Joel Tille, a woodworker from Humboldt, Iowa is in the market for a cyclone dust collector. Joel has spent a lot of time researching the subject, attending seminars and exploring all the options. He makes a point of getting the right information.
Recently, Joel sent me a link to a web site he found by a guy named Bill Pentz. Bill has done exhaustive research on dust collections systems and has included everything he’s found on his site. It’s a lot of reading, but from what I could tell, it should be very beneficial for anyone interested in this subject.
The health risks from fine dust in our home workshops are of particular interest to most of us. The website gives some great information for filter ratings and mesh sizing. See Doc’s Orders Section 1: Air Filtering.
It doesn’t take too much sawing or sanding to kick up a lot of dust. And a shop full of airborne dust is not a good place to work. There is a way to get rid of airborne dust — a heavy-duty shop air filter that uses three furnace filters and an old squirrel cage blower to clean the air. Feel free to download the plans for this air filter. The plan was originally published in Woodsmith Issue No. 95.
The blower you’ll need if you build the shop air filter is available online, I’ve seen them for around $100 on ebay. Or you may be able to buy one from W.W. Grainger, an industrial supply wholesaler. It requires 110 volts to run and moves around 465 cfm.