Desktop Enclosure Dust Collection

[pkirby]

Hey guys,
My childhood asthma has recently decided to come back every time I work in the shop now. No fun. After multiple hours of research I've decided to take a couple proactive measures with the first one being a full face 3m respirator and since that's not very fun to wear I've also ordered a new 5hp Oneida Super Gorilla Dust Collector and I'm going to have it's exhaust dump directly outdoors. The dust collector should be here in a couple weeks and I assume that I'll still have to wear the respirator when I'm cutting out parts on my PRS4x8, but I would like to make a full enclosure for my Desktop so that I won't have to wear the respirator. Do you guys think it will work to build an enclosure like the one pictured below and hook up a 6" dust collector duct to the enclosure? And I'll also assume that it will need an opening for fresh air to get in?
24433

[gerryv]

Nice looking enclosure. You'd likely need to keep a can of anti-static spray handy for the inside of the glass/plastic, otherwise you could be working blind quite often. That large a DC system will completely and rapidly change the air in your shop over and over so hope you're not running A/C in the summer :-)

[steve_g]

Paul…
Another issue to consider is “makeup” air. If you force fresh air to find its own route in, It can come down flues and other inappropriate ways…
The best way would be to have a fresh air intake to the outside in the same cabinet with the exhaust.
SG

[Dana Decker]

how about Trend® Airshield


http://www.rockler.com/trend-airshield

[tlempicke]

Two comments

First I think if you just wait a bit you will be able to get the Rockler Mask from Harbor Freight for about fifty bucks.

Second, I like your design and am thinking about doing something similar. One of the problems with the desktop is that I have to clean dust and small chips out of the plastic enclosure that protects the electronics in the rear of the base. This has kept me from cutting aluminum with the machine. How about a design that encloses the base of the machine and seals the electronics from debris? Also since the table is that small you do not have to deal with the volume of chips that will be coming from a larger machine and can probably get by with a small dust collection system.

[scottp55]

Paul,
Bummer.
Is it any one material in particular? Reason I ask is I had one carpenter who reached his sensitization level on cedar while working on the house(ambulance) after working 20 years with clapboards. Another couldn't go NEAR Butternut after a 6 month job in the Bahamas building an all Butternut horse barn.
If your material is listed under "sensitizer" "irritant" "asthma" maybe swapping species might help if it's practical for you, or maybe reduce mask time?

http://www.woodbin.com/ref/etc/wood_toxicity_table.htm

http://www.wood-database.com/wood-articles/wood-allergies-and-toxicity/

http://library.davidtilson.com/materials/toxic.html
Is Desktop in general woodworking area or separated? Enclosure wouldn't help much if other tools aren't DC'd equally well which is doable but difficult.
I notice they make a HEPA filter for that DC. 2 people allergic to wood dust have been in my HEPA shop now. One for a couple hours and the other for a day...No reactions...may be worth checking out.
I looked for the enclosure that was in a "Dual spindle Desktop for sale" , but couldn't find it, and google thread had bad link.
If you built your own enclosure, I might try adding some kind of multiple ports so you could shoot compressed air at surfaces to really "Stir" the dust so DC could vent it out before lifting hood?
Every couple days I open both blast gates to Fein HEPA and blast all the surfaces with compressed air and leave the room for a while and then "rinse/repeat" until no "Motes" are visible in the Halogen spot or sunlight. Seems to help, as otherwise even moving can raise dust. Shop is only 10X22' so may not be practical for you, but then you have 10-15 times the CFM of the Fein T2:)
Desktop is actually one of the cleanest machines in the shop, as it's chips(tiny but chips) and not dust. Noticed significantly less dust in shop when swapped to "mesh" type discs(abralon etc.) for the 5"RO which IS vented directly outdoors(whole house vac was just sitting there doing nothing, so now dedicated to sanding)
Hope any of this helped and good luck,
scott

[pkirby]

Thanks for the feedback. To clarify, the drawing of that enclosure came from Shopbot's website and is an option they sell. I thought about purchasing it but I'd probably make so many alterations to it that it would be simpler to make one from scratch.

Gerry,
Good idea on the anti-static spray, I never even thought of that. As for climate control, I'll probably be up the creek without a paddle when it's running.

Steve,
That's a great idea to add the fresh air intake and thankfully I don't have any flues, ducts, etc in the shop to suck in unwanted air/gases.

Dana,
I researched the Trend Airshield Pro extensively and almost purchased it but decided not to when I heard several reviews of people's necks hurting from the increased weight on their head. They said it didn't bother them if they were looking straight on but if looking downward (which is most of the time) it started to hurt. 3M makes similar ones where the fresh air fans are clipped onto a belt but they cost $1,000 plus:eek: So I ordered the 3M FF-400 http://www.amazon.com/3M-Respirator-FF-402-Respiratory-Protection/dp/B00AR63TRS/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1426344315&sr=8-2&keywords=3m+ultimate+fx+ff-400 and it should be here this weekend for me to try out.

tlempicke,
I haven't seen anything at harbor freight that's similar and I buy some stuff from them but don't exactly trust those guys with my health. A couple weeks ago one of their blow off guns randomly split in half while connected to my air hose and went flying thru the room. As for the electronics enclosure, I had no idea it was open underneath. I'll look into it because I really haven't ran any cutting files on this machine yet.

Scott,
Dust from anything never really bothered me until a few months ago some MDF really caused my sinuses to act up. Now it seems that any dust (MDF, pine, oak, etc) causes sinus and respiratory issues. The desktop will be in the general woodworking area but I will be adding the dust collection to my other tools with the hope I can limit the amount of time I will have to wear a mask. I've also started extensively researching metal milling cnc's which don't produce any wood dust. LOL

[bleeth]

Paul:
A sudden change in sensitivity calls for a trip to the ear nose and throat Doc.

[curtiss]

I have an attic fan mounted over the bot which moves a lot of air to the outside / and I assume the dust the DC misses.

Not too great for cold days / as cold air is pulled in when the fan is on.