How to separate machine shop from woodshop dust

[Ecosta777]

I have my shop in the basement of my house. I have one side the machine shop - bridgeport, lathe, bandsaw, etc... and the other half has the woodshop.

My workbench runs about half the length of the shop, also helping divide the two shops. It has a 'wall' down the middle up to the ceiling. One side has pegboard for woodworking tools and the other has my machinist tool boxes. This helps keep dust out where the workbench is.

My problem is the other half of the shop has no divider. When I do woodworking the machines on the other side get covered in dust. I'm sick of thoroughly cleaning all my metalworking machines even after doing a small project like ripping some plywood.

I have ZERO room for a dust collector, the shop is already totally full. I had thought about maybe a shower curtain type deal, but it would be in the way if left up, and I would have to take it down and store it, then put it back up when needed which would be a pain.

This led me to thinking about seeing if I could find one of those pull down projector screens. Hopefully I could find one long enough to cover the open area. It would be up on the ceiling, out of the way and I'd just have to pull it down whenever I need it. That seems to be the best route to me so far.

If I can't find a projector screen is there something else out there that works the same way, almost like a giant blind for a window?

Anyone else have any ideas on this?

 

[cvairwerks]

Warehouse door strips...

 

[rburke65]

Some kind of curtain is all I can think of

 

[homelessdespot]

They sell shop air cleaners that mount on ceiling for woodshops. That or put your dust collector outside and enclose it , and duct it inside. Or maybe, can you exhaust out basement window, create negative pressure when you are making sawdust?

https://wilkerdos.com/2018/09/entryway-table-3/

https://wilkerdos.com/2016/03/installing-harbor-freight-dust-collector-outside/

https://www.rockler.com/dust-collection/air-filtration

 

[OptionalStop]

I'll soon be facing this problem and I'm considering just keeping my machine tools in the house basement, woodworking equipment out in the shop. You could custom make some vinyl covers or something to cover the machine tools when not in use.

 

[mcj115]

Two thoughts....
1) place sheets over the machine tools when not in use.

2) create a pressure differential between the sides of IE exhaust fan on the wood working side and intake on the machine shop side.

 

[dg57]

If the space is as tight as described, I would be concerned about air quality and it's impact on my lungs. I would find a way to get a dust collector and air filter.

 

[Tunar]

I was considering this problem for my garage. I'm contemplating creating a drop down partition. I figure I could attach clear plastic sheet to the ceiling and the other end to a closet pole on the ground. Some rope and pullies routed correctly would create what I think is a Roman shade? We used to have these old bamboo window shades in a house that when pulled up kind of folded over on themselves and were contained by the strings that pulled them up. Could that work?

 

[619DioFan]

A friend of mine had the same problem. he used those long plastic strips the are used inside walk in freezers. easy to walk through and see through. did a good job of keeping the wood dust away from his metal working area.

 

[ALinCarolina]

I'm in the same camp as DG. For many years I did woodworking in my garage with no dust collection then about 20 years or so ago I bought a roll around Jet 1100 (I think 2 hp). I now have a 5 hp cyclone. I know you are cramped but inhaling small dust particles may end up being worse than having to clean the metal working machines.

If you just can't fit a collector inside or out of the shop at least wear a dust mask and hang one of the filter machines from the ceiling. I know this didn't answer your question but just want you and all other GJ guys to stay healthy.

 

[jdewitt]

If you're low on money, you can make an air cleaner to hang from the ceiling with a box fan and a square furnace filter taped to it on the intake side.

 

[rayra]

Hospital-style treatment area curtain rail / track.

 

[Downwindtracker 2]

Bed sheets from the thrift store, not your wife's, over the machines, Wood dust has super fine silica grit in it . It will also cause miners' lung if you get enough exposure .

 

[uzzi]

I just use a heavy duty outdoors lounge cover for my metal lathe.

 

[bugnut]

Horizontal sliding door blinds, or thrift store sheets over the equipment.

 

[gungatim]

ber

 

[Aberdale]

I had the same problem for many years. My solution: Separate buildings.

 

[anythingyoucanimagine]

Being in MA I would not direct-vent outside. It can create a pressure differential. You'll essentially be pumping out conditioned air, creating a vacuum and sucking in unconditioned air. During summer you'll be swapping cool, dry air with hot & humid air and during winter you'll be pumping out warm air and replacing it with cold air.

Either find a way to hang DC from the ceiling or buy a couple cheap shop vacs off CL and use them as individual DC for each woodworking machine.

 

[Plastikosmd]

I had done a curtain that I custom made. It worked well until I could separate

 

[orangeblood]

if you have the bread....switch to festool tools with the small dust extraction system. i wish i could say i am speaking from experience with a shop full of festool gear...but i'm not.

i struggle with a similar problem - wood work dust on my hobby car and mechanic projects / tools. i cant afford switching to a festool track saw, biscuit cutter, sanding system, etc....but man i take long looks at festool systems every time i'm in the rockler or woodcraft stores. pretty sure this would solve a lot of my problem.

 

[oldgoaly]

A shower curtain rod and a easy clean material for a curtain(s)

 

[lakeroadster]

I built walls, using Tyvek, in my barn to keep the filth from migrating from one area to another.

More details in the build thread below.

 

[MBfreak]

I agree with posters who suggests covering the unused machines in bedsheets.
Collects even very small particles, and easy to clean. Take them outdoors and shake, and run them in the washing machine sometimes.
Did like that for years, easy, cheap end effective.

Ola

 

[niget2002]

Warehouse door strips...

This is what I thought of.

Get the big long clear plastic strips they use to partition off parts of a warehouse. You can walk right through them and they do a great job of keeping stuff on one side from getting to the other.

You could also get one of the Wen air scrubbers that hangs from the ceiling.

 

[anythingyoucanimagine]

Except your lungs and the dirt/dust that spreads to the rest of the house. It is really nice to have your other half not ***** that the house is always dusty/dirty.

 

[rsanter]

I did this for years in my garage.
Not only for wood dust but for grinding dust as well
I always covered my mill and lathe when not in use.
Bed sheet and then I put a cheap HF tarp over that

 

[86turbodsl]

You basically can only cover, separate, or clean your air. I have the same problem. I'll probably cover.

 

[anythingyoucanimagine]

You basically can only cover, separate, or clean your air. I have the same problem. I'll probably cover.

Not really. If you have adequate DC and cleaning/filtration you shouldn't need to cover or separate.

 

[86turbodsl]

I mean you have to pick one of the three. I think we are saying the same thing.

Sent from my LG-TP450 using Tapatalk

 

[jgrainger]

Putting sheets on machines can also help against condensation in some areas.

Over here in the UK it seems like DIY cyclones are reasonably popular too. I've got an old fairly open bandsaw which produces a lot of dust when in use and a making a cyclone is also on my own to-do list - presently use a mask if doing more than a bit of cutting.

Some sort of extraction really makes sense but I can appreciate the potential difficulties with some woodworking tools. I also don't think that a simple blind type of idea will stop all traveling dust unless you keep a bit of vacuum/ negative pressure in that side of the workshop - you'll still get some dust on stuff.

Jonathan

 

[RKA]

I think it's kind of futile without sealing off the area, unless you are willing to entertain some investment of money. But the expense might also be justified because you're keeping the dust out of your lungs and if you have an air handler in the basement, you might also be keeping the dust out of the hvac system.

Option 1 - hand tools (most of that dust lands on the ground at your feet). You really have to love hand tools to embrace this, otherwise it's drudgery nobody living today wants to endure.
Option 2 - dust extractor/vacuum. Collect it at the source before it has a chance to go airborne, otherwise it travels and it's more work to capture/clean. In some cases, sell and replace the tools that don't have provisions for good dust collection. Or perhaps you can modify the tools to encapsulate the spinning blades better? This can work really well for handheld power tools. For jobsite style table saws I can only think of two options with provisions above and below table dust extraction (Dewalt and Sawstop). For stationary machines it's not going to work (need a dust collector which you said you weren't willing to do).
Option 2+ - Air scrubber/filter. It can be as simple as box fans with hvac filters taped to them or a dedicated ceiling mounted shop filter. This is not in place of option 2, it's a supplement to option 2.
Option 3 - take the tools outside or move to another space. Probably not an option or you would have done it.

 

[Downwindtracker 2]

Here read this http://billpentz.com/woodworking/cyclone/index.cfm