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Great video! One of the most useful things in my shop is my dust meter (Dylos). It helps me see how long the dust lingers in the air after I've turned a machine off. I don't take my PPE off until small particle count returns to baseline. I can also clearly see that the box filter hanging from the ceiling takes about 10 minutes to clear the air after an operation. Without the box filter running, it takes more like 30 minutes. I also notices that just sweeping the floor produces huge amounts of dust.
I do the same with my Dylos. Currently working on setting up an automated control to turn an air filter on and off automatically based on the AQ. I also put in a wall exhaust fan to help, it does such a better job then the filter.
Also part of the Dylos fan club. One thing to note is that it’s important to figure out your baseline reading since even searing a steak on another floor will cause it to read those particles of soot. Pretty cool/freaky to find out what we’re huffing.
After watching the video advert i was still skeptical. But when i finally downloaded the plans th-cam.com/users/postUgkxZF0EMnrujZvqHhGkxiz559uIABJWR9TG i was very impressed. The whole plan was just as you said in the video. Thank you very much. I now have a large and valuable collection for my woodworks. This is great!
Talk to or read Bill Pence and you want to shout from the rooftops, “Fine dust is really dangerous! You need really good dust collection!” But most people have never heard of Bill so thank you, Jonathan, for using your platform to educate all your subscribers. Excellent video! I was thinking about one of those Bosch machines, but max CFM is 150 - inadequate for real dust collection. One thing I think is worth mentioning (for those of us who don’t have one of those awesome, huge canister filter with the internal filter cleaner) chances are you’ll have to clean your filter at some point. I keep around an old Bosch HEPA-rated household canister vacuum that I retired in favor of an upright. Great for cleaning filters and once I’ve done so, I just throw the bag away and put a new one in.
It was COVID that showed me how weak my dust collection was. Last December I got COVID. No hospitalization but I was down for 3 weeks. When I finally got back in my shop, aka garage, I discovered an increased sensitivity to dust. I did the old "put the mask on, make the cut, take the mask off" thing and just a couple of minutes after taking the mask off, I found myself coughing. I put it back on and the cough went away. That's when I knew I needed to "up my game", as it were, when it came to dust collection. I was using a Ridgid 12-gal vacuum and a Dustopper on my table saw. I also have an RZ mask. I read the Bill Pentz stuff, as recommended by Stumpy Nubs. Between that and my increased sensitivity, I wondered if it was even a good idea to continue woodworking. Long story short, I added a larger dust collector (the Dust Right 750) and a HEPA filter and bag for my vacuum. I know it's not the ultimate solution for my small garage shop but it has made a huge difference, so at least it's a step in the right direction.
Thanks for the quick explanation. I have chronic asthma symptoms due to wood dust (redwood is the worst, but plenty of others too). Now I have my respirator hanging on the door knob of my way-too-small shop and am not allowed to go in without putting it on first. The respirator I use is a standard 3M 6200/07025 half face mask with 7093C cartridges - these are actually p100 + organic vapor and acid gas rated. These cartridges are rectangular in shape and much lighter than the larger units but provide the same protection. I found that these allow easier breathing than the simple p100 rated cartridges (7093). Get protected! Worrying about whether you're gonna wake up in the morning is a drag.
@6:00 you can get HEPA filters and drywall bags for shop-vac (and size-compatible brands). I used those when I was doing heavy sanding, drywall, etc., and they worked very well together to keep the fine particles contained.
Yeah... my false sense of security for my ears has lead to tinnitus for myself and my husband. I now have to wear the foam ear plugs for basically anything (removing an air tool will trigger it) and ear muffs for everything else on top. We just ordered our first dust collection system after massive walnut buggers from band saw milling. Going to up our game more with your ideas and PPE.
I’m really good about dust safety but need to seriously up my game on hearing protection. I haven’t worried much about it but I realize I really should.
I used a HEPA filter in my shop vac to start, but I’ve been spending my money on filtration before anymore ‘toys’. Thanks for reaffirming I’ve made the right choice.
The number one thing that kicked me in the butt about finally getting proper dust management in my shop wasn’t my own health(it should have been, but we all think we’ll be fine), but rather my kids health. I moved from a home with a detached garage/workshop to one with an attached garage/workshop and I realized that the dust I was making was filtering back into the house. I still have a ways to go (gotta up my 4” stuff to 6”) but it’s significantly safer than it was just running a shop vac! Thanks for continuing to put out great safety videos like this! It’s helpful information for new folks, and a great reminder to those who have been at it for a while. Safety is number one!
This is great info. We often get complacent working in a small shop thinking that the risks aren't as high. Having reminders like this is always helpful and welcome. Now I'm going to go all "Safety Police" on you. You mentioned in the video about blowing yourself off after you're done to get the dust off. It's worth noting that one should never blow themselves off with compressed air due to three major risks: 1.) Air embolism, aka gas bubble in the blood stream 2.) Ear injury 3.) Eye injury The best way to remove dust from your person is with a shop vac, which also reduces the amount of dust blown back into the air. Thanks again for keeping our minds on what's important.
Sorry, but I gotta call you out on that...just no. You have to be a literal bumbling moron to give yourself an air embolism (it's virtually impossible), ear or eye injury blowing yourself off. If you cannot safely use an air compressor to blow yourself off then no way in HELL should you be running a table saw, jointer, or any other shop equipment.
@@isaackvasager9957 I attempted to post several links to references indicating that using compressed air to clean yourself off is inadvisable and risks the three things I mentioned early. Apparently, TH-cam didn't like the links and deleted the reply. The best I can do is recommend that anyone curious about the risks conduct an internet search for, "air compressor air embolism" and "high pressure injection injury". The latter can lead to compartment syndrome which requires immediate surgery, and if left untreated can lead to tissue necrosis. I will admit that these injuries are generally rare, but why run the risk when using a shop vac is just as effective of an alternative without the risk? This is the reason that OSHA, NIH, Industrial Safety & Hygiene News and multiple other safety oriented organizations strongly advise against using compressed air to clean yourself off, and advocate for using a vacuum instead. Stay safe in the shop.
Bill Pentz is the god of dust collection. I read his stuff more than a decade ago when I started to get serious about woodworking, and thanks to his advice, I’ve always prioritized dust collection. One of the most important things - and I got this from Pentz too - is to have a meter that tells you what the dust level is. That’s how I decide when I do and do not need a respirator. I use the dylos that he recommends.
Thanks for the great information. As a safety person who worked in refineries, one of the big concerns was silica. After doing my research, it shocked me at the amount of dust just one cut can create. One cut using a masonry saw, with a standard kerf blade, produces enough silica dust for 10 years worth of exposure. That is when cutting a standard red brick. When I presented my class to employees, the looks on their faces were very telling. I could see them trying to remember how far back, and how many times they had done something like this over the years. I could literally see them trying to add up all the silica they may have inhaled. It really helps when you break it down Barney style and present it in an educational manner. I have a dust collection system that I will now go through again for a "tune up". I also use my shop vac, with a HEPA filter and my RZ mask. I will now be using the RZ more frequently after your reminder to not be lazy. Thanks again.
@@docwaring to much like my old Army gas mask. I would consider using one for a spray booth. Between the collector, my air filter and the mask, I feel well cared for. 👍
Thank you so much for releasing these videos. It's really nice to see videos like this helping the entire community. I appreciate what you do, and I'll continue to shop at KM Tools! My wife knows exactly where to go for Christmas shopping this year.
Couple more thoughts for future videos maybe: How good are air cleaners? Some of us live in environments where the outside air is much too cold to make opening doors a good idea (it’s -20°F outside my shop right now!) How does dust generation change by tool? I’m personally interested in hand tools: are they safer for this? But it would be interesting to perhaps compare planers with HSS knives v carbide. Or, in keeping with your really great sandpaper video, how different paper and sander combinations do at collecting dust. In the world of TH-cam Woodwork, I think your safety videos are among the very best, and look forward to more content in the future. Thanks.
It’s a great idea. Another person commented about using a Dylos particle counter and it’s a great way to just know for sure if your system is doing what it needs to. The biggest surprise for me was not how much dust resawing was making or other machine stuff. The worse thing in my shop is hand planing rough lumber! It’s likely older stuff that’s been accumulating dust and for the first few passes all I’m doing is aerosolizing it all right next to my head 😵💫
@@jguil4d there is a great video by the university of Michigan that tests this, they found it is very effective for being a really cheap option. I just use my home’s air filters when I replace them every 3 months. They’re still in good enough shape to collect dust on the weekends. th-cam.com/video/kH5APw_SLUU/w-d-xo.html
Recently switched from a 16 gallon HD/Rigid vac with cyclone to a Jet collector (big tools) and Festool CT36 (little tools) and have been somewhat questioning the expense... this certainly helps alleviate some of those questions while also highlighting the need to realize that just because I have what I think is adequate collection doesn't mean I can make assumptions.
I always thought I'm mostly safe, since I only work with hand tools and prefer scrapers over sanding. I moved a few months ago and was really surprised at how much wood dust was on top of the piping in the old workshop. A lot of it was from sanding guitar fretboards. Dust collection is now a big consideration as I'm setting up my new workshop.
Safety and Occupational Health Professional and prior Air Force Industrial Hygienist Technician here. Great video and just to add if you want to be super safe then you want to be clean shaven to get the best seal. If you are like me and love your sweet beard then invest in a PAPR (Powered Air Purifying Respirator). You will look goofy but you wear the cartridges on your belt that passes air into your hooded top. I use to fit test thousands of people on all different types of mask.
Great video! My hobby wood shop is in an attached garage so I have concerns about dust infiltration into the house that my family might breathe. Bill Pentz 's website is a great resource. Those dust collectors with cloth bag filters need to be taken off of the market because they are dust pumps and not dust collectors. I wish more woodworkers would take their health more seriously, so I applaud you covering these topics in this video, particularly pointing out the fact that a hobby woodworker can do more damage to their health in a few hours in their shop than a cabinet professional would have in a year or more. Another great resource is getting a dust particulate counter, e.g. I use a Dylos DC1100 PRO to track air quality in my shop.
I just recently replaced the top filter/bag of my Harbor Freight dust pump with a Powertec filter. Massive improvement for only $30 or so. Knowing that what would happen is that dust would gather on the OUTSIDE of the filter, and be blown around every time the thing is turned on, I used a very large plastic bag, which happened to come with my Supermax 1632, and draped it ofer the top of the filter. It comes down almost as far as the inlets at the impeller. HF dust collector owners know what I mean... The result is that when I turn it on, the plastic bag only gets inflated a very tiny amount, so it doesn’t throw the dust like the old filter did. Rather, the output air goes down towards the floor. No dust ever gets directly on the filter itself, so you sort of eliminate the issue of gathered dust being blown around by preventing it in the first place. The Powertec filter is MUCH thicker than the original HF filter that came with the unit, which means that it doesn’t really ever deflate the way the original did. Highly recommended, and also highly recommended that you cover the cloth filter with some kind of plastic bag or sheeting to prevent dust from gathering on it.
Bill Pentz (via Stumpy Nubs) scared me enough to move my shop from my basement to my garage just for the airflow. It’s small and cold, but I can vent it with a fan.
Thanks for this ! Its actually what I’m working on now building a huge dust collector and then just for added safety I also am installing a wen air filter system. I to have realized how big of a problem all this really is. Great video very helpful!
Great video, I missed a lot of these deep dive videos and have been really enjoying them. The only issue I have is the RZ mask...in my experience they give a false sense of security and do not properly seal around the face. There are gaps and the dust will take the path of least resistance. I get the argument of the best dust mask is the one that you will wear, but you open the video talking about a false sense of security. For me and the multitude of masks I've tried, if my safety glasses fog up then the mask is not sealed. But maybe others can get the RZ to seal without the flexible rubber material that's on the 3M masks for example.
Great words of wisdom. I have been using an RZ Mask for months and didn't know just how good they were until I started making Christmas presents for my family out of cedar. With LOTS of cuts and thicknessing, I created a bunch of chips and fine dust. The RZ Mask kept the fine dust out...and I didn't smell any cedar until after I took off the mask. Another couple of steps I have taken were to get an upgraded MERV filter for my shop vac and made one of the box fan air purifiers with four MERV 13 filters. By moving over 2,000 CFM, it really captures the dust in my garage shop
I try and do all dust generating things outside and not in the garage. Being in the UK that only works for amateur woodworkers. I still collect the dust in the vaccum even when outside. I also wear a respirator rather than a paper mask
Thanks bud for coming through with those blast gate templates! I'm planning on hard piping my small shop early next year and I want to get those blast gates built before that.
Thank you Katz-Moses for always looking out for safety information as sharing as soon as it becomes relevant to you and the rest of the woodworking community. Cheers
Jonathan, good points. I read Pentz's articles roughly 6 months ago. Being an analyst, I do not doubt his data or conclusions. 6" piping is the way to go, and 5hp collectors are necessary if you want to not have respiratory problems due to being a woodworker.
This was a really good video. I think more people should be talking about the subject because it is easy to ignore or be lulled into a false sense of security by dust collection and the consequences of that aren’t immediately evident. As a fellow beardsman, I found that I have to use one of the full face gas mask looking things with active ventilation through a filter cartridge to overcome the lack of a tight seal on my face with standard respirators. I don’t think it’s perfect but seems to do pretty good even when working with finishes.
PAPRs are the best. More expensive than most other types, but the best. And getting sick from breathing fine wood dust is not cheap so they are worth the cost. I used to have a job where I worked in full-face a respirator all day. Trying to pull air through those filters all day and do hard work is taxing on your system. With a positive pressure type respirator, you can breathe easy because the inside of the mask is at a higher pressure than outside so no dust makes its way in. This means your lungs can work normally, which is way easier on you. PAPRs may (I don't have proof so I say may) also offer better protection for those with beards again because of the positive pressure maintained inside so any gaps or leakage around your beard will be offset somewhat by the air moving out at all times and not inward when you inhale. We were not allowed to have any facial hair that interfered with respirator fit (clean shaven or go home without pay). Everyone got fitted and had to test with each style and make respirator they would use.
I love my PAPR. My only gripe is I miss being able to wear over-ear hearing protection. Ear plugs are a pain to dig out and put back in any time I need to talk to someone
PAPRs are the way to go for the whiskered. But beware that there are tight fitting and loose fitting ones. If you are whiskered, you need the loose fitting.
Until now I've always done my sanding and cutting outside, but that means limited chances to do anything during the rainy season, which lasts a few months. So I'm looking at options for working indoors. There's no space for any sort of major dust collector, but hopefully a decent vacuum with a filter, like that Bosch, will do well enough. I can work with the door open unless it is really coming down, so I'll probably use the same fan I'd run to keep cool to blow air towards the outside. I do employ a mask too, and I can tell a difference, but I also know that the ones I've used all leak around the edges.
If you can put a big fan in one window, and open a door or window opposite it, you can move a lot of air and that does a lot to keep the dust down - downside is that you lose any heating/cooling you did on the air. But in the right circumstances it’s highly effective - and when making a lot of fine dust, use a 3m 6500/7500 respirator with p100 cartridges. They’re not expensive and last a very long time.
Thanks Jon, God bless you. I have COPD and am guilty of all you were talking about. Unfortunately not all of us can afford those huge dust collection units. The PPE's are a different story but through this pandemic it has been nearly impossible to buy PPE's. Harbor Freight foir example donated all there N95 masks and nytrile glooves to the medicals, so for over a year I haven't been able to but that stuff locally and cfthe online stuff was inflated 5 times the regular price. Hasn't been easy to protect the hobbiest from dust. Just some input. Keep on smiling.
The 3m 7500’s with p100 cartridges are excellent, last a very long time (cartridges only need to be changed if damaged or they become hard to breathe through, which takes a very long time). They don’t cost much - cartridges and respirator, which might last a year or so, are about $25 or so combined. Only caveat is that you need to make sure you have a good seal so you can’t use with facial hair.
Started woodworking only a year ago in a 10x10 shed, in Montreal winter so door is always closed. I bought one of those Shop Air filter and after a week of use the filter is full of tiny dust!! Made me realize how careless I was and now I need to find ways to get some Airflow outside without opening the door
Thank you Jonathan. So many people - men and women - like to be dismissive, which when linked to inconvenience leads to exposure of damaging particles and molecules. Only when someone comes down with a terrible physical issue or disease does one truly regret not taking the time and expense required to remain safe and healthy. The older I get, the more I fully understand that PPE gear, and the taking the time that is needed to use it, is worth every penny and minute. Don't wait for trouble to come - be smart and avoid it.
Thanks for this Vid. Comes at time when I was thinking of adding a shop filter to run. I just ordered on and I'll have it installed before the end of the week Also changing my bag filter to a pleated filter to stop the bag dust from coming on when I run the DC. Maybe the best video you have shared. I have allergies, diagnosed at age 4 more than 50 years ago. I've always tried to be smart with breathing "too" much dust. Got grand kids now and want to be around as long as I can. Thanks again.
A few things... 1. Get a laser particle counter if you really want to know what's in your air. Otherwise it's just conjecture. 2. Not all of us have the space for a full size dust collector, so shop vacs are the only option. These can work exceptionally well even for things like table saws IF you make the tool's dust collection enclosure very tight (but not completely closed off). You can use ductape or foam to seal gaps, use zero-clearance inserts, etc. Once you do that you can get close to 100% of the dust. 3. If you are going the shop vac route, make sure you get a HEPA filter for it if there is one for your model. If there isn't, change your vac for one that does. Otherwise you're just going to be spewing super fine dust right back in your air, unless you send the exhaust outside...
My carpentry teacher recently died of respiratory illness and I can tell you with no doubt in my mind that it is a direct result of his lack of dust collection. He'd been doing it longer than most people have been alive but to me this is the most important youtube video on woodworking and I really appreciate the effort put in.
Thank u! I started wood working a year ago and did not wear mask or have dust collection, I’m just now getting to the point where I don’t have to use an inhaler 4 times a day, my doctor tried telling me I had COPD but I knew it was from the dust (he’s not a wood worker apparently)
for shop vacs, idk about you guys in america, but here in germany, there are tiers of filtration that vacs can get rated for. L for light danger, M for medium, H for high. L is usually good for normal everyday dust, M for construction dust (anyone that has employees is required to use at least M here), and H for mold, or led paints. Now, L and M usually use the same filter, but M has constant monitoring to make sure you keep up proper suction and a clean enough filter. Usually L would be good enough for the home woodworker. I would not reccomend getting any old vacuum without a certification.
I did not know this at all, and I've been in Germany for over 10 years! Any recommendations for a shop vac? I have the Kärcher WD4 but found out that it doesn't have a HEPA rating at all, so I'm looking for something better.
@@rauschguitars i dont have a lot of hands on experience. The bosch GAS ones are great, but like 500 bucks. German youtuber Heiko Rech reccomends Starmix. And i have heard good things about metabo ones. im not really sure what hobby machine holds up tho. i know that both starmix and makita make an L rated machine for around 150 bucks. no idea how good they are tho.
We don’t have that, but filters are generally going to tell you what they filter too (i.e. particle size), and the best ones will tell you they are hepa. I only use hepa filters. I also bought a bunch of those cheapo $30 3hp small shop vacs from harbor freight. I use them at a bunch of different tool stations, but I just remove the filter and pipe the output into the dust collection ducts where it has to go through the dust collector’s hepa filter. Much cheaper than buying a bunch of vacs, very convenient, and smaller too.
I'm glad you made this video. I was completely ignorant of the same issues until my brother forwarded me the Pentz article as I was designing a new workbench with internal dust (chip) collection. I'm just a new woodworker with a small garage shop I'm putting together but his advice about getting a big box fan and blowing air from my door out the big garage doors was great. I try and wear my 3M respirator most all the time now and just upgraded from the pink dust cartridges to the volatile chem ones since I'm starting to do more finishing too. Love your videos, they have been great!
Just make sure you aren’t using the ones that are vapor only. They don’t filter particles. 3m makes both kinds - the organic vapor cartridges and the vapor cartridges combined with n95/p100/etc. particle filters. If you are sanding, and using an organic vapor cartridge, you are not protected.
@@kevinarnold186 No problem - I mostly save the (relatively more expensive) VOC and combo cartridges for when I’m doing something with nasty chemicals. For day to day dust protection, the P100’s work great and are cheap - and last nearly forever.
One thing about dust masks: in industrial workplaces, they do "fit tests" to make sure that the mask fits properly and that no unfiltered air is getting past the mask. The bottom line is that masks don't work if you have facial hair. You either need to be clean shaven, or use a supplied-air (powered) respirator that maintains positive pressure.
Well said. I learned my lesson with facial hair the hard way with plaster dust this year. Depressing to think you’re taking the right precautions only to find black residue all around the inner lining of your mask. I love my beard but I love not having major respiratory issues (knock on wood) way more.
@Jonathan Katz-Moses How well do the 3M and RZ Mask fit with your facial hair. I have a fu manchu. I think they would fit around the mustache but not sure about the sides.
Yup. PAPR’s work with facial hair (they work on positive pressure rather than negative pressure), but the respirators like the 6500/7500 don’t work well. I make sure I either shaved recently or I use the 3m versaflo.
I actually made a few small air filters out of some scrap, HEPA filter media and some old computer fans that are mounted near my biggest offenders, in addition to one of those big-ass whole shop filters. If you can get your hands on the HEPA filter media you can make it fairly quickly and cheaply, you just gotta figure out how you'll power those fans, but most computer fans are high static pressure fans so they are ideal for blowing air against the filter media, and it catches a **ton** of dust.
Great video. I have *finally* gotten back into woodworking after a degenerated disc kept me out of it for 4 years, and I've been wearing my respirator with P100 filters most of the time. This is a good reminder that after the first cut is made, that respirator goes on for the rest of the day. By the way I think that's also where those walnut boogers might be coming from. Not so much the dust getting through the mask (if it's P100), but all those times we're guilty of taking it off, "making just one cut", etc.
Really wish I actually had the money for any dust collection beyond shop vacuums. I do have a 3M respirator with the pink pancake filters but it would be nice to be able to take that off at some point.
A good note from Bill Price is to place the actual dust collector exhaust outside if possible. In fact I wood turn outdoors for this reason since I don't have a great dust collection system in my basement shop
Awesome awesome awesome!!!! The best video I've seen on TH-cam about lunge health yet! Thank you so much . I have scarring on my lunges from formaldehyde and I have a yearly check for cancer. Could you please do a video on finishes and epoxy. Dust masks don't filter out the volatiles....you knead the charcoal filter. I've asked others to talk about it and they get defensive. I just want people to know and not have to live with the shadow over there head that I have. Thank you so much.
My work shop is in the garage. So I try to do all of my cutting and sanding outside. One improvement I will make is adding a exhaust hose to the back of my shop vacuum. So the fine dust can be directed outside.
Dude, you need to add air PURIFIERS in your shop. You mentioned 1 micron, but the filter in many modern air PURIFIERS are HEPA rated and go down to .3 microns... Logic is key! Thanks for all that you do.
Thank you for a very important video. My father passed away this spring. He had been a hobby woodworker for as long as I can remember. I hadn't been in his shop in a long time. His shop was covered in dust. Thick dust was everyshere. It is a basement shop that is 2000 square feet with the shop in one corner. There was dust inside boxed up china that was stored in the opposite side of the basement. He had problems with breathing in his last years of life. He couldn't understand what was causing the breathing problems. He didn't smoke and worked in an office environment up until his retirement. I am not saying that the dust caused him to die, I am saying that some sort of dust collection may have prolonged his life or at least made him more comfortable in his later years. Now that I am retiring and moving some of his tools to my shop and getting back into woodworking myself, I see the need for air filtration as well as dust collection. Again, thank you for the video......John
Doode, awesome! I love how candid you are here. I think I've seen other people mention this but air filter comparisons would be cool; how quickly air quality returns to acceptable. But I think testing the leak rate of blast gates would be really interesting. Self-cleaning vs katz Moses vs iVac auto mated type gates.
In my garage shop I’ll open the garage and side doors when done and use a leaf blower to kick up the dust while wearing a respirator. Let the fine dust blow out the door.
Good stuff, but as someone who used to sell and test PPE, i'll tell you if you really want that mask to get down to the efficiency you talk about, you need to shave so it seals to your face.
Great Video I got allergies from working in MDF productions as a furniture maker. Ive had to change to joining an timberframing to get away from the fine particles. I really liked your video, ive been nerding alot about dust the last couple of years, and it is so nice to have a video that i can show colleagues about the hazards of fine particle dust. I have one input for you. In Denmark were i am from, those FFP3 mask you show, have by law a limited limited daily use. this is due to the moist that we as humans breathe out. Those kind of masks should not be uses more that 1 hour of a time, then you should have a break of 30min and not be used more that 3hours totally pr day. Therefor i have bought a turbo driven FFP3 mask that secures af constant flow of filtered fresh air. Personally i bought the a "budget "version JSP powercap active ip, but all the big brands have a turbodriven solution Thanks again for your video.
Life saving information. Another Jonathan Katz-Moses video going into my TH-cam save folder to reference when I need it 👍 maybe we could get a informational video on heating our shops? Watching this video makes me think forced air heaters are probably not a good choice....which is what I use 😬
Thanks for the eye opener about dust. Need to make sure I do all my cuts outside, and check the wind direction How do you know when a dust mask needs to be replaced
In general, particle filters actually filter a greater percentage of dust as they age. The downside is they get harder to breathe through as they clog up. When they are hard to breathe through, you need a new one. This is for negative pressure (i.e. dust masks, respirators, etc. - not papr’s, which are positive pressure). This also does not apply to organic vapor or other specialty cartridges. I leave the dust (p100) cartridges on my 3m 7500 for a long time - more than a year often, maybe more than 3 - because they are still ok to breathe through for me. In that time, I expect the organic vapor aspect of a p100 has declined to non-existent, but the dust filtration is still fine. You need to replace them if they get damaged, wet, etc. though.
I started getting serious about working on projects and after two weeks I noticed that PPE alone and the shop vac was not cutting it. So I purchased a Go861 collection unit from Grizzly. It’s crazy on how much fine dust it filters out.
Thanks for the video. To add to the debate... I bought a 'PM2.5 Detector Air Quality Tester Meter Monitor' through eBay which actually lets you see what your air quality is. I'm not saying these cheepish £35 detectors are perfectly accurate but it definitely monitors the changing nature of my workshop air. Knowledge is power. The particle levels went berserk when I did some pyrography, but my lathe work, outside sanding, does not.
As a scientist, I was pretty curious about this. Long term exposure to sawdust can cause a whole host issues to your lungs and overall health. However, when it comes to sawdust causing cancer, the research is fairly inconclusive. The only strong association is nasal cancer from the papers I could find. Vast majority of papers didn't do the best job of adjusting for other things in a woodshop that are absolutely known to cause cancer: finishing products. Nevertheless, I make a habit using dust collection and also wearing appropriate respirators for good measure.
I'm a pathologist. You're right. The very few nasal adenocarcinomas I've seen in 15 years were diagnosed on woodworkers. You're also right about how hard it is to isolate dust exposure from other shop hazards or individual habits, such as smoking.
@@mariano_353 as someone who has read quite a few pathology reports, you guys are like magicians to me. Taking hues of pink into interpretations that can only be described as a work of art. Hospitals are useless without diagnostics team from pathology, imaging, and labs. Thanks for all you do.
Tried saying that...above. I think there is an overwhelming amount of concern driven by manufacturing $$$. And Jonathan here is no different. I use a dust collector to keep my shop cleaner and tools from getting clogged. I'm 60 years old and have been in the shop since I was five. My dad never had any problems and lived a long life. No lung issues for either of us. I will give this caveat... if you have lung issues naturally, smoke or actually have damaged your lungs... you should probably be more proactive.
just a nit... 0.3 micron particles were specifically picked as the size to filter because they are the goldilocks of sizes... anything smaller gets attracted to the fibers of the mask via electrostatic forces and anything larger gets knocked into the fibers easier. there is a u shaped curve of efficiency with a dip at 0.3 microns.
My situation is an unheated garage shop in Pennsylvania. Money is an object. I am thinking of getting a HF 2 hp system and at least venting the dust otherwise caught by a filter directly outdoors (neighbors are not a problem. None nearby). I even considered putting the whole unit outside with a pipe dropping large bits into a bin. Does this knock down the efficiency of the unit? Does it need that resistance from a bag or filter? Thanks.
I actually was wondering about this. I have a couple of power tools, but I mostly just use hand tools (Japanese pull saws, hand planes, chisels, etc.) Wondering how much 1 micron dust those produce … 🤷♂️
I love wood boogers, I use mine for wood filler. But seriously I never had dust collection in my shop. Now that I am getting older it doesn't take long to notice how bad it's bothering me especially during cold weather and in a new well insulated shop. I built this shop with a lot of windows on the west side I can open and large double doors on the east and north side to cross ventilate. I also have large floor stand fans I turn on. I am a firefighter and something I always notice is the fine dust building up in and around my electrical equipment. (Outlets, motors, etc.) Being a firefighter, I know better than breathing in the dust and allowing hidden dust pockets to build up. I also hate constantly cleaning up after every little machine operation. Would be nice to complete a project then clean up. My 12-year-old son is really getting involved in woodworking. I have to keep him from doing what I have done. I am here to educate myself on dust collection.
Great segment! Same excellent Bosch shopvac, 99.97% filtration. Consider getting half face mask respirators, they seal better. Until recently most made in USA tools considered dust extraction as an afterthought. My 1990's SCM Italian sliding t.s. has a full under and over blade shroud that extraction attaches to. My 2000's Delta saw doesn't. Guess which one spits less dust? Funny but the 10" Dewalt jobsite saw actually has full blade extraction option too! Really waiting for our American manufacturers to seriously up their game.
Really interesting stuff. Until today I thought I was being pretty good by using a Rigid shop vac with the HEPA bag/filter kit. Product listing says it "Removes 99.97% of all particles 0.3 microns and larger from the air". So I guess that's pretty good, but not down to the 0.1 micron level that would be ideal. Still for a small shop like mine, which is never likely to be bigger than a 2-car garage, a fixed/ducted dust collector seems like overkill, and I actually don't mind the 1-tool-at-time dust collection of a shop vac. Might have to start a piggy bank for one of those Oneida or Rockler systems that come on a cart with a 1 micron filter.
Weirdly, the hardest particles to filter are .3 microns. .1 microns are actually easier. That’s why hepa is rated as it is. If you have hepa filtration, you’re good. Really very little gets past that, and even pretty nasty/dusty air coming out the other side is going to be better than what people breathe day to day. The one caveat is that those ridgid vacs are not hepa rated - the filter material is, which is not the same. The difference is that the vac itself isn’t as well sealed, so dust can get around the filter. With the ridgids, however, you can do a lot to seal them. Just get some decent weather stripping and seal around the top. That will really increase the efficacy.
Would it work (on a shop vac) to attach a 2nd hose to the blower port and place the other end outside or something? So that anything not caught in the vacuum gets blasted outside instead of into the shop?
Yes, it works. I do something similar. I have a hepa filter on my dust collector, and I run some cheap vacs from harbor freight. I remove the filters entirely, and pipe the output into the dust collector’s duct system, which forces it out through the hepa filter. I have a dylos air quality meter, and so I can verify it works. In fact, it actually works better since you get more air moving.
Two things. One, I have 4 wood lathes, and do run some classes. We sharpen a lot, and I have all CBN wheels from 80 to 1000 grit. I found out that the metal dust will float around in the shop like wood dust. I found metal dust inside of a cardboard box that had a magnetic base in it. It was 30 inches above and sideways from my grinder. Another turner hung a magnet 10 feet away from his grinder and it picked up metal particles. At present, no one makes any home shop type of metal dust collector. I am building a bench to have all of my grinders on, and will see about getting one of the air scrubber things up over it at the minimum. Oh, that is another point, you didn't mention the air scrubbers. Second point is with masks, you didn't mention positive pressure dust masks. They have a battery pack, and filter the air before it goes down over your face. These are effective over a beard because of the positive pressure. I have heard of some using old CPAP machines to make them. They do have HEFA filters. The fabric one I use is 'Dust Be Gone' and it is intended to be washed and used many times. They are 'guaranteed' to not fog up your glasses. That doesn't work for me, or with any other mask except the positive pressure ones. My lung capacity is some where between double normal to 'off the charts'... Yes, I know all the 'full of hot air' jokes...
I've learned I can't wear the RZ mask sadly but then again I have the precusor of COPD so I've been using a Laquare mask 3M and that style. Its not worth the risk to not protect myself
I absolutely love your videos and and how informative they are. Keep up the awesome work and thank you for this gem. I’m in the market to upgrade my shop vac dust collection and this video has given me even more to consider.
You can vent or filter. If you vent, you lose the conditioning. This is why I don’t vent, I just filter (my dust collector has a hepa filter on it). It sucks that I can’t just vent outside like some, but like you, I’m in a colder climate and a powerful dust collector can empty a shop’s heated air in no time.
Bill Pentz's article is the reason I upgraded my dust collector with a nice filter system, bought better masks, and bought an overkill air filtration system.
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So I’ve been cultivating this sweet nose hair filter all these years for nothing! Damnit!
Hahaha walnut boogers make great wood filler
Nice, "nose" shave November?
It's not for nothing. I'd still like to purchase it.
@@katzmosestools Also great snacks
@@sunalwaysshinesonTVs 🤮
Great video! One of the most useful things in my shop is my dust meter (Dylos). It helps me see how long the dust lingers in the air after I've turned a machine off. I don't take my PPE off until small particle count returns to baseline. I can also clearly see that the box filter hanging from the ceiling takes about 10 minutes to clear the air after an operation. Without the box filter running, it takes more like 30 minutes. I also notices that just sweeping the floor produces huge amounts of dust.
Great info! Ordering one now
I do the same with my Dylos. Currently working on setting up an automated control to turn an air filter on and off automatically based on the AQ. I also put in a wall exhaust fan to help, it does such a better job then the filter.
@@AnthonyDeChiaro That's a good idea!
Also part of the Dylos fan club. One thing to note is that it’s important to figure out your baseline reading since even searing a steak on another floor will cause it to read those particles of soot. Pretty cool/freaky to find out what we’re huffing.
That's those little gem of information & tips that make reading comments so worth it
Pretty sure this is one of those videos that should be rewatched at least once a year, thanks for the advice and heads up.
After watching the video advert i was still skeptical. But when i finally downloaded the plans th-cam.com/users/postUgkxZF0EMnrujZvqHhGkxiz559uIABJWR9TG i was very impressed. The whole plan was just as you said in the video. Thank you very much. I now have a large and valuable collection for my woodworks. This is great!
Walnut boogers are great for filling small imperfections in your projects.
Talk to or read Bill Pence and you want to shout from the rooftops, “Fine dust is really dangerous! You need really good dust collection!” But most people have never heard of Bill so thank you, Jonathan, for using your platform to educate all your subscribers. Excellent video! I was thinking about one of those Bosch machines, but max CFM is 150 - inadequate for real dust collection. One thing I think is worth mentioning (for those of us who don’t have one of those awesome, huge canister filter with the internal filter cleaner) chances are you’ll have to clean your filter at some point. I keep around an old Bosch HEPA-rated household canister vacuum that I retired in favor of an upright. Great for cleaning filters and once I’ve done so, I just throw the bag away and put a new one in.
It was COVID that showed me how weak my dust collection was.
Last December I got COVID. No hospitalization but I was down for 3 weeks. When I finally got back in my shop, aka garage, I discovered an increased sensitivity to dust. I did the old "put the mask on, make the cut, take the mask off" thing and just a couple of minutes after taking the mask off, I found myself coughing. I put it back on and the cough went away. That's when I knew I needed to "up my game", as it were, when it came to dust collection.
I was using a Ridgid 12-gal vacuum and a Dustopper on my table saw. I also have an RZ mask. I read the Bill Pentz stuff, as recommended by Stumpy Nubs. Between that and my increased sensitivity, I wondered if it was even a good idea to continue woodworking.
Long story short, I added a larger dust collector (the Dust Right 750) and a HEPA filter and bag for my vacuum. I know it's not the ultimate solution for my small garage shop but it has made a huge difference, so at least it's a step in the right direction.
I was just reading Pentze’s site yesterday! Thanks for reminding us!
40 years plus doing woodworking and as most, neglect always protecting myself. Thanks for a great reminder!
Thanks for the quick explanation. I have chronic asthma symptoms due to wood dust (redwood is the worst, but plenty of others too). Now I have my respirator hanging on the door knob of my way-too-small shop and am not allowed to go in without putting it on first. The respirator I use is a standard 3M 6200/07025 half face mask with 7093C cartridges - these are actually p100 + organic vapor and acid gas rated. These cartridges are rectangular in shape and much lighter than the larger units but provide the same protection. I found that these allow easier breathing than the simple p100 rated cartridges (7093). Get protected! Worrying about whether you're gonna wake up in the morning is a drag.
@6:00 you can get HEPA filters and drywall bags for shop-vac (and size-compatible brands). I used those when I was doing heavy sanding, drywall, etc., and they worked very well together to keep the fine particles contained.
Good call
Yeah... my false sense of security for my ears has lead to tinnitus for myself and my husband. I now have to wear the foam ear plugs for basically anything (removing an air tool will trigger it) and ear muffs for everything else on top. We just ordered our first dust collection system after massive walnut buggers from band saw milling. Going to up our game more with your ideas and PPE.
I’m really good about dust safety but need to seriously up my game on hearing protection. I haven’t worried much about it but I realize I really should.
I used a HEPA filter in my shop vac to start, but I’ve been spending my money on filtration before anymore ‘toys’. Thanks for reaffirming I’ve made the right choice.
The number one thing that kicked me in the butt about finally getting proper dust management in my shop wasn’t my own health(it should have been, but we all think we’ll be fine), but rather my kids health. I moved from a home with a detached garage/workshop to one with an attached garage/workshop and I realized that the dust I was making was filtering back into the house. I still have a ways to go (gotta up my 4” stuff to 6”) but it’s significantly safer than it was just running a shop vac!
Thanks for continuing to put out great safety videos like this! It’s helpful information for new folks, and a great reminder to those who have been at it for a while. Safety is number one!
This is great info. We often get complacent working in a small shop thinking that the risks aren't as high. Having reminders like this is always helpful and welcome.
Now I'm going to go all "Safety Police" on you. You mentioned in the video about blowing yourself off after you're done to get the dust off. It's worth noting that one should never blow themselves off with compressed air due to three major risks:
1.) Air embolism, aka gas bubble in the blood stream
2.) Ear injury
3.) Eye injury
The best way to remove dust from your person is with a shop vac, which also reduces the amount of dust blown back into the air.
Thanks again for keeping our minds on what's important.
Sorry, but I gotta call you out on that...just no. You have to be a literal bumbling moron to give yourself an air embolism (it's virtually impossible), ear or eye injury blowing yourself off. If you cannot safely use an air compressor to blow yourself off then no way in HELL should you be running a table saw, jointer, or any other shop equipment.
@@isaackvasager9957
I attempted to post several links to references indicating that using compressed air to clean yourself off is inadvisable and risks the three things I mentioned early. Apparently, TH-cam didn't like the links and deleted the reply. The best I can do is recommend that anyone curious about the risks conduct an internet search for, "air compressor air embolism" and "high pressure injection injury". The latter can lead to compartment syndrome which requires immediate surgery, and if left untreated can lead to tissue necrosis. I will admit that these injuries are generally rare, but why run the risk when using a shop vac is just as effective of an alternative without the risk? This is the reason that OSHA, NIH, Industrial Safety & Hygiene News and multiple other safety oriented organizations strongly advise against using compressed air to clean yourself off, and advocate for using a vacuum instead.
Stay safe in the shop.
Bill Pentz is the god of dust collection. I read his stuff more than a decade ago when I started to get serious about woodworking, and thanks to his advice, I’ve always prioritized dust collection.
One of the most important things - and I got this from Pentz too - is to have a meter that tells you what the dust level is. That’s how I decide when I do and do not need a respirator. I use the dylos that he recommends.
Thanks for the great information. As a safety person who worked in refineries, one of the big concerns was silica. After doing my research, it shocked me at the amount of dust just one cut can create. One cut using a masonry saw, with a standard kerf blade, produces enough silica dust for 10 years worth of exposure. That is when cutting a standard red brick. When I presented my class to employees, the looks on their faces were very telling. I could see them trying to remember how far back, and how many times they had done something like this over the years. I could literally see them trying to add up all the silica they may have inhaled. It really helps when you break it down Barney style and present it in an educational manner.
I have a dust collection system that I will now go through again for a "tune up". I also use my shop vac, with a HEPA filter and my RZ mask. I will now be using the RZ more frequently after your reminder to not be lazy. Thanks again.
Consider a full-face or a PAPR... That's what I'm using.
@@docwaring to much like my old Army gas mask. I would consider using one for a spray booth. Between the collector, my air filter and the mask, I feel well cared for. 👍
Thank you so much for releasing these videos. It's really nice to see videos like this helping the entire community. I appreciate what you do, and I'll continue to shop at KM Tools! My wife knows exactly where to go for Christmas shopping this year.
Couple more thoughts for future videos maybe:
How good are air cleaners? Some of us live in environments where the outside air is much too cold to make opening doors a good idea (it’s -20°F outside my shop right now!)
How does dust generation change by tool? I’m personally interested in hand tools: are they safer for this? But it would be interesting to perhaps compare planers with HSS knives v carbide. Or, in keeping with your really great sandpaper video, how different paper and sander combinations do at collecting dust.
In the world of TH-cam Woodwork, I think your safety videos are among the very best, and look forward to more content in the future. Thanks.
Great list
a cheap box fan with a good filter taped onto it actually filters out a lot... way more effective than you’d think
@@jasonbenjamin1464 I’d like to see that tested, too.
It’s a great idea. Another person commented about using a Dylos particle counter and it’s a great way to just know for sure if your system is doing what it needs to.
The biggest surprise for me was not how much dust resawing was making or other machine stuff. The worse thing in my shop is hand planing rough lumber! It’s likely older stuff that’s been accumulating dust and for the first few passes all I’m doing is aerosolizing it all right next to my head 😵💫
@@jguil4d there is a great video by the university of Michigan that tests this, they found it is very effective for being a really cheap option. I just use my home’s air filters when I replace them every 3 months. They’re still in good enough shape to collect dust on the weekends.
th-cam.com/video/kH5APw_SLUU/w-d-xo.html
Recently switched from a 16 gallon HD/Rigid vac with cyclone to a Jet collector (big tools) and Festool CT36 (little tools) and have been somewhat questioning the expense... this certainly helps alleviate some of those questions while also highlighting the need to realize that just because I have what I think is adequate collection doesn't mean I can make assumptions.
I always thought I'm mostly safe, since I only work with hand tools and prefer scrapers over sanding. I moved a few months ago and was really surprised at how much wood dust was on top of the piping in the old workshop. A lot of it was from sanding guitar fretboards. Dust collection is now a big consideration as I'm setting up my new workshop.
Was just wondering about this since I work mostly with hand tools as well. This is good to know thanks!
Safety and Occupational Health Professional and prior Air Force Industrial Hygienist Technician here. Great video and just to add if you want to be super safe then you want to be clean shaven to get the best seal. If you are like me and love your sweet beard then invest in a PAPR (Powered Air Purifying Respirator). You will look goofy but you wear the cartridges on your belt that passes air into your hooded top. I use to fit test thousands of people on all different types of mask.
any recs for a consumer grade mask? I have a 3M half mask, Stealth, and a GVS Sprayer but not thrilled with any of them.
Great video! My hobby wood shop is in an attached garage so I have concerns about dust infiltration into the house that my family might breathe. Bill Pentz 's website is a great resource. Those dust collectors with cloth bag filters need to be taken off of the market because they are dust pumps and not dust collectors. I wish more woodworkers would take their health more seriously, so I applaud you covering these topics in this video, particularly pointing out the fact that a hobby woodworker can do more damage to their health in a few hours in their shop than a cabinet professional would have in a year or more. Another great resource is getting a dust particulate counter, e.g. I use a Dylos DC1100 PRO to track air quality in my shop.
I just recently replaced the top filter/bag of my Harbor Freight dust pump with a Powertec filter. Massive improvement for only $30 or so. Knowing that what would happen is that dust would gather on the OUTSIDE of the filter, and be blown around every time the thing is turned on, I used a very large plastic bag, which happened to come with my Supermax 1632, and draped it ofer the top of the filter. It comes down almost as far as the inlets at the impeller. HF dust collector owners know what I mean...
The result is that when I turn it on, the plastic bag only gets inflated a very tiny amount, so it doesn’t throw the dust like the old filter did. Rather, the output air goes down towards the floor. No dust ever gets directly on the filter itself, so you sort of eliminate the issue of gathered dust being blown around by preventing it in the first place.
The Powertec filter is MUCH thicker than the original HF filter that came with the unit, which means that it doesn’t really ever deflate the way the original did. Highly recommended, and also highly recommended that you cover the cloth filter with some kind of plastic bag or sheeting to prevent dust from gathering on it.
Bill Pentz (via Stumpy Nubs) scared me enough to move my shop from my basement to my garage just for the airflow. It’s small and cold, but I can vent it with a fan.
Thanks for this ! Its actually what I’m working on now building a huge dust collector and then just for added safety I also am installing a wen air filter system. I to have realized how big of a problem all this really is. Great video very helpful!
Great video, I missed a lot of these deep dive videos and have been really enjoying them. The only issue I have is the RZ mask...in my experience they give a false sense of security and do not properly seal around the face. There are gaps and the dust will take the path of least resistance. I get the argument of the best dust mask is the one that you will wear, but you open the video talking about a false sense of security. For me and the multitude of masks I've tried, if my safety glasses fog up then the mask is not sealed. But maybe others can get the RZ to seal without the flexible rubber material that's on the 3M masks for example.
Such an important video, the dust always concerns me when it comes to woodworking.
Great words of wisdom. I have been using an RZ Mask for months and didn't know just how good they were until I started making Christmas presents for my family out of cedar. With LOTS of cuts and thicknessing, I created a bunch of chips and fine dust. The RZ Mask kept the fine dust out...and I didn't smell any cedar until after I took off the mask. Another couple of steps I have taken were to get an upgraded MERV filter for my shop vac and made one of the box fan air purifiers with four MERV 13 filters. By moving over 2,000 CFM, it really captures the dust in my garage shop
I try and do all dust generating things outside and not in the garage. Being in the UK that only works for amateur woodworkers. I still collect the dust in the vaccum even when outside. I also wear a respirator rather than a paper mask
Thanks bud for coming through with those blast gate templates! I'm planning on hard piping my small shop early next year and I want to get those blast gates built before that.
Thank you Katz-Moses for always looking out for safety information as sharing as soon as it becomes relevant to you and the rest of the woodworking community. Cheers
is incredible how many dust collection videos you have made prior to this without reading through Bill Pentz’s dust collection research.
Jonathan, good points. I read Pentz's articles roughly 6 months ago. Being an analyst, I do not doubt his data or conclusions. 6" piping is the way to go, and 5hp collectors are necessary if you want to not have respiratory problems due to being a woodworker.
Have dust filtration from Rockwell for my one man shop with the filter on top. Now getting shop filter and mask. Thank you for this!!!
Getting my shop guys the RZ mask, glad you plugged your store 😉.
thanks, good stuff. About to get a full bed CNC and I need to step up my collection game.
This was a really good video. I think more people should be talking about the subject because it is easy to ignore or be lulled into a false sense of security by dust collection and the consequences of that aren’t immediately evident.
As a fellow beardsman, I found that I have to use one of the full face gas mask looking things with active ventilation through a filter cartridge to overcome the lack of a tight seal on my face with standard respirators. I don’t think it’s perfect but seems to do pretty good even when working with finishes.
PAPRs are the best. More expensive than most other types, but the best. And getting sick from breathing fine wood dust is not cheap so they are worth the cost. I used to have a job where I worked in full-face a respirator all day. Trying to pull air through those filters all day and do hard work is taxing on your system. With a positive pressure type respirator, you can breathe easy because the inside of the mask is at a higher pressure than outside so no dust makes its way in. This means your lungs can work normally, which is way easier on you.
PAPRs may (I don't have proof so I say may) also offer better protection for those with beards again because of the positive pressure maintained inside so any gaps or leakage around your beard will be offset somewhat by the air moving out at all times and not inward when you inhale. We were not allowed to have any facial hair that interfered with respirator fit (clean shaven or go home without pay). Everyone got fitted and had to test with each style and make respirator they would use.
I love my PAPR. My only gripe is I miss being able to wear over-ear hearing protection. Ear plugs are a pain to dig out and put back in any time I need to talk to someone
PAPRs are the way to go for the whiskered. But beware that there are tight fitting and loose fitting ones. If you are whiskered, you need the loose fitting.
Until now I've always done my sanding and cutting outside, but that means limited chances to do anything during the rainy season, which lasts a few months. So I'm looking at options for working indoors. There's no space for any sort of major dust collector, but hopefully a decent vacuum with a filter, like that Bosch, will do well enough. I can work with the door open unless it is really coming down, so I'll probably use the same fan I'd run to keep cool to blow air towards the outside. I do employ a mask too, and I can tell a difference, but I also know that the ones I've used all leak around the edges.
If you can put a big fan in one window, and open a door or window opposite it, you can move a lot of air and that does a lot to keep the dust down - downside is that you lose any heating/cooling you did on the air. But in the right circumstances it’s highly effective - and when making a lot of fine dust, use a 3m 6500/7500 respirator with p100 cartridges. They’re not expensive and last a very long time.
Great video! I stress about dust In my small shop and appreciate the effort and time you put into educating the woodworking community! Thanks!
Thanks Jon, God bless you. I have COPD and am guilty of all you were talking about. Unfortunately not all of us can afford those huge dust collection units. The PPE's are a different story but through this pandemic it has been nearly impossible to buy PPE's. Harbor Freight foir example donated all there N95 masks and nytrile glooves to the medicals, so for over a year I haven't been able to but that stuff locally and cfthe online stuff was inflated 5 times the regular price. Hasn't been easy to protect the hobbiest from dust. Just some input. Keep on smiling.
The 3m 7500’s with p100 cartridges are excellent, last a very long time (cartridges only need to be changed if damaged or they become hard to breathe through, which takes a very long time). They don’t cost much - cartridges and respirator, which might last a year or so, are about $25 or so combined. Only caveat is that you need to make sure you have a good seal so you can’t use with facial hair.
Thank you Dr. Katz-Moses.
Started woodworking only a year ago in a 10x10 shed, in Montreal winter so door is always closed. I bought one of those Shop Air filter and after a week of use the filter is full of tiny dust!!
Made me realize how careless I was and now I need to find ways to get some Airflow outside without opening the door
Thank you Jonathan. So many people - men and women - like to be dismissive, which when linked to inconvenience leads to exposure of damaging particles and molecules. Only when someone comes down with a terrible physical issue or disease does one truly regret not taking the time and expense required to remain safe and healthy. The older I get, the more I fully understand that PPE gear, and the taking the time that is needed to use it, is worth every penny and minute. Don't wait for trouble to come - be smart and avoid it.
Thanks for this Vid. Comes at time when I was thinking of adding a shop filter to run. I just ordered on and I'll have it installed before the end of the week Also changing my bag filter to a pleated filter to stop the bag dust from coming on when I run the DC. Maybe the best video you have shared. I have allergies, diagnosed at age 4 more than 50 years ago. I've always tried to be smart with breathing "too" much dust. Got grand kids now and want to be around as long as I can.
Thanks again.
A few things...
1. Get a laser particle counter if you really want to know what's in your air. Otherwise it's just conjecture.
2. Not all of us have the space for a full size dust collector, so shop vacs are the only option. These can work exceptionally well even for things like table saws IF you make the tool's dust collection enclosure very tight (but not completely closed off). You can use ductape or foam to seal gaps, use zero-clearance inserts, etc. Once you do that you can get close to 100% of the dust.
3. If you are going the shop vac route, make sure you get a HEPA filter for it if there is one for your model. If there isn't, change your vac for one that does. Otherwise you're just going to be spewing super fine dust right back in your air, unless you send the exhaust outside...
My carpentry teacher recently died of respiratory illness and I can tell you with no doubt in my mind that it is a direct result of his lack of dust collection. He'd been doing it longer than most people have been alive but to me this is the most important youtube video on woodworking and I really appreciate the effort put in.
Thank u! I started wood working a year ago and did not wear mask or have dust collection, I’m just now getting to the point where I don’t have to use an inhaler 4 times a day, my doctor tried telling me I had COPD but I knew it was from the dust (he’s not a wood worker apparently)
What a great coincidence, i have been thinking on improving the dust collection in my one car garage workshop. Thanks for the tips.
for shop vacs, idk about you guys in america, but here in germany, there are tiers of filtration that vacs can get rated for. L for light danger, M for medium, H for high. L is usually good for normal everyday dust, M for construction dust (anyone that has employees is required to use at least M here), and H for mold, or led paints. Now, L and M usually use the same filter, but M has constant monitoring to make sure you keep up proper suction and a clean enough filter. Usually L would be good enough for the home woodworker. I would not reccomend getting any old vacuum without a certification.
There are a variety of filters that can be used with most modern shop vacs. I have the highest rated HEPA filter on mine.
I did not know this at all, and I've been in Germany for over 10 years! Any recommendations for a shop vac? I have the Kärcher WD4 but found out that it doesn't have a HEPA rating at all, so I'm looking for something better.
@@rauschguitars i dont have a lot of hands on experience. The bosch GAS ones are great, but like 500 bucks. German youtuber Heiko Rech reccomends Starmix. And i have heard good things about metabo ones. im not really sure what hobby machine holds up tho. i know that both starmix and makita make an L rated machine for around 150 bucks. no idea how good they are tho.
@@halsti99 Cool thanks, I'll do some research.
We don’t have that, but filters are generally going to tell you what they filter too (i.e. particle size), and the best ones will tell you they are hepa. I only use hepa filters.
I also bought a bunch of those cheapo $30 3hp small shop vacs from harbor freight. I use them at a bunch of different tool stations, but I just remove the filter and pipe the output into the dust collection ducts where it has to go through the dust collector’s hepa filter. Much cheaper than buying a bunch of vacs, very convenient, and smaller too.
I'm glad you made this video. I was completely ignorant of the same issues until my brother forwarded me the Pentz article as I was designing a new workbench with internal dust (chip) collection. I'm just a new woodworker with a small garage shop I'm putting together but his advice about getting a big box fan and blowing air from my door out the big garage doors was great. I try and wear my 3M respirator most all the time now and just upgraded from the pink dust cartridges to the volatile chem ones since I'm starting to do more finishing too. Love your videos, they have been great!
Just make sure you aren’t using the ones that are vapor only. They don’t filter particles. 3m makes both kinds - the organic vapor cartridges and the vapor cartridges combined with n95/p100/etc. particle filters. If you are sanding, and using an organic vapor cartridge, you are not protected.
@@MD-en3zm Thanks for the heads up on that. I've ordered a combo one!
@@kevinarnold186 No problem - I mostly save the (relatively more expensive) VOC and combo cartridges for when I’m doing something with nasty chemicals. For day to day dust protection, the P100’s work great and are cheap - and last nearly forever.
One thing about dust masks: in industrial workplaces, they do "fit tests" to make sure that the mask fits properly and that no unfiltered air is getting past the mask. The bottom line is that masks don't work if you have facial hair. You either need to be clean shaven, or use a supplied-air (powered) respirator that maintains positive pressure.
Well said. I learned my lesson with facial hair the hard way with plaster dust this year. Depressing to think you’re taking the right precautions only to find black residue all around the inner lining of your mask.
I love my beard but I love not having major respiratory issues (knock on wood) way more.
@Jonathan Katz-Moses How well do the 3M and RZ Mask fit with your facial hair. I have a fu manchu. I think they would fit around the mustache but not sure about the sides.
Agree. I used to do fit tests, too. We could not have a beard that was more than one day old.
Yup. PAPR’s work with facial hair (they work on positive pressure rather than negative pressure), but the respirators like the 6500/7500 don’t work well. I make sure I either shaved recently or I use the 3m versaflo.
Merry Christmas Jonathan, I appreciate all you do. I hope you find strength and perseverance in the new year.
Great video, thanks so I am upgrading the dust collection in my shop right now. I will definitely implement several of the suggestions here. Cheers.
I actually made a few small air filters out of some scrap, HEPA filter media and some old computer fans that are mounted near my biggest offenders, in addition to one of those big-ass whole shop filters. If you can get your hands on the HEPA filter media you can make it fairly quickly and cheaply, you just gotta figure out how you'll power those fans, but most computer fans are high static pressure fans so they are ideal for blowing air against the filter media, and it catches a **ton** of dust.
Great video. I have *finally* gotten back into woodworking after a degenerated disc kept me out of it for 4 years, and I've been wearing my respirator with P100 filters most of the time. This is a good reminder that after the first cut is made, that respirator goes on for the rest of the day. By the way I think that's also where those walnut boogers might be coming from. Not so much the dust getting through the mask (if it's P100), but all those times we're guilty of taking it off, "making just one cut", etc.
I have some of your 6 inch blast gates and I love them.
Really wish I actually had the money for any dust collection beyond shop vacuums. I do have a 3M respirator with the pink pancake filters but it would be nice to be able to take that off at some point.
Get a dylos air quality meter so you know when the particle count has returned to baseline. I use mine to determine when I can take it off.
Thanks for some great information! I just purchased a larger unit with a filter and will be improving my system ASAP!
A good note from Bill Price is to place the actual dust collector exhaust outside if possible. In fact I wood turn outdoors for this reason since I don't have a great dust collection system in my basement shop
Awesome awesome awesome!!!! The best video I've seen on TH-cam about lunge health yet! Thank you so much . I have scarring on my lunges from formaldehyde and I have a yearly check for cancer. Could you please do a video on finishes and epoxy. Dust masks don't filter out the volatiles....you knead the charcoal filter. I've asked others to talk about it and they get defensive. I just want people to know and not have to live with the shadow over there head that I have. Thank you so much.
Fantastic tips, Jonathan! Thanks a lot! 😃
Stay safe there with your family! 🖖😊
My work shop is in the garage. So I try to do all of my cutting and sanding outside. One improvement I will make is adding a exhaust hose to the back of my shop vacuum. So the fine dust can be directed outside.
Dude, you need to add air PURIFIERS in your shop. You mentioned 1 micron, but the filter in many modern air PURIFIERS are HEPA rated and go down to .3 microns... Logic is key! Thanks for all that you do.
Thank you for a very important video. My father passed away this spring. He had been a hobby woodworker for as long as I can remember. I hadn't been in his shop in a long time. His shop was covered in dust. Thick dust was everyshere. It is a basement shop that is 2000 square feet with the shop in one corner. There was dust inside boxed up china that was stored in the opposite side of the basement. He had problems with breathing in his last years of life. He couldn't understand what was causing the breathing problems. He didn't smoke and worked in an office environment up until his retirement. I am not saying that the dust caused him to die, I am saying that some sort of dust collection may have prolonged his life or at least made him more comfortable in his later years. Now that I am retiring and moving some of his tools to my shop and getting back into woodworking myself, I see the need for air filtration as well as dust collection. Again, thank you for the video......John
Hold old was he?
@@jonlanier_ he was 83. He was working on making wooden trucks. Over the summer my nephew was home from college and finished building some.
@@salleecreekworkshop I'm sorry for your loss. Yet, you can't put wood dust as a contributing factor.
My great grandfather was a lifetime carpenter and he died of nasopharyngeal cancer in his 80’s. I am very careful with dust.
Just realized the filter in my Fein Turbo I is NOT a HEPA filter. Will be ordering a new filter today. Thanks for the video!
Doode, awesome! I love how candid you are here. I think I've seen other people mention this but air filter comparisons would be cool; how quickly air quality returns to acceptable. But I think testing the leak rate of blast gates would be really interesting. Self-cleaning vs katz Moses vs iVac auto mated type gates.
Great and needed video... disagree on shop vac... HEPA filters are readily available.
Very thorough. I don't think you missed anything! Which is hard to do!
In my garage shop I’ll open the garage and side doors when done and use a leaf blower to kick up the dust while wearing a respirator. Let the fine dust blow out the door.
That's exactly what I do! (and wear a P100 respirator too)
Awesome and really important video for all of us! Thanks for looking out!!!!
Good stuff, but as someone who used to sell and test PPE, i'll tell you if you really want that mask to get down to the efficiency you talk about, you need to shave so it seals to your face.
Great Video
I got allergies from working in MDF productions as a furniture maker.
Ive had to change to joining an timberframing to get away from the fine particles.
I really liked your video, ive been nerding alot about dust the last couple of years, and it is so nice to have a video that i can show colleagues about the hazards of fine particle dust.
I have one input for you.
In Denmark were i am from, those FFP3 mask you show, have by law a limited limited daily use.
this is due to the moist that we as humans breathe out.
Those kind of masks should not be uses more that 1 hour of a time, then you should have a break of 30min and not be used more that 3hours totally pr day.
Therefor i have bought a turbo driven FFP3 mask that secures af constant flow of filtered fresh air.
Personally i bought the a "budget "version JSP powercap active ip, but all the big brands have a turbodriven solution
Thanks again for your video.
Life saving information. Another Jonathan Katz-Moses video going into my TH-cam save folder to reference when I need it 👍 maybe we could get a informational video on heating our shops? Watching this video makes me think forced air heaters are probably not a good choice....which is what I use 😬
Thanks for the eye opener about dust. Need to make sure I do all my cuts outside, and check the wind direction
How do you know when a dust mask needs to be replaced
In general, particle filters actually filter a greater percentage of dust as they age. The downside is they get harder to breathe through as they clog up. When they are hard to breathe through, you need a new one.
This is for negative pressure (i.e. dust masks, respirators, etc. - not papr’s, which are positive pressure).
This also does not apply to organic vapor or other specialty cartridges.
I leave the dust (p100) cartridges on my 3m 7500 for a long time - more than a year often, maybe more than 3 - because they are still ok to breathe through for me. In that time, I expect the organic vapor aspect of a p100 has declined to non-existent, but the dust filtration is still fine.
You need to replace them if they get damaged, wet, etc. though.
Thanks, brother. It’s hard to find that line between good info and fear mongering. You did it.
I started getting serious about working on projects and after two weeks I noticed that PPE alone and the shop vac was not cutting it. So I purchased a Go861 collection unit from Grizzly. It’s crazy on how much fine dust it filters out.
Thanks for the video. To add to the debate... I bought a 'PM2.5 Detector Air Quality Tester Meter Monitor' through eBay which actually lets you see what your air quality is. I'm not saying these cheepish £35 detectors are perfectly accurate but it definitely monitors the changing nature of my workshop air. Knowledge is power. The particle levels went berserk when I did some pyrography, but my lathe work, outside sanding, does not.
As a beardy I've not found a half mask that's helped at all so switched to a Trend Airshield Pro.
Amazing blast gates! Thank you for the new files! Amazing customer service!
As a scientist, I was pretty curious about this. Long term exposure to sawdust can cause a whole host issues to your lungs and overall health. However, when it comes to sawdust causing cancer, the research is fairly inconclusive. The only strong association is nasal cancer from the papers I could find. Vast majority of papers didn't do the best job of adjusting for other things in a woodshop that are absolutely known to cause cancer: finishing products. Nevertheless, I make a habit using dust collection and also wearing appropriate respirators for good measure.
I'm a pathologist. You're right. The very few nasal adenocarcinomas I've seen in 15 years were diagnosed on woodworkers.
You're also right about how hard it is to isolate dust exposure from other shop hazards or individual habits, such as smoking.
@@mariano_353 as someone who has read quite a few pathology reports, you guys are like magicians to me. Taking hues of pink into interpretations that can only be described as a work of art. Hospitals are useless without diagnostics team from pathology, imaging, and labs. Thanks for all you do.
Tried saying that...above. I think there is an overwhelming amount of concern driven by manufacturing $$$. And Jonathan here is no different. I use a dust collector to keep my shop cleaner and tools from getting clogged. I'm 60 years old and have been in the shop since I was five. My dad never had any problems and lived a long life. No lung issues for either of us. I will give this caveat... if you have lung issues naturally, smoke or actually have damaged your lungs... you should probably be more proactive.
@@WoodcraftBySuman thank you! You're so kind! I'm happy enough just to think I'm doing my bit to solve another human's health problem. My regards
just a nit... 0.3 micron particles were specifically picked as the size to filter because they are the goldilocks of sizes... anything smaller gets attracted to the fibers of the mask via electrostatic forces and anything larger gets knocked into the fibers easier. there is a u shaped curve of efficiency with a dip at 0.3 microns.
My situation is an unheated garage shop in Pennsylvania. Money is an object. I am thinking of getting a HF 2 hp system and at least venting the dust otherwise caught by a filter directly outdoors (neighbors are not a problem. None nearby). I even considered putting the whole unit outside with a pipe dropping large bits into a bin. Does this knock down the efficiency of the unit? Does it need that resistance from a bag or filter? Thanks.
If you are primarily using hand tools dust exposure is minimal.
I actually was wondering about this. I have a couple of power tools, but I mostly just use hand tools (Japanese pull saws, hand planes, chisels, etc.) Wondering how much 1 micron dust those produce … 🤷♂️
Thanks. You are good people, Jonathon.
Is that Nick Offerman's (Ron Swanson) image? I love the homage to a great wood working deity.
This was a great upload. I’m building my shop right now and this really helped with what I need to do. Subbed and thanks for the great information.
walnut boogers are the best
I love wood boogers, I use mine for wood filler. But seriously I never had dust collection in my shop. Now that I am getting older it doesn't take long to notice how bad it's bothering me especially during cold weather and in a new well insulated shop. I built this shop with a lot of windows on the west side I can open and large double doors on the east and north side to cross ventilate. I also have large floor stand fans I turn on. I am a firefighter and something I always notice is the fine dust building up in and around my electrical equipment. (Outlets, motors, etc.) Being a firefighter, I know better than breathing in the dust and allowing hidden dust pockets to build up. I also hate constantly cleaning up after every little machine operation. Would be nice to complete a project then clean up. My 12-year-old son is really getting involved in woodworking. I have to keep him from doing what I have done. I am here to educate myself on dust collection.
Great segment! Same excellent Bosch shopvac, 99.97% filtration. Consider getting half face mask respirators, they seal better. Until recently most made in USA tools considered dust extraction as an afterthought. My 1990's SCM Italian sliding t.s. has a full under and over blade shroud that extraction attaches to. My 2000's Delta saw doesn't. Guess which one spits less dust? Funny but the 10" Dewalt jobsite saw actually has full blade extraction option too! Really waiting for our American manufacturers to seriously up their game.
Really interesting stuff. Until today I thought I was being pretty good by using a Rigid shop vac with the HEPA bag/filter kit. Product listing says it "Removes 99.97% of all particles 0.3 microns and larger from the air". So I guess that's pretty good, but not down to the 0.1 micron level that would be ideal. Still for a small shop like mine, which is never likely to be bigger than a 2-car garage, a fixed/ducted dust collector seems like overkill, and I actually don't mind the 1-tool-at-time dust collection of a shop vac. Might have to start a piggy bank for one of those Oneida or Rockler systems that come on a cart with a 1 micron filter.
Weirdly, the hardest particles to filter are .3 microns. .1 microns are actually easier. That’s why hepa is rated as it is. If you have hepa filtration, you’re good. Really very little gets past that, and even pretty nasty/dusty air coming out the other side is going to be better than what people breathe day to day. The one caveat is that those ridgid vacs are not hepa rated - the filter material is, which is not the same. The difference is that the vac itself isn’t as well sealed, so dust can get around the filter.
With the ridgids, however, you can do a lot to seal them. Just get some decent weather stripping and seal around the top. That will really increase the efficacy.
Good video.
Many people in this space refuse to cover their mouths to save their grandmas life, so I doubt they will do it to block some dust.
Would it work (on a shop vac) to attach a 2nd hose to the blower port and place the other end outside or something? So that anything not caught in the vacuum gets blasted outside instead of into the shop?
Yes, it works. I do something similar. I have a hepa filter on my dust collector, and I run some cheap vacs from harbor freight. I remove the filters entirely, and pipe the output into the dust collector’s duct system, which forces it out through the hepa filter. I have a dylos air quality meter, and so I can verify it works. In fact, it actually works better since you get more air moving.
Two things. One, I have 4 wood lathes, and do run some classes. We sharpen a lot, and I have all CBN wheels from 80 to 1000 grit. I found out that the metal dust will float around in the shop like wood dust. I found metal dust inside of a cardboard box that had a magnetic base in it. It was 30 inches above and sideways from my grinder. Another turner hung a magnet 10 feet away from his grinder and it picked up metal particles. At present, no one makes any home shop type of metal dust collector. I am building a bench to have all of my grinders on, and will see about getting one of the air scrubber things up over it at the minimum. Oh, that is another point, you didn't mention the air scrubbers.
Second point is with masks, you didn't mention positive pressure dust masks. They have a battery pack, and filter the air before it goes down over your face. These are effective over a beard because of the positive pressure. I have heard of some using old CPAP machines to make them. They do have HEFA filters. The fabric one I use is 'Dust Be Gone' and it is intended to be washed and used many times. They are 'guaranteed' to not fog up your glasses. That doesn't work for me, or with any other mask except the positive pressure ones. My lung capacity is some where between double normal to 'off the charts'... Yes, I know all the 'full of hot air' jokes...
I've learned I can't wear the RZ mask sadly but then again I have the precusor of COPD so I've been using a Laquare mask 3M and that style. Its not worth the risk to not protect myself
I absolutely love your videos and and how informative they are. Keep up the awesome work and thank you for this gem. I’m in the market to upgrade my shop vac dust collection and this video has given me even more to consider.
Tips on ventilation in freezing temperatures? Fresh air is cold this time of year
You can vent or filter. If you vent, you lose the conditioning. This is why I don’t vent, I just filter (my dust collector has a hepa filter on it). It sucks that I can’t just vent outside like some, but like you, I’m in a colder climate and a powerful dust collector can empty a shop’s heated air in no time.
You’ve covered most of the info all in one place. Great job.
Bill Pentz's article is the reason I upgraded my dust collector with a nice filter system, bought better masks, and bought an overkill air filtration system.