Typical woodworking processes, like routing MDF, create a large amount of fine and unhealthy dust. Notice the amount of dust covering the table from routing a simple 1/4" x 1/2" rabbet on the side of an 8" MDF disc. What you can't see in the picture is the amount of dust that also becomes airborne
Many of you who read the how-to sections of this magazine do so because you have a passion, not only for enjoying great car audio, but because you like to get your hands dirty creating great car audio. Some of you are hobbyists working in your (or your parents') garage/carport, while others are installation professionals thumbing through to check out the latest and greatest installation techniques. I was hooked by the car audio bug over 17 years ago and, like most of you, started tinkering in my parents' garage. I was lucky enough to con my dad into letting me borrow some money to buy power tools and supplies so I could create audio systems for my friends. I still remember the one thing that bothered him the most: the layer of MDF dust that covered the entire garage and driveway after I was done working on a project. Every time he would complain about the dust, I used to just shrug my shoulders and think, "What can I do?"
When I was in charge of the installation facility at Alpine, I was so busy and excited building demo vehicles that I didn't put much thought into dust collection (although I was often completely covered in dust), until one of my installation/fabrication mentors, Mark Fukuda, came by for a visit and said, "Y'all need some dust collection in here!" When he explained that he had installed a dust-collection system in his facility that evacuated over 90 percent of the dust in his woodshop, I realized that I didn't have to spend my days looking like Pig-Pen from the Peanuts cartoon strip.
Many installers and store owners have the same view on dust collection as I did. They see it as an option and believe having MDF, fiberglass and body-filler dust flying around the shop is unavoidable. After Fukada's visit, I tried researching dust collection, but much of the information available at the library, bookstore and on the Internet was obsolete or inaccurate. I decided to hire a professional company to install a large industrial dust-collection system (outside the building) at Alpine that cost over $20,000. Once you are used to working in a woodshop with good dust collection, it's hard working without it. After leaving Alpine, I spent countless hours experimenting and trying to create affordable dust-collection contraptions that were average at best until I came across Bill Pentz's dust collection website (billpentz.com/woodworking/cyclone) several years ago. It contains a wealth of honest information on small shop fine dust collection that can't be found anywhere else.
We incorporated a Biesmeyer Blade Guard system with dust-collection port to aid with dust collection for our table saw. The flex hose was upgraded to 3" hose (from 1 3/4") for improved suction. The bottom of the table saw is ducted with 6" PVC piping. We are now able to rip full sheets of MDF all day long and create only the tiniest amount airborne dust.
Dust collection is very important, whether you're a do-it-yourselfer or a professional installer, not only because of the safety and health benefits, but because it allows for a clean and efficient work environment. Installers who spend time and money to keep up with the latest installation techniques and tools should also invest in ways to work smarter, like improving the shop layout or dust collection, because they are both equally important to increasing efficiency and making a profit. While dust collection may not seem like much of a way to increase efficiency, it allows the unpleasant aspects of custom fabrication (grinding fiberglass, sanding body fillers and primers, routing MDF) to be much more tolerable processes that are less likely to be put off.
The very fine dust created with these processes is very unhealthy and prolonged exposure can cause many respiratory illnesses down the road. The dust also seems to travel everywhere, even in shops that employ some form of dust collection, which makes most shop owners unhappy. Wearing a dust mask to protect your respiratory health is one way to deal with the health side of the dust issue, but still leaves much to be desired in comfort and the overall appearance of the shop because a large amount of dust is tracked from the woodshop to other parts of the store.
Capturing the dust at the source is one of the most important steps in fighting a dusty shop. In order to do this, the ducting that carries the dust from the machine to the dust collector must be the proper size. Although 4" round pipe/hose is the most common industry ducting size for dust collection, Pentz's research has shown that 4" pipe is too restrictive to maintain the proper airflow (700 to 800ft3/minute) needed to capture fine dust at the larger dust-creating machines like the table saw, miter saw and inverted router. Following Pentz's suggestions, I upgraded our shop's ducting to 6" PVC pipe, with large radius bends at the corners (instead of 90-degree elbows), which resulted in a dramatic increase in suction at the source because the cross sectional area of 6" ducting is over twice that of 4" duct. The resistance to air movement of smaller diameter ducting is the same reason you would use 6" pipe rather than 4" pipe to port a large subwoofer.