The short-term dangers posed by wood-dust particles include nasal issues, eye issues, colds, and asthma – long term prolonged exposure has been proven to be carcinogenic. Most at risk are home woodworkers and hobbyists working from sealed garages or basements. These toxic airborne hazards, which can stay airborne for 30 minutes or longer, include natural chemicals in the wood, bacteria, fungi as well as man-made chemicals found in stains, varnishes and paint.

Dust Collection Solutions for Smaller Workshops

Dust collection in a small workshop can be done affordably and very effectively using a wall-mounted dust collector and an ambient air filter.

Before continuing, it’s important to discuss a very important concept, cubic feet per minute, or simply CFM. This is the unit used to measure the amount of air that is being drawn and is a key unit in all dust management systems. Generally speaking, bigger is better.

CFM estimate ranges for common workshop tools:

• Band saws require dust-collection solutions that can draw 300-700+ CFM;
• Belt sanders, 400-700 CFM;
• Jointers, 350-1000+ CFM;
• Planers, 500-800 CFM;
• Table saws, 350-600 CFM. 

Wall-Mounted Dust Collectors (500-1000 CFM)

A wall-mounted dust collector is powerful enough to handle the wood-particle waste from any handheld tool or stationary woodworking machine. These single-tool, wall-mounted solutions should not be placed too far away from the machine it is drawing dust from. This is an example of a wall-mounted dust collector produced by us at POWERTEC. 

These units collect wood dust down to the 2.5-micron level, drawing in the fine dust particles as well as taking care of the main workshop hazards caused by sawdust – slipping and fire. (Sawdust is not only highly combustible, but airborne it can be ignited by a stray spark causing an explosion.) 

Ambient Air Filters (300-500 CFM)

Complete dust collection is really a two-step process. No matter how good a dust collection system is, small airborne dust particles will escape into the air. Ambient air filters complete the dust collection process by scrubbing the air down to one micron. It’s the final step to keeping a workshop free from harmful particles.

Ambient filers work by drawing polluted air into the intakes where it is filtered and then released as clean air back into the workspace.  This is an example of an ambient air filter produced by us at POWERTEC.

Final Thoughts

Dust collection is more than just keeping the workspace clean, it’s also about keeping the air within the workshop free from harmful pollutants. Work safe!