned regularly to maintain the effectiveness of the unit.

While dust collection units are normally mounted on the floor of the shop and collect the majority of the saw dust chips, the air filtration systems are normally mounted on the ceiling of the shop and work to eliminate to smaller airborne contaminates from the air in the shop.

Air filtration systems re cycle the air in the shop, removing particles down to the micron level. The actual filtration levels vary between different manufacturers and models. Also the filter media may differ between manufacturers. Maintenance on the air filtration units consists of either cleaning or replacing the filter media on a regular basis.

Air filtration systems normally are ran for the entire time that the shop is occupied, rather then being cycled on and off as the dust collections tend to be. One of the nicer features of the air filtration systems is that the unit can be set to run for a specific amount of time and the shut off. This is really nice when you want to keep the airborne contaminates count low, such as when your finish coat is drying. Before you leave the shop, you set the timer to run for say 4 hours, at which time the air filtration system shuts off. And your finish has been protected from any airborne dust particles.

To get the most effect air quality in your shop, both the dust collection systems and the air filtration systems should be installed and used religiously. Both are important tools to help keep you healthy while in the woodworking shop.