Whether you’re a professional craftsman working for a large commercial furniture maker or a weekend hobbyist, a buildup of dust and other wood debris can be a nuisance. Not only can it prevent the optimal performance of your power tools, but sawdust, chips, and shavings also pose a series of different health and safety hazards.
What Is a Dust Collector?
A dust collector is a piece of equipment that removes wood dust, chips, and shavings as soon as they’re produced. A dust collector connects directly to power tools and suctions up any residual matter. The substances are then stored in porous and/or plastic bags with extremely fine filters to prevent wood particles from escaping.
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Is a Dust Collector Necessary?
For many furniture-building hobbyists and even professional workers at home, a proper dust management system might fall in the luxury category. This is understandable, of course, since a good dust collector for the workshop can cost upwards of $500 or even $1,000. However, here are a couple of reasons to help change your mind.
Health Hazards
First of all, when sawdust goes airborne, it can lead to several different health problems, mostly concerning lungs and breathing. Back in the day, ancient dust collection systems used bags with 30-micron filters which easily let minuscule sawdust particles escape into the air. The ironic thing was that simply leaving the sawdust under the table and sweeping it away later was much safer, albeit still ineffective at preventing it from going airborne.
In 2002, sawdust was classified as not just an irritation but as a health risk. The US government placed the substance on the list of known carcinogens following a series of lung cancer cases among professional woodworkers.
Injury
If you’ve ever had to run multiple boards through a thicknesser, especially when chasing a deadline, then you’ll know the hassle of taking out the broom and dustpan after each run. For the busy worker, it’s so much easier just to let the sawdust and shavings accumulate on the floor and sweep it up at the end of the day. Unfortunately, those shavings can become a slipping hazard if left to pile up even only centimeters thick.
Fire Hazard
We all know that wood is used as fuel to start a fire in a fireplace or pit. We also know that it’s easier for a log to catch fire when cutting into smaller pieces. The same logic applies to wood shavings, chips, and sawdust. It takes only a small spark from an angle grinder or miter saw to ignite sawdust left under or around said tools. In the rarest and most extreme cases, airborne sawdust can explode when in contact with flying sparks or heat.
Better Working Experience
It’s so much easier to work in a clean environment than in a dirty one. A dust collector serves to eliminate as much dust and shavings as possible right as they’re produced from your power tools. Not only does it make your workspace clean, but it also helps preserve the sharpness of your tool’s blades and cutting performance since they won’t be obstructed by remaining wood residue.
Inexpensive Investment
We mentioned earlier that dust collectors could be rather costly to set up. For the most part, this is true, especially when looking at beefy, commercial models that require multiple yards of ductwork to connect to every power tool.
However, there are portable options that can be wheeled around the workshop and connected to various power tools when needed. Many single-stage dust collectors and even cyclone models won’t even leave a significant dent in the personal finances of a serious woodworker since they’ll help save time in the long run.
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Bottom Line
Both professional and residential woodworking shops should have a dust collector. Dust collectors are perhaps one of the most important devices to have in a workshop since they remove sawdust, shavings, and chips right from the source.
The leftover wood particles and debris pose several different safety and health risks which, with the help of a reliable dust collector, is easy to reduce. However, it’s important to note that a dust collector is not a replacement for personal protective equipment (PPE).
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