Clean up with compressed air

[Glenn]

Many times I have seen fabricators, welders, and even blacksmiths clean off a work table with compresses air. Just a sweeping motion with the air nozzle and the table is clean.

My question is about the safety issues of this procedure. It would seem that it put a LOT of dust and debris into the air which could cause respiratory problems. It would also get sucked into air compressors, or any equipment that moves air for cooling, such as motors. Then there is the accumulation of dust on the top of light fixtures, rafters, beams, and shop equipment such as lathes, milling machines, hydraulic cylinders, moving parts etc.

Any comments or suggestions on air as a cleaning tool?

[chyancarrek]

Hey Glenn,

Because I have to share a common space between my wood shop and my blacksmith shop I have to be hyper-vigilant on keeping the wood dust under control (one golden BB from the BS side and it's all over). I divide my work up between disciplines so when I'm done woodworking I go through the entire shop with a shop vac. Once that's done I use an air hose and nozzle to blow off every surface in the shop. I agree it can be a respiratory issue but I open all my doors (2 roll ups and 2 man-doors), turn on the overhead fans then wear a respirator. Having done this on a very regular basis (a couple times a week) I've found that staying ahead of the accumulation makes all the difference.

For the motors I use a method I learned from the owner of the custom furniture shop I worked in. I take the air nozzle and hold it about 10" away from the vents in the motor then turn on the machine and blow air through it while it's running to clean the motor out. He's done this for going on 20 yrs and I've been doing it for about 10 and I've never had a motor failure or any dust related problems with the equipment.

As with all shop routines - staying diligent about clean up makes everything else work that much better.

[nc_cooter]

Same as chyancarrek.

[latvius]

Cleaning out the motor is a good idea, cleaning a shop just stirs up the dust but doesn't really get rid of it. Vacuum or sweep. Talking about blowing out stuff, when is the last time you cleaned out your dusty computer with compressed air? :)

[chyancarrek]

"just stirs up the dust but doesn't really get rid of it"

Totally agree, but I got lucky - the way my shop doors are placed I get excellent airflow. When they're all open and I have the fans on, the majority of airborne dust heads right on out the bay doors and I've broken up those hard to reach areas that accumulate dust so quickly.

[Frosty]

I cleaned my comp with canned air about two months ago.

A few things about using compressed air to clean the shop:

First, it does just move dirt around which may or may not be what you need.

Secondly and IMHO more importantly, 100psi air can propel debris at speeds up to 120mph. and can cause serious injury.

Thirdly, carburating flamables like wood dust and other things we may not normally think of flamables can turn a fire hazard into an explosion hazard. Grain elevator explosions like the recent one being points in case.

On the other hand blacksmithing is inherently dangerous and can be practiced safely with proper precautions so using the air gun to clean up falls into the same catagory.

Frosty