Ventilation!

Jewelry Discussion
1

Dear Orchid Friends,

It cannot be stressed enough how important having a very high
quality ventilation system is…

If you are going to do hot work, soldering, fusing, enameling,
pickling, quenching, polishing & etc. Fans blowing over shoulders,
windows cracked open, and tiny fans moving small quantities of
air are GROSSLY INADEQUATE.

This is wire wrapping and beading ventilation!

If you were to attend a school or workshop so inappropriately
provided they would be subject to fines and penalties for not
protecting your health through common practices…

Some kind of hood (mine is plexiglas that I made as I want an open
feel in my studio) with an air handler capable of moving enough air
that you cannot smell anything when you solder or pickle, etc is
essential… (mine is a squirrel cage blower from a central a/c
unit moving 5000 cfm cubic feet per minute) exhausting it outside
away from man and beast…

Air pollution is measured in parts per billion as
significant…smelling requires much higher levels that ppm to be
sensed…

The affects are cumulative and in some cases (cyanide, cadmium,
heavy metals) really nasty.

The total cost for my unit is under $100… it has a convenient
switch, it is very quiet and it moves the offending gases and
fabric particles from polishing away from me and mine ( all
requirements for me to enjoy my bench work).

If I seem to be coming on very stongly… I am…this is your
health and if you lose it it is extremely difficult to regain…

You are the only person who can take responsibility for protecting
your health.

There are several excellent books just for artist/crafts persons
that explain the hidden dangers of our wonderful
crafts/trades/professions…and what the symptoms are and
precautions to be taken…

caveat emptor

All the best in all things,

Ya’ll be careful out there, ya hear? :>)

Wm.

         Mystical Grits
Bill Mason.... icq.. 8835495

http://www.concentric.net/~lightone/
Metaphysical Art Jewelry
Gems & Crystals
Gratitude Is A Self Fulfilling Prophecy!
POBox 2651
Easley, South Carolina 29641 USA
864-306-9910 or 864-855-5218
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2

Bill, Could you e-mail or snail mail more precise directions for
your ventilation system? I have been delaying in this area for
many years now, and finally see that I can’t procrastinate any
further. I have talked to several heating and air conditioning
people locally, who don’t really understand what I need or want,
without some working drawings. I have a very small space, maybe
10x10, with soldering and polishing equipment. The crud can be
shaken off of the walls, as it does at time with the warthquakes!
Help!

Thanks,

Ruth

3

Hi Folks,

Let me chime in here. My Dad recently underwent surgery for
cancer of the sinus. His surgeon explained that this rare cancer
is thought to be caused by breathing particulates and chemicals,
not cigarettes. My Dad is a retired Tool and Die Maker who
worked for 44 years for Elkay Mfg., makers of the worlds finest
stainless steel sinks and water coolers. The mfg. process is
fraught with polishing particulates, pickling chemicals, and any
number of ‘nasties’.

My Dad underwent the surgery 2 weeks ago. The surgery claimed his
right eye. It went down the right side of his nose to just under
the nose. It went between the 2 front teeth claiming the entire
right side of his pallate and maxillary (upper) dental arch. The
Dr. then cut up the right side of his face just in front of the
ear and back across just under the eyebrow to the nose. The
entire right sinus, the right eye, orbit(cheekbone), pallate, and
jawbone were removed as was the skin and flesh just below the eye.
There were over 350 sutures both internal and external. The whole
right side of his face is flat, and he has a huge scar from
stitching that goes from 3" above his left eye in a large arc over
and around down the right side through the ear to the ear canal!
All of this for a 50-60% of survival!

I have been taking care of my Dad at his house during the week
days, and my sister does the evening and week-ends. This man took
a bomb fragment aboard ship in WWII that nicked his jugular vein
and caught polio while in transit back to the U.S. He beat both of
those and now, at the age of 76, he plans on beating this! He is
planning on buying a new van this spring and on taking a 1 1/2
month auto trip to Seattle this Fall. He has already out lived my
Mom and his first girlfriend. Other than this cancer he is
healthier than a horse, still fits in his taylor-made U.S.Navy
uniform from WWII, and in his Dr.s words “is tougher than a $2.00
steak”.

Regards,

Skip

                                  Skip Meister
                                NRA Endowment and
                                   Instructor
                                @Skip_Meister
                                03/07/9809:48:54
4

Bill, I’d like a copy too, please. I’m moving soon and will set
things up differently, meaning a much better exhause system. I
especially like the idea of using plexi for hood! Thanks,

Nancy

5 
  If you were to attend a school or workshop so inappropriately
provided they would be subject to fines and penalties for not
protecting your health through common practices....

The place where I atteneded classes didn’t even have a fan or a
window in the room. They would, keep the door (to the outside)
open a crack. That was what the fire department recommended . . .

6

Ruth et al:

I am going to butt in here with my $.02. I don’t know what kind
of installation you and others are planning and much depends on
what it has to look like both inside and out. However, I think
squirrel cage blowers are easy to find at flea markets and from
Grainger and other suppliers. Another option would be a
cannablized 12 volt fan from a car radiator, although this would
requrie a transformer. If you are concerned about noise, find a
way to mount the fan outside. I am thinking that you could mount
your squirrel cage blower on a board and hook it to a piece of
dryer vent hose routed inside. I have a small blower rated at
about 250 cfm, but this could be enough if you hook to a moveable
"fishmouth" type of horn. Another advantage would be that you
could use it for both soldering fumes and flexshaft polishing dust
and move it around the workbench. If you make the fishmouth out of
clear acrylic you can carve wax, etc., under it and use it for a
combo face guard/dust collector. The motors on both the fans I’ve
mentioned are probably shaded pole motors, and if so you could
equip them with a rheostat (a light dimmer will work, but a ceiling
fan controller would probably be a little better) and have
continuously variable speed, too. Sounds so good I’ll put one in
myself in my new house!! Let you know how I make out.

HTH,
Roy (Jess)

7

Bill and Ruth- I also am looking for a good ventilation system.
Please E mail me your directions also.

Janet in Philly

8

Skip:

Sorry to hear about your Dad’s difficult surgery. Tell him to
continue to give 'em hell and to send me some of whatever it is he
is taking to continue to wow the ladies.

9

Dear Roy (Jess)-

Your ventilation idea sounds great with the moveable hose, but
(and I know this will probably sound dumb) but what is a squirrel
cage blower? What is it usually used for? Thanks for any info.

Also, has anyone read the book: Ventilation: A Practical Guide .
Did you find it worthwhile?

–Tcarson

10 
 My Dad recently underwent surgery

Just a short note… good luck Skip and family!! My Father was
just diagnosed with parkinsons disease which is a progressive thing
at this point in technology…The thought of my wife and myself are
with you and your family…Stay strong

Sometimes the hardships of others are the greatest lessons for
others…if they are listening…

Eric

11

Think very carefully before using plexiglass (acrylic) or any
plastic as a part of a fume hood if you are using it for
soldering. Most plastics are extremly flamable . The see-thru
aspect of the plexi is nice but if it catches fire you will be hard
pressed to put it out. A metal hood enclosure is much safer.

Jim

@jbin
James Binnion Metal Arts
2916 Chapman St
Oakland, CA 94601
510-436-3552

12

Skip,

First of all, let me hope for all the best for your father’s
recovery. Being a nurse, as well as a jeweler, I have taken care
of many courageous people undergoing massive surgery such as this.
You sound highly supportive of him, which I’m sure he greatly
appreciates.

Secondly, thanks so much for emphasizing the need for ventilation.
I think we all feel that this only happens to other people, not to
us. I suffer from asthma, and I still take chances in the
workshop. As I wrote in a post a few days ago, I have been futzing
around this issue for quite a long time, and I’m really ready now
to take it on seriously. A window exhaust fan, rarely used, just
won’t do. I just need direction and then find someone to install
or help me. Do you think that something like a ceiling mounted or
floor mounted Envirioncare air filter would help? It circulates
the air, filtering it through a HEPA and charcoal filter, but
doesn’t suck it outside.

Thanks for the message, and send your father our best.

Ruth

13

Skip, Your father’s story should be a caution to all of us. It
sounds as if your dad is a real fighter and he certainly has a
strong support system with both you and your sister taking care of
him. Please don’t forget to take care of yourself!

Marilyn Smith

14 
I am going to butt in here with my $.02.  I don't know what kind
of installation you and others are planning and much depends on
what it has to look like both inside and out.  However, I think
squirrel cage blowers are easy to find at flea markets and from
Grainger and other suppliers.  Another option ...

And yet another option is a relatively new type of
bathroom/kitchen ventilator. A roof is installed as usual. There
is a grill in the bathroom ceiling, but the fan and motor are not
with the grill, as is usual practice, but are in the attic,
suspended from the rafters with flexible plastic straps. A short
flexible hose leads to the roof vent. The grill is attached to
the fan motor with a longer piece of flexible hose. Noise is
prevented from carrying back down the hose by offsetting the grill
and the roof vent. I plan on putting the grill in the wall behind
the bench, with the hose leading through a closet to the attic
where the fan and roof vent can be accessed.

Marrin Fleet
@Marrin_and_Mary_Dell
Memphis, Tennessee, USA
(About halfway between the Gulf of Mexico
and Canada, on the Mississippi River;
home of Elvis and W.C.Handy)

15

Ruth, I sincerely hope that you can get through the tough times
with asthma, I don’t have any breathing difficulties, but I worry
because I was a smoker for years. . . Anyway, I’m not sure whether
exhausting inpurities into the atsmophere is the answer either,
someone else is going to be breathing that stuff. Envirioncare air
filters? Are those the things that one puts on a furnace in the
basement to catch air-bourne particals? (sp? the bits and pieces
of carbon or whatever that’s floating around?) Heck, industry has
been known to spew very bad things into the air for years . . .
and now the laws are being relaxed. And we may be soldering for
what, an hour or two per day??? (I make all my pieces by hand, I
do not cast, I do not have furnaces or ovens in my basement . . .
it’s just me and my torch and although I may make 5 to 8 pieces, I
may not be soldering much or I may be soldering a lot.) I would
worry more about the AIR we breathe outdoors. I’ve also grown up
with GAS as the fuel used in the furnace (used to keep the house
warm during the winter) and used as fuel to cook with (although for
the last 10 or so years my cooking stove has been electric, and
we’ve burned more plastic items than I can count because spouse
puts everything on the burners- to dry!

We recently purchased a new dishwasher, and the smell of plastic
is still very fragrant - throughout the house! We haven’t burned
any of the plastic we’ve owned, I think it’s just a matter of
"burn-in" with the new dishwasher (since they are made of 95 %
plastic of some sort. (Seriously, I think that is polluting my air
too!)

I’m also wondering . . . some have stated that they use a kitchen
hood behind their soldering . . . is that fan strong enough to pull
ALL the fumes??? Or are they missing those which may be going up,
rather than being sucked horizontally??? (sp?)

Happy and safe soldering . . .how do we get it?

16

Dear T.:

A squirrel cage blower looks like one of those things you put in a
squirrel cage for them to run in. You find them used in air
conditioners, forced air furnaces and some types of extractor
hoods. Maybe other places I haven’t thought of — how about your
fireplace blower? WWGrainger and other motor and electrical
suppliers will have them, but the best place to get hold of one
cheap will be a junk store or flea market. Or cannabalize an old
air conditioner.

If I am remembering right, the air is sucked in the side (like
where the squirrel climbs in) and comes out the rectangular hole in
the housing around the squirrel cage. That probably means you have
to make a piece to fit the round end, but this is easy to do. The
Lapidary Journal had a story on making a buffer with a squirrel
cage blower to extract the dust a few years ago, maybe you can find
that … what you do to make this piece, tho’, is to get some round
tubing a bit larger than the round hole at the end of the fan. Then
make cuts in the metal parallel to the axis of the tube all around
it about every inch or so. If you bend back the tabs so created
you will have something that looks like flower petals. You can
drill a hole in each and attach the tube to the side of the
squirrel cage blower housing with sheet metal screws. You may need
some form of gasket to make it air tight. If you can visualize
this it is simple, then hook your dryer hose to the adapter you
have made and make the kind of horn you want for the other end.
If you put a shelf board in your double hung window and drill a
hole thru it to take the dryer hose, you can then attach the blower
outside if you like. I guess it would need a little box on the
outside to keep the weather off of it. I like the idea of it being
outside, as these blower things in kitchen hoods, bathrooms, air
conditioners are always too loud to allow decent conversation with
a slightly hearing impaired person such as myself.

HTH,
Roy (Jess)

17

Everyone has been talking about their ventilation systems some of
which sound pretty complicated and some of which don’t (mine for
one). I am starting to realize just how important this issue is
(wish that I had done so a few years ago). I am in the process of
researching this issue. I have found out a bit through this list
as well as the book Ventilation: A Practical Guide for Artists, Craftspeople, and Others in the Arts. It seems to be a good
resource so far, especially for the basic understanding of
ventilation, make-up air, etc. It also lists suppliers and has
plans for a few systems. It costs about $15.00 ( U.S.) through
Amazon.com. If you are a novice as far as this stuff goes (as I
am) - it seems to be a good start.

My problem at the moment is that I rent the space thet I work in
and cannot put in a really fancy duct system. I solder and polish
and patina silver (liver of sulphur) in this space. I was
wondering if anyone has effective ventilation for this type of
problem.

TCarson
Baltimore, MD

18 
  The Lapidary Journal had a story on making a buffer with a
squirrel cage blower to extract the dust a few years ago, >>

By the way, I made this type of buffer dust extractor a few years
ago and it was great. I bought a squirrel cage motor new for about
$40.00

19

My problem at the moment is that I rent the space thet I work in
and cannot put in a really fancy duct system. I solder and polish
and patina silver (liver of sulphur) in this space. I was
wondering if anyone has effective ventilation for this type of
problem.

Hmm, there are a couple of options. I have now heard of several
people who have installed bathroom vent fans in the wall right in
front of their bench venting outside. Also of units used by
motercycle repair folks and fire depts that attach to an exhaust
pipe and boost exhaust along a hose and outside (ie out the door),
these may be of interest. Ther are also dedicated small units
(around 1500.00 for the job. A bathroom fan may be about 100$.
Charles

Brain Press
Box 1624, Ste M, Calgary, Alberta, T2P 2L7, Canada
Tel: 403-263-3955 Fax: 403-283-9053 Email: @Charles_Lewton-Brain

Metals info download web site: http://www.ganoksin.com/borisat/tree.cgi
Product descriptions: http://www.ganoksin.com/kosana/brain/brain.htm

20

By the way, I made this type of buffer dust extractor a few years
ago and it was great. I bought a squirrel cage motor new for about
$40.00

Do you have the plans for this? Or are they anywhere on the
net? Thanks.

Jill
@jandr
http://members.tripod.com/~jilk