Dust Colection

[Rex Mann]

Anyone ever use a dust collection system when dry cutting either with a quick cut or a table? Curious to hear how well they worked and what brands and types you have tried.

Peace,

Rex

[Stonehenge]

We don't ever cut wet (unless it'as raining), but we don't use any dust collection.

Though to keep OSHA happy, that may be required. If not now, then in the near future. We had an OSHA rep come in to our association meeting, and after I asked (I was the only one asking questions - nobody else wanted to draw attention to themselves, I thin), he explained that respirators were an active safeguard, not a passive one, and as such would not count when determining whether the work environment was safe, from a particulate point of view.

That being said, you can guess what we do - respirators all the way around. Makes it safe for us (OSHA notwithstanding), but still can make a mess in the yard.

I've only heard of a couple systems, each seemed very pricey and I had heard was prone to frequent clogging or breakdown, so I never looked much further.

Below is the respirator we use, and the filters that go on either side of it.

[diginahole]

Just masks here too, but I do see regulations coming down the pike in the future. Still waiting for a dustless laser to cut pavers. We are already required to carry whmis sheets for dust in the trucks.

[dan deutekom]

I don't think they could ever come up with a practical dust collection system on a quick cut saw. It would just be to bulky. awkward and heavy to use. If that is the case then I could see this type of saw being phased out as regulations get more strict. Dust mask and hearing protection are the things for me.

[Bladewizard]

There are attachments for your quickie saws........As for table saws, I know EDCO has a vac attachment in the back of the platform where the dust will shoot out.

[Stonehenge]

Joe, would you know of a link we could click on to get a look?

[PSUscaper]

Here you all go.....

www.dustmuzzle.com

I still am not sure if it would be worth the trouble or not.... but if a job came along where it was required, I'd guess it would be worth it.

While working on a house, there was a wood floor guy who's big selling point was that they were 99% dustless.....

They had a 7x12' trailer with giant vacuumes and hundreds of feet of hose running from outside to inside and then to all of the sanders......had like 7 sanders hooked up to the monster.

It was a great sales pitch for him...........he even patented the trailer system and sells them to other floor contractors.

Now, to say it is as important for paver guys to be dustless is probably a hard sell......but, you never know..

steve

[Rex Mann]

Imagine this job. Building a retaining wall with mega cuts and also installing pavers with mega cuts. No big deal, we have all done this type of job before using a dry saw. Now imagine it is next to a school or daycare. Only a matter of time before OSHA will be tackling this issue of dust collection or in our cases lake of.

Peace,

Rex

[Bladewizard]

Thanks Penn...Saved me from looking for old paperwork.......Seems reasonably priced at 159.00...Wonder how well it really works though....You see the smaller grinders with a type of shroud around giving the dust only one place to go.....A little different on a quickie saw.....Has anyone ever tried to cut down on the dust by spraying a MIST towards the dust, rather than cutting wet and causing a muddy slimy mess? I wonder if that would help any?

[Stonehenge]

Is it me or does that system look like it effectively reduces cutting depth to about an inch?


Also, it looks like the still very important task of placement of the dust is left unanswered with that solution. We may still need a monster vaccuum unit with all the hoses, and more importantly the filters that can take the kind of abuse concrete and clay dust can dish out. steve, was that guy's trailers only function to provide dust collection?

Sounds like a huge investment.

[dan deutekom]

This system does appear to cut the cutting depth of the saw. And you need a good vacuum to catch the dust that you collect. Put this all together with the attaching hoses and stuff and I think a quick cut wouldn't be a "quick" cut anymore. It would be very bulky and awkward to operate. May as well use a tub saw.

[PSUscaper]

I agree that the system does seem to have a few flaws........maybe more of a 'neat' idea rather than a practical one.

And stone, yes, the trailer's sole purpose was dust collection.....

After working on a new home for a few months (many late nights) I talked to the owner quite often (as the floor guys like to work at night when everyone else is out of the way). He was VERY proud of his system, and wasn't shy about giving me its complete spec sheet.

He really had his act together. He explained FULLY the benefits of such a system (maybe more info than anyone would ever need!). To make it short, it had two benefits. First, was time. Though the cost of the unit is high, the amount of work it saves over time is also high. Whenever you sand floors (especially when remodeling), you usually have to tape everyroom completely up. A lot of time spent doing so. Also, a lot of spots still collect dust (aka ........crystal shandeliers that need to be sent out to be cleaned$$$$) Also, as we all are probably aware of, when you go to take all that tape and plastic down, you end up pulling more paint off the walls than tape......another problem that is completely avoided.

The other benefit was with new home construction. Being that you don't have to 'close' areas off while sanding, you can still have other contractors working in and around the areas that you are working on.........a very big selling point when you consider how 'hectic' a house gets when its in its finishing stages. You can bet that every painter has a smile when they find out the floor guy is 'dustless'.

The trailer was quite a set up.......had two huge vacuums mounted inside and a giant filter system connected to them on the outside of the trailer. At the front of the trailer, a big duct cam up and out of the top of the trailer and fed into 2 giant 'socks' (filters) that dropped down to two fifty five gallon drums.........air filtered out of the 'socks' and the dust dropped into the cans.

The guy was really proud of 'how many cans' he filled on the jobs.......he had something like 17 cans for this one.......he seemed very excited about that fact.

Ok, enough about wood floors.....but I will say that if you really need a 'super concrete dust collector', this guy would probably be able to give you some very good ideas.

steve

[HRLand]

Has anyone had experience with any of the dust vac systems since this thread was started? There's been a lot of talk in NJ about OSHA cracking down on the dust.

[Bill Schwab]

W started wet cutting everything. All hand saws use water, so do the table saws. We don't spend the money on pumps, rather, a simple ball valve with a 3/8" fitting and a 3/4" female hose adapter, connect a garden hose and we are rocking.

I hate the mess water leaves on the brick or block if you are not quick to wash it off,, but, so long as we run water, we are in compliance, and, you don't need to use dust masks, because, there is no dust. And, blades last a whole lot longer.

[bigviclbi]

My town has passed an ordinance making it illegal to cut dry. There is aguy selling dust collection in the newspaper, I'm gonna check it out. Do to the popularity of pavers ther is also an ordinance stating that at least 25% of property must be permeable. We're at the shore and everyone was paving the whole yard, people are worried about the water having no where to go.

[Stonehenge]

Last year we had some busybody calling the city health department on us every couple of days. I guess the guys weren't wearing their respirators, and this busybody figured he would be better at deciding how they protect themselves from the dust. The health dept. was about as enthusiastic as we were - they went so far as to kind of hint when they wouldn't be around, so we could finish up our work then without getting into trouble.

I haven't looked any further into dust collection - as I understand it, it's very expensive, and you constantly have to monitor the filter, otherwise you'll blow the motor. The collection systems for wood saws and such wouldn't last a day with paver dust.

[johnkeegan]

99% of our cuts are wet. If I'm not mistaken, I believe I've seen warnings on some of the concrete block/paver products warning that the dust is rather harmful. I believe there's silica or some such ingredient in them.
There's not much difference between the cost of wet vs. dry saws. Certainly not enough to justify serious lung damage. And I know the water can be a little messy but just keep a hose and broom handy to sweep up. Besides, wet cutting is alot less abusive to those pricey diamond blades.

[HRLand]

We make most cuts on the wet saw also but whenever possible we try to cut in place. We don't use water when cutting in place because I don't want to saturate the sand. Am I worrying too much?