Metal dust and dust collection

[Peter Tremblay]

Hello all,

I have a dust collector with a 1 micron canister filter.

If I were to sand/grind metal on a disk sander or mill brass on my router table would using the DC hurt the machine?

I'm especially concerned about damage to the filter.  I also don't want to start a fire with hot metal pieces being mixed in with wood dust.

But I don't want metal dust (especially steel) settling on my lumber and staining it.

[EricU]

I would worry about fire.  We have had a couple of fires at work related to mixing wood and metal.  In particular, you probably don't want to pull hot metal into your dust collection system.  I would just not use it while grinding metal and wait for things to cool down and clean up by hand or with a shopvac

[MarkSingleton]

Probably the best solution for this is a separate dust collector system altogether.

I need to deal with this some day as well.

My current plan is to put all the tools that
generate metal dust, ie belt sanders, grinders etc, on a rolling cart that I can
push out of my garage when I use them.  I am fortunate in that the wood shop
is in a separate building so contaminating the wood has not been an issue.

[jteneyck]

Hello all,

I have a dust collector with a 1 micron canister filter.

If I were to sand/grind metal on a disk sander or mill brass on my router table would using the DC hurt the machine?

I'm especially concerned about damage to the filter.  I also don't want to start a fire with hot metal pieces being mixed in with wood dust.

But I don't want metal dust (especially steel) settling on my lumber and staining it.

If you can disconnect your filter canister from the system, or otherwise bypass it, you could blow it out a window.  

John

[CLETUS]

Hello all,

I have a dust collector with a 1 micron canister filter.

If I were to sand/grind metal on a disk sander or mill brass on my router table would using the DC hurt the machine?

I'm especially concerned about damage to the filter.  I also don't want to start a fire with hot metal pieces being mixed in with wood dust.

But I don't want metal dust (especially steel) settling on my lumber and staining it.

I regularly go from wood to aluminum, brass and steel. I have accidently sent sparks into my shop vac with a filter bag filled with sawdust. No fire, but I kept an eye on it.

As a rule, I'd say it's a very bad idea to use your wood dust collection for steel, brass and aluminum.

The "dust" doesn't stay suspended like wood dust. Cover your wood, tools, etc with a sheet while grinding. Easy, peasy.

[Peter Tremblay]

I regularly go from wood to aluminum, brass and steel. I have accidently sent sparks into my shop vac with a filter bag filled with sawdust. No fire, but I kept an eye on it.

As a rule, I'd say it's a very bad idea to use your wood dust collection for steel, brass and aluminum.

The "dust" doesn't stay suspended like wood dust. Cover your wood, tools, etc with a sheet while grinding. Easy, peasy.

I think that's what I'll be doing.

Thanks

[Wild Turkey]

I'm with Cletus.  


Get one of those "floor sweep" magnets or something similar to make clean-up easier.

And plan ahead to send the sparks where they will not do damage and be easier to clean up.

A piece of cardboard, etc can make a great deflector.

I try to go outside when I've got any heavy cutting/grinding to do -- helps with "domestic tranquility, especially if I need to do some welding.

[Timberwolf]

I think that's what I'll be doing.

Thanks

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Metal particles can be sharp and will/may "cling" to your filter and be hard to remove, unlike wood dust. I would just cover what I want to protect.