Air Purification System

Like a lot of people I have a very small unheated shop. I work outside when the weather is nice, about the time that Thanksgiving comes rolling around I end up stopping when I can't take the cold anymore, til this year. This year I brought my scroll saw inside and set it up in a small unused room. This solved the problem with working in the cold, but created a new one, dust.

My Craftsman saw has a dust port on the right hand side, so I attach my Shop-vac, which I have installed a HEPA filter in. The Sop-vac takes care of most of the dust and you can disconnect it quickly to vacuum the area around the saw with the brush attachment to keep things neat. But even with all that, there is still some very fine dust that ends up escaping and settling on things in the room.

Even in a larger well equipped shop with a built in dust collection system that has ductwork going to each machine, theres still the need for a way to collect the wayward dust that hangs in the air for several hours after your done working, which is why most woodworkers will have an air cleaner as part of their overall dust collection system.

I looked at the larger shop air cleaning units, but they're ugly and not cheap either. I kept on looking around and one day in the store while getting furnace filters came across the Hunter Air Purifiers in another isle close by. I bought the one you see above, the QuietFlo 90 for $49.95. The little machine is good for rooms up to 12' x 13' and will exchange the air up to 6 times per hour, it can sit on a shelf/table or it has a couple of slots on the back so you can hang it on the wall. Its also easy on power, just under 10 watts.

When I'm going to work with my saw, I turn on the Hunter, the the Shop-vac and do my cutting. When I'm finished I leave the Hunter running for about 3-4 hours (with the door closed) and then shut it off. It has done a pretty good job for me so far.

Look for these machines on sale at places like Menards, Home Dept, Lowes, etc. or maybe on-line at Amazon.com, there are some good deals out there, just look and you will find something affordable.