What dust/blast cabinet setup should I get

[tombk]

My fossil prep has so far been limited to hand tools - brushes, needles in pin vises, sharp blades, and a rotary Dremel for sanding and polishing. I’ve been using the Dremel outside with an N95 mask and eye protection. I’d like to be able to work inside on rainy days and in the winter (I live in Iowa, so it gets pretty cold). Right now, to move inside, I would need some sort of cabinet to handle the dust I kick up from the Dremel. But thinking ahead, I’d like the cabinet to be able to handle air abrasives also. 

 

I’m deciding between making my own cabinet  and buying one. I like the look of the Vaniman Problast cabinet, but it seems to handle only media 25 microns and up. I think this precludes using baking soda, unless it’s possible to mod the cabinet. The Vaniman cabinet also seems to recycle the media, which wouldn’t be what I want for getting rid of dust from my Dremel work. 

 

So, I guess my questions are:

1. Do I need to decide between a cabinet that recycles media and one that clears it all away? 
2. If I do decide to build my own cabinet, does anyone have a recommendation for how to do this? 
3. what questions am I not asking that I should be?

Thanks much. 

[Thomas.Dodson]

42 minutes ago, tombk said:

So, I guess my questions are:

 

1. Do I need to decide between a cabinet that recycles media and one that clears it all away? 
2. If I do decide to build my own cabinet, does anyone have a recommendation for how to do this? 
3. what questions am I not asking that I should be?

Thanks much. 

1. Probably. Your decision depends in part on the type of media you use. I've read that dolomite, for example, isn't good reused. I think Bicarb holds up okay but it's cheap anyway. I don't reuse my media, I'm just recalling what I have read in the past.

 

2. I think there are some DIY plans for cabinets on the forum. I built mine out of an old cooler. However you make it the basic premise is simple and easy to make. Vaniman sells the Problast system without the cabinet as well and that is what I use in conjunction with my DIY cabinet.

 

3. The biggest problem is not a cabinet but how you plan to filter out the dust. The cabinets you buy are meant to hook up to a separate dust collection system that are far more expensive (starting close to $1000 IIRC) than the cabinet itself.

 

There are DIY solutions to this that usually involve shop vacs but they present their own problems. They're loud for one. You should also expect noise from your eventual compressor when you move to air abrasion. I mention this now so you can plan ahead but the dirty details can otherwise be decided and discussed later later. There's really no efficient way around noise. I wear noise cancelling headphones during prep.

 

One last thing. Air abrasion systems need driers and coalescing filters. The driers can also be done DIY on the cheap but you are going to need them so plan accordingly, especially if you want to mount them on the wall or something.

 

This is a DIY dust collection primer I wrote up. Some people suck up dust directly to the shop vac but this shortens the motor life significantly and I find the water filter is easier to clean and more effective anyway.

 

[tombk]

Thanks @Thomas.Dodson! I have already read and studied your excellent photo-filled explanation of the dust collection system you made. You mention that the cabinets that are sold are meant to connect to a dust collection system. Is there an industry standard connection type that commercially sold cabinets use for the dust collection system to hook up to?

 

 I haven't tried to make my own yet along the lines you set out, but saving up to $1K is motivation enough to give it a go when I get around to buying/making my cabinet. 

[Thomas.Dodson]

7 minutes ago, tombk said:

Is there an industry standard connection type that commercially sold cabinets use for the dust collection system to hook up to?

I'm not sure but I don't think they're making tricky connections. The Vaniman Vanguard (dust collector) says the connection is for a 1-1/2 in suction hose and pictures the same shop vac style suction hose and connector.

[jpc]

I use a woodshop dust collector...cost about 450 USD 20 years ago.  such as this...

https://www.toolots.com/2-hp-dust-collector-9-5-cu-ft-bag-volumn.html?cid=1480890696&gclid=CjwKCAjwzruGBhBAEiwAUqMR8ADMg9KMWurEsh_q3pnmrfaa7H0f8MAvYydQv5TIM1raubYsenXMURoCDxEQAvD_BwE

 

Get one with 5 micron bags and it will handle air abrasive powders nicely.  It is slightly loud, but nothing like a shop vac.  And a home made work cabinet.

 

[Crusty_Crab]

Before answering, I'll give you my mantra for preparation: the matrix drives the method. What are you preparing? The matrix of your fossils determine the best and available preparation methods. If the matrix you are working on responds well to hand tools, then why do you need to spend the money on an abrasive unit?

 

That being said, I have a Vaniman cabinet and dust collection system. The cabinet houses the abrasive system and contains the dust. There is a port at the back with which you connect a hose to the pre-filter accumulation system: a large cone and receptacle. This collects the spent abrasive in the receptacle. You can recover the spent abrasive and filter it for reuse. If you don't want to reuse it, simply discard it. As stated in the literature, bicarbonate is not recyclable, and dolomite in an emergency. I've reused glass beads and they seem to work. I understand aluminum oxide may also be reused. The pre-filter accumulation system is then connected via another hose to the filter unit, which has the suction motor and dust filters. 

 

If you buy the cabinet, I highly recommend getting the pre-filter accumulator and filtration units as well. You can operate a cabinet abrasive unit and connect it only to a shop vac. All of the dust and abrasives will then go directly to the shop vac and you are entirely reliant on the shop vac's filters to prevent any dust from going into the air. The pre-filter accumulator collects the majority of the dust so that it doesn't even reach the filter in the first place. If the Vaniman's filters can't filter out smaller particles than 25 micron, I would wager a typical shop vac would do much worse. You could also buy a pre-filter accumulator then connect it to a shop vac. Both of the connectors are male 1.5" connectors. You need to buy a female 1.5" connector to connect them. 

 

You mentioned that the filters handle media 25 microns and up. That is extremely small. I buy abrasive media from a specialist company and their media is generally much larger than 25 microns. If you are using bicarbonate from a grocery store for example, it is much much larger than 25 microns. My experience is that it was not effective for fossil preparation and a much finer, harder grit such as 44 micron dolomite was better. The other variables are nozzle size and PSI and you should experiment with those depending on your matrix.  

[hadrosauridae]

3 hours ago, Crusty_Crab said:

......

 

You mentioned that the filters handle media 25 microns and up. That is extremely small. I buy abrasive media from a specialist company and their media is generally much larger than 25 microns. If you are using bicarbonate from a grocery store for example, it is much much larger than 25 microns. My experience is that it was not effective for fossil preparation and a much finer, harder grit such as 44 micron dolomite was better. The other variables are nozzle size and PSI and you should experiment with those depending on your matrix.  

 

I find that it does very well, and sometimes is even too much.  I havent tried dolomite yet, but I wouldnt discount regular store bicarb.  It all depends on how hard the fossil / matrix are.  I have some shell-hash blocks that it doesnt even touch at 90psi, and I have some bones that would be destroyed by it on 10psi.

[Fossil Fen]

On 6/21/2021 at 12:53 PM, Crusty_Crab said:

Before answering, I'll give you my mantra for preparation: the matrix drives the method. What are you preparing? The matrix of your fossils determine the best and available preparation methods. If the matrix you are working on responds well to hand tools, then why do you need to spend the money on an abrasive unit?

 

That being said, I have a Vaniman cabinet and dust collection system. The cabinet houses the abrasive system and contains the dust. There is a port at the back with which you connect a hose to the pre-filter accumulation system: a large cone and receptacle. This collects the spent abrasive in the receptacle. You can recover the spent abrasive and filter it for reuse. If you don't want to reuse it, simply discard it. As stated in the literature, bicarbonate is not recyclable, and dolomite in an emergency. I've reused glass beads and they seem to work. I understand aluminum oxide may also be reused. The pre-filter accumulation system is then connected via another hose to the filter unit, which has the suction motor and dust filters. 

 

If you buy the cabinet, I highly recommend getting the pre-filter accumulator and filtration units as well. You can operate a cabinet abrasive unit and connect it only to a shop vac. All of the dust and abrasives will then go directly to the shop vac and you are entirely reliant on the shop vac's filters to prevent any dust from going into the air. The pre-filter accumulator collects the majority of the dust so that it doesn't even reach the filter in the first place. If the Vaniman's filters can't filter out smaller particles than 25 micron, I would wager a typical shop vac would do much worse. You could also buy a pre-filter accumulator then connect it to a shop vac. Both of the connectors are male 1.5" connectors. You need to buy a female 1.5" connector to connect them. 

 

You mentioned that the filters handle media 25 microns and up. That is extremely small. I buy abrasive media from a specialist company and their media is generally much larger than 25 microns. If you are using bicarbonate from a grocery store for example, it is much much larger than 25 microns. My experience is that it was not effective for fossil preparation and a much finer, harder grit such as 44 micron dolomite was better. The other variables are nozzle size and PSI and you should experiment with those depending on your matrix.  

Hey Crusty,

 

Which Vaniman cabinet system do you use? And what size tips are your go to's?

[Ptychodus04]

I’m in the diy/commercial combo realm as others here are. I have a diy box that sits on top of specimens with a sleeved opening for my arm and tools and a port for the dust collector. This allows me to move the box around on larger specimens but still work inside on smaller pieces. It keeps me from having to use a massive box for giant slabs of matrix. The dust collector I use is a commercial carpentry unit with a 2 micron bag. It draws through a bucket system similar to the one @Thomas.Dodson uses without the water. This picks up the larger bits with only the fines making it to the collection bag.

 

I use 45 micron iron powder for my abrasive so recycling is a must due to cost. I have a large magnet in a bag inside the bucket that picks up most of the abrasive that makes it into the system. Periodically, I pull out the magnet and peel off the bag, dropping the iron into a bucket. This goes through a sieve and gets reused.

 

The material in the collection bag is so fine that there’s no way to physically separate the iron from matrix, so periodically I empty it into a bucket and liberally douse it with vinegar to dissolve the matrix. What’s left gets a good rinse to remove the acid and I’m left with a paste of mostly iron. Once this is completely dry, it gets crushed and sieved and goes back into service.

 

Dust is a huge safety concern when prepping. If you find dust on the surface of your box the day after a prep session, you need to do more remediation. I don’t have anything on the glass even after a 10 hour prep day. If you experience dust accumulation, you either need to get a finer collection bag, move the collector to another room, or wear a respirator while you prep. I use a NIOSH P100 respirator when prepping outside the box. It collects 99.97% of all particles larger than .3 microns.

 

I’m prepping way more than a typical hobby prepper, so this may be overkill for you. As with all things, exposure is the key variable. Long term exposure to dust results in silicosis and/or pulmonary fibrosis. Both of these killed my father (he worked in a foundry back in the days before PPE was a thing), it was not a good way to die.