Woodworking and the air you breathe

[kahlid74]

I decided to build a DIY air filtration unit for my workshop.  Long story short we bought a house and I setup shop in a 20x20x10 enclosed area of the basement.  After cutting/routing/sanding I would see a fine sheen of dust on everything in the workshop.  Additionally the whole family was coughing a lot.  SO I thought it was time I took care of the fine dust particles in the air in my workshop and my house.

There a bunch of articles talking about the hazards of air in woodworking environments but the biggest problem are fine dust particles.  These little guys clog up the pores in our lungs and are incredibly hard for our bodies to scrub away.  Air filtration systems work by scrubbing the air of these particles.  You typically want to scrub the entire space you’re in in about 4-6 minutes.

When I looked on Amazon the cheapest air filtration systems were 300~ and they just didn’t feel right.  I started searching online and found plenty of DIY systems but no one had any real good designs.  Then I found the PDF I’ve attached to this article.  I went to home depot and bought a 4x8 sanded plywood sheet for 40 bucks and about 15 feet of oak hardwood for about 6 bucks on sale.  I then followed the author’s advice and looked for filters.  I couldn’t find any 12x24 but I found an abundance of 16x25 so I changed the measurements to fit the new filter size.

I made the cuts and used the router and applied wood glue and found that I was a bit short on the 16” slot so I changed the design.  Where his has a sliding door mine is latched for the filters.  I then permanently fixed the bottom on for the squirrel cage air blower.  I used 1/4 inch window strips and silicon to make the box air tight.  I did not decide to put any filters at the end of the box like the author did.  Squirrel cage blowers get super-hot and the last thing you want to do is trap dust in the area where the blower is.  The heat could cause a spark.  So the design pulls air through the filters and then the squirrel cage blower pushes it out.

You can get a cheap squirrel cage blower from HVAC places that are getting rid of them.  I got a 465CFM one from Amazon for 90 bucks and was fine with it.

Costs:
Wood – 46
Filters – 25 (one regular and one very fine for the small dust particles)
Blower – 90 (http://www.amazon.com/Active-Air-Blower-System-465/dp/B004K65JZG/ref=sr_1_29?ie=UTF8&qid=1328978484&sr=8-29)
Timer - 10

Total: 171
You can get super cheap with a 20-40 air blower that an HVAC place is going to throw out.  call around and you can find one.


Here is the box hanging in our basement

Side view with the attached wood for filter holding

Front view filters

Close up of the latch I used to hold the filters in.

Timer - 1 hour

Air out so the back end of the unit

Air blower inside the enclosure

Close up of cleats

The piece of wood that holds the filters in place with the window sealer foam on it.

The paper is being pulled to the filters so you know it's working.

Blowing air out

[Le Chuck]

Great project   I will definitely look into one of these for dust abatement in my garage.  Thanks!

[BobA]

Nice project. MDF dust is a real pain in the rear.   Do you plan on putting an exit filter on your unit as well?

[kahlid74]

Nice project. MDF dust is a real pain in the rear.   Do you plan on putting an exit filter on your unit as well?

I do not presently.  I have two primary worries with an exit filter.  The first deals with the build up of dust and the second is that the air flow exiting the blower is condensed into a 6X4 inch rectangle.  So only a portion of the filter would be primarily used and the filter really couldn't be super micron small because of the larger volume of air exiting.

[GregD]

My first air cleaner was homemade.  Then I got a great deal on JDS branded cleaner.  Works great.  I have my shop hooked up to a central dust collection system but dust absolutely gets in the air.  I hate using MDF but sometimes it is best for the job.  It makes a mess and is the most hazardous for you.  I always use a cheap respirator when working with it.

[yaksplat]

i have the jet air filter that is sold on amazon.  I'm not sure why the price shot up as much as it did.  It's $370 now.  When i bought it in 2004, it was 170.  Makes no sense.  It really is just a box witha  squirrel cage like you built.  It does have three speeds and a timer with a remote, but still, not worth 370.

I still have to set up my dust collection system with pipes and gates....  I have the main dust collector, but right now it's just a glorified vacuum with a large diameter hose.

[PIZZ]

Cool im going to try this out. I built one of thee ghetto ones last summer to filter out my basement

actually worked well

[kahlid74]

i have the jet air filter that is sold on amazon.  I'm not sure why the price shot up as much as it did.  It's $370 now.  When i bought it in 2004, it was 170.  Makes no sense.  It really is just a box witha  squirrel cage like you built.  It does have three speeds and a timer with a remote, but still, not worth 370.

I still have to set up my dust collection system with pipes and gates....  I have the main dust collector, but right now it's just a glorified vacuum with a large diameter hose.

Yeah my next progression is going to be one of the cyclone vacuum systems with multiple hoses for specific stations but all in good time!

[HaRuMaN]

So you think that's air you're breathing now?

[Donkey_Kong]

So you think that's air you're breathing now?

 

[kahlid74]

So you think that's air you're breathing now?

Nitrogen, Oxygen, Argon, Carbon Dioxide . .  Yeap, it's air!