Shop Works #2: Box Fan Dust Filter

Great work John. Any dust collector is better than none. Have you noticed a difference since you started using this in your shop? Less dust lying around I bet.

-- Bill, Turlock California, http://www.brookswoodworks.com

Thanks Bill. Yes, I guess the main thing that I see is the filter is getting covered up with dust.

Right now I am using it on my porch. I am scraping paint. Once I forgot to turn the fan on and I thought – this is kind of dusty – then I realized that I had not turned the fan on! So, I guess it makes some difference.

-- John

I was thinking about making a couple of these just this morning—talk about coincidences! I take it that it’s really effective?

-- Robert from Raymond, MS. "We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence is therefore not a practice, but a habit." - Aristotle

I think it will be most effective in the case of the first picture where it is right next to the work piece on the workbench.

The design in the magazine called for two of the fiberglass filters. The pleated filter taxes the fan a bit. You perceive a reduction in motor speed.

In my environment (garage shop) I wanted a way to move dust away from my work area. At first I was using a small portable desk fan. This design allows me to keep dust out of the fan and trap some of the dust at the same time.

One needs to consider the ability for the chosen filters to capture particulate. These furnace filters are really not designed for the micron stuff. The micron filters require more power to pull the air through. I will buy a “micron” filter and report back on how the fan handles it.

Of course this is no substitute for adequate dust collection and the use of a breathing mask.

-- John

John,

On the second series of shots, it appears the fan is resting on some MDF with a lot of holes. Is a downdraft table or a series of dog holes?

-- "Bordnerizing" perfectly good lumber for over a decade.

The mdf with the holes is a Festool MFT
indeed the holes are dog holes of a sort…
(ask mr spid-ato man about dat MFT.)

-- John

Nice work.

-- Jesus is Lord!

Thanks Os!

-- John

Great Idea. What did you use for the fan. I picked up a couple of fans at Walmart and it seems that move very little air. A real reduction from previous versions. That really made the air move.

-- Karson Southern Delaware karson_morrison@bigfoot.com

Yes, Karson, I think that you may be right, these inexpensive fans are just not that powerful. It does help move the dust away from the work area, though.

-- John