{"id":377,"date":"2008-05-06T12:21:25","date_gmt":"2008-05-06T16:21:25","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.woodworkersguide.com\/?p=377"},"modified":"2016-10-03T11:24:24","modified_gmt":"2016-10-03T11:24:24","slug":"safety-review","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ravenview.com\/safety-review\/","title":{"rendered":"A Safety Review Of My Workshop"},"content":{"rendered":"
Since the object of Woodworking Safety Week is for woodworkers to focus on safety in the workshop I did a safety review of what equipment I use to make my shop safer, any problems that I may have with this equipment and areas where I could improve it.<\/p>\n
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It certainly was an eye-opener, realizing the good and the bad. Here is my workshop safety review:<\/p>\n
Dust Collector<\/strong><\/p>\n
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Pro: I use a 1 horsepower Craftex dust collector that has an air suction capacity of 570 CFM’s with a 1 micron filter bag. I use it with the table saw, the router and the belt sander. It also serves as my vaccuum cleaner.<\/li>\n
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Con: Since it has such a small capacity I have hook it up to one tool at a time. Obviously there are times when I have to ‘just make a quick cut’ and I don’t.<\/li>\n<\/blockquote>\n
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Air Filter<\/strong><\/p>\n
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Pro: I use a 3 stage dust collection system that hangs from the ceiling. It has a washable polyurethane foam filter, a 2nd stage pleated cotton\/polyester filter, and a 3rd stage pocket-bag polyester filter. The unit filters the air at a rate of 450 cfm \u2013 exchanging the air in the shop about six times an hour filtering out 99% of particles up to 5 microns, and 90% of particles up to 1 micron.<\/li>\n
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Con: It works very well at what it does but I find it very noisy. Therefore I only run it when I’m using the table saw for a lot of sawing, when doing a lot of routing and when cleaning up.<\/li>\n<\/blockquote>\n
Dust Mask<\/strong><\/p>\n
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Pro: I use the Dust Bee Gone dust mask which filters down to 3 microns. What I like a it is that it doesn’t fog up my glasses, as it guarantees against. Since other masks fog me up I would never use them. I use this one all the time.<\/li>\n
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Con: It’s not as effective as more expensive respirators and air-fed masks.<\/li>\n<\/blockquote>\n
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Faceshield<\/strong><\/p>\n
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Pro: I use a faceshield with a polycarbonate shield for woodturning and when the table saw is throwing some heavy duty chips. It works well as was proven here<\/a>.<\/li>\n