Home DIY

I use a CTL36 in the workshop. It takes up a huge amount of space although I have the WCR1000 and boom arm on it too which makes it a bit more useful for storage and keeps the hose out of the way.

I'm still sweeping up a lot of dust after cutting on the CMS table saw or mitre saw. The router is a tiny bit better but there's still plenty of dust everywhere and covering every surface so just to say the 99.9% figures are just for the dust that makes it into the hoover. There's still plenty of dust that doesn't.

There are reasons for this and I could fine tune hose sizes and always let the hoover get up to speed before making the cut but work needs to get done and time is a factor.

Is everyone wearing a respirator when using these tools?

For my workshop kit yes (unless I'm making one or two cuts and have forgotten where I've put my respirator). If I'm on site and working outside I tend to not bother.

I did find when I got my giant Sedgwick table saw and massive twin canister Apzem high volume dust extractor that performance with regards to dust extraction was much better but every time a sliver sized offcut drops into the saw efficiency plummets.

Thanks for the professional insight Bobbo, really useful.

Need to figure out what's appropriate for my current circumstances now but also take into account potential increase in requirements in the mid term... we're house hunting at the moment and swinging for an outbuilding to use as a workshop so maybe now isn't the best time to make a decision.

The important thing is I'm aware of the fine dust and the safety issue with that. Thanks for the reminder chaps.

Festool CTL Mini / Midi L class have all the same internals and filters as the M class dust collectors. They just don't have the sensor for suction loss due to a full bag which is required for M class certification. I believe this applies to the systainer sized one too.

I have the systainer sized one. There's a battery powered version now. Not sure if it's launched yet, just saw it at a show late last year.

They are not bad power wise but not designed for the kind of dust a router or saw can create.

One critical aspect of dust collection is hose diameter. Of course you need the volume of suction to drive a larger hose but it's the main reason the normal skinny hoses don't cope so well with tools like the mitre saw.

The M Class hoovers I have also have the feature where they vibrate the filter to shake dust off it. When I say vibrate it's more like a banging that happens every so often. This is imperative if you're using the 225mm sanders bagless (which is how they're designed to be used).

The M Class hoovers I have also have the feature where they vibrate the filter to shake dust off it. When I say vibrate it's more like a banging that happens every so often.

Our Miele vacuum does that! It always makes me panic momentarily that the it has fallen apart when it starts making the loud clicking/banging sounds.

Bathroom extraction, specifically duct sizing - does anyone have experience in this?
It's definitely going to be an inline fan in the loft, just trying to work out what size ducting to specify. I believe the fans being supplied are 4", but is there any reason not to ask for 5"/6" ducting beyond cost?
I'm already asking for insulated as this will be going through the loft, but insulated rigid ducting is several times more expensive - how critical is this?

Is everyone wearing a respirator when using these tools?

Fuck yes

Do you mean with supplied air or a mask with filters?

Ah just a mask with filters. Never really seen them called “respirators” until covid times. This is mine

I have a couple of 3m ones and have some decent paper ones which I feel are better than nothing. The other day I thought 'I should buy myself that fancy respirator' :-

https://www.best4safety.co.uk/products/3m-versaflo-m-206-respiratory-helmet?currency=GBP&variant=40369289167003&utm_medium=cpc&utm_source=google&utm_campaign=Google%20Shopping&gclid=CjwKCAjw6dmSBhBkEiwA_W-EoPHH6_Cp80XaAawSkwPu1mwy74kHJWzlfLVkn68xeMs8Ld4s2u8BhxoCCOUQAvD_BwE

Yeah but that's just the facesheild / helmet. I don't think it includes the powered unit which filters and supplies the air. That's another monkey!

Having used a variety of contraptions to keep covid out of my lungs over the pandemic at work including helmet types, Sundstrom and disposables my current kit is the 3m aurora 9330+ which is the most comfortable. The Sundstrom was a killer :(

I was going to link to the trend one but this caught my eye. It's a serious business for sure.

When younger used to just 'man up and breath it in'. Then slightly older decided to buy a decent mask, worth £30 or whatever it cost, paid for itself on day 1 for the massive reduction in black gunge in the nose for days after, throat and general side affects of breathing in massive quantities of filth.

Still got the same mask but keep several filters on hand depending on the job, you can blow them out with a compressor a few times. Also found sticking the whole thing in a bag in the freezer helps keep on top of stuff growing in it.

I have experience but in the wrong way. We had oil heating and extraction was never an issue. Moved to gas heating (unlimited hot water), and we have a huge issue with damp. I can’t advise on the solution as we haven’t worked it out yet.
I can advise that, at some stage, we will need the bathroom repainted [F&B) and possibly, a little bit of plaster replaced.
I’m not happy. We have moved the extractor vent to right above the shower and that has helped but not enough. A spark looked at our in line fan and said it was fine - strong enough etc but not to extract the massive amount of steam from a 30 minute shower. My daughter likes long showers!

I’ve disassembled this one and put it through the dishwasher a couple of times - silicone and plastic seem fine with it!

we haven’t worked it out yet.... 30 minute shower

I think you have

New gate topper after dismantling the old rotten one to get the shed panels in.

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Then rebuilt the one over the back gate as well as replacing the rotten gate post on the wall side.

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If it's the "rigid" part that you're wondering about, I found that our rubbish wall-mounted fan was more effective when I replaced the corrugated duct with smooth, rigid ducting. Also, I've never worked out how you deal with dust buildup in an inline fan. It certainly builds up in corrugated ducting and on fan blades, which reduces their efficiency slightly.

Traditionally, children were used.

Employed, ftfy

What's the @Airhead / @Bobbo recommended woodfiller to be used in an exterior application but painted?
Need to fill a few holes before painting my door. Seem to remember some sort of "system" recommended a few years back but can't fint the post.