Question for those with a computer in the shop

[cnsranch]

Don't know where else to post this -

For those of you with a computer in the shop - desktop or laptop -

What (if anything) are you doing to prevent dust in the computer?

I'm looking at a laptop so I can have Designer and the card reader where I need it - in the shop, not in the house, but I'm concerned with fine sawdust migrating into the computer - and we all know that that's bad.

Any ideas?

[Kenm810]

I use 1" sheets of speaker foam on all the air inlets of my shop Pc,
It's similar to the fine gray foam you find on good foam paint brushes
I've also use the foam you can find in hard sided gun or camera cases.
It doesn't restrict the air flow and stops 90% of the dust partials,
also I mini key-board vacuum to clean out the pc's fans and the shops 120lb compressed air
to blow any dust out of the foam sheets each week or more often as needed.

I often receive it in cartons at the shop as packing foam

[DickB]

I built a computer in a box for my shop. The computer is an HP Thin Client and has no fan. I removed the cases from the computer and the display and packaged them together in wood. Note the wood pushbuttons on the side. I use a wireless keyboard with a built-in joystick mouse. I put a few holes in the top and bottom of the box for ventilation. Nothing special to keep dust out.

43576

[jaroot]

That's way too nice for a shop computer and your shop is way too clean! <-insert smiley here


I built a computer in a box for my shop. The computer is an HP Thin Client and has no fan. I removed the cases from the computer and the display and packaged them together in wood. Note the wood pushbuttons on the side. I use a wireless keyboard with a built-in joystick mouse. I put a few holes in the top and bottom of the box for ventilation. Nothing special to keep dust out.

43576

[gregsolano]

It is way too nice for a shop! I carry my laptop into the garage, Yes my two car garage has no cars and lots of tools. Every week I have to clean just enough so I can walk around again. All my large machines, joiner, table saw, Carvewright, Woodworkers table, Band Saw, Router Table, Radial arm saw, are all on wheels, I wheel what I need into the middle use it, then wheel it back to the sides. I need a bigger garage.

[DickB]

My garage is also my shop and I likewise have tools on wheels. I can usually keep one car in but two will fit (one is small) and I only pull both cars for big projects.

[TerryT]

Put a car in my garage? I dunno. It would take a hurculean effort to move enough tools to do it. Then the car would just sit there....... wasting space.... that my woodworking tools could use.

BTW, have you folks in the eastern part of the country ever seen a wild mustang on it's winter range in the West?

I'm glad I put the top up! But my tools were in the garage at 65 degrees!

[Fletcher]

I'm trying to figure out what to do about it too CNS.

My PC sits almost directly in the line of fire of my other router. I just blew out about an inch of buildup the other day. I've been too busy PLAYING to clean! I'm sure it's a fairly common ailment here on this forum...
I've worked in a few machine shops where the PCs on the shop floor were pretty grimy, inside and out. I was shocked that they ran, but they did.

[CarverJerry]

Hey Jerry, I've also worked in a shop where we worked with carbon and the computer there was just sitting out in the open. Had a chance to look inside one day and I could not believe it ran either, especially with all the carbon dust which is conductive to electricity, but it did. The maintenance guy just blew it out with an air hose and it still kept on tick'n.....so a desk top wouldn't be much of a problem, now a lap top on the other hand, they do get warm and will hang up or shut down. I'd just keep it (if it's a lap top) in a box when you're not using it.


CJ

[mtylerfl]

Hey Jerry,

Found these pics on the Vectric forum... an idea for a protective enclosure for our computers in the shop! I kind of like the hinged clear cover idea, but might need to keep a box of fabric-softener dryer sheets nearby to keep the dust from sticking to it.

Looks like he used weather stripping around the cover area on the box to help seal against dust getting inside.

[mtylerfl]

...here are a couple more photos - a rolling enclosure for the shop computer

[lilskip]

I have 3 computers in my shop I have 2 Desktops and a laptop on a docking station. the 2 desktops stay inside the cabinet under my desk and those I just take the side off once every month or 2 and clean them and they are not that bad the ones inside the house i think get dirtier. the laptop on the docking station just sits on the shelf next to the Xbox and the speakers but It doesn't have have anything special to protect it I just hit it with the air hose every so often. I have 2 monitors on the top of my desk with the KVM keyboard and mouse. haven't had a problem with any of them except the for keyboard (expensive one lasted like a month and the cheapest keyboard ever made has lasted 4yrs so far.) But as long as you clean them every so often you won't have any problems out of them. Dust Collector helps out alot because not that much is floating in the air. ANd my Shop is also in a 2 car garage that will never see a car in it only the bike is allowed (Man Toys Only!!)

[Jeff_Birt]

I try to keep my shop PC turned off except when I need to use it. That way it is not always drawing dirty air through it. I also have a dust collector though as I don't want to breath in all that stuff either. Using the DC has been the biggest improvement to shop cleanliness and air quality.

[mtylerfl]

I try to keep my shop PC turned off except when I need to use it. That way it is not always drawing dirty air through it. I also have a dust collector though as I don't want to breath in all that stuff either. Using the DC has been the biggest improvement to shop cleanliness and air quality.

That's a very good point - turning the computer off when not in use. I leave my "indoor" computers on all the time, unless a major storm is coming through the area, then I unplug everything. Different for a shop computer - turn off so the fans don't draw in dust all the time.

What DC are you using, Jeff? I need to get some type of DC system myself, but I keep putting it off. Always looking for recommendations/testimonials!

[cnsranch]

These are all really great posts - I appreciate the input, and I'm sure there are many others who do, too.

I've officially retired the desktop in the house - from Designer, anyway, and picked up a laptop for the shop.

It won't stay in the shop, just out there when I'm working.

I found a really great deal on a factory refurbished unit, if anyone's interested. From Micro Center.

Toshiba, 3gig RAM, 250 gig hard drive.

This thing is mean fast, and the resolution is pretty incredible.

For $299 it just can't be beat.

When I opened my office in 1999, I bought a Sony VAIO - $2,100 - it's been a boat anchor now for about 7 years, and wasn't 1/4th the computer this Toshiba is.

Times are a' changin'.

http://www.microcenter.com/single_product_results.phtml?product_id=0360145

BTW, I'm thinking of changing out the drawer on my CW table so that the front will drop forward like the typical computer desk, and just keep the laptop in there.

The table's pretty stable (the base was originally used for a commercial sewing machine), but do you think I need to worry about vibration when the laptop's in the drawer, and the machine's carving a masterpiece?

[Jeff_Birt]

I have this model from Grizzly: http://www.grizzly.com/products/2-HP-Dust-Collector-with-2-5-Micron-Bag-and-New-Impeller/G1029Z2 . The downside to this unit is that it is 220V only but it was the best combination of CFM, price and a <3 micron filter I could find. It also helped that there is a Grizzly store not too far from here so I could see it in person. If the filter bag has too large a mesh than it winds up just blowing the really fine dust bak into your room. Since the fine dust is the most hazerdous for your health it seemed best to avoid that.

[gregsolano]

These are all really great posts - I appreciate the input, and I'm sure there are many others who do, too.

I've officially retired the desktop in the house - from Designer, anyway, and picked up a laptop for the shop.

It won't stay in the shop, just out there when I'm working.

I found a really great deal on a factory refurbished unit, if anyone's interested. From Micro Center.

Toshiba, 3gig RAM, 250 gig hard drive.

This thing is mean fast, and the resolution is pretty incredible.

For $299 it just can't be beat.

When I opened my office in 1999, I bought a Sony VAIO - $2,100 - it's been a boat anchor now for about 7 years, and wasn't 1/4th the computer this Toshiba is.

Times are a' changin'.

http://www.microcenter.com/single_product_results.phtml?product_id=0360145

BTW, I'm thinking of changing out the drawer on my CW table so that the front will drop forward like the typical computer desk, and just keep the laptop in there.

The table's pretty stable (the base was originally used for a commercial sewing machine), but do you think I need to worry about vibration when the laptop's in the drawer, and the machine's carving a masterpiece?

I am a computer geek, I would be hesitant to subject the hard drive to continual vibration for a long carve. They are designed to take some vibration but not the continual vibration for hour or hours long carve.

[cnsranch]

Thanks, Greg - I was afraid of that.

[Rearden]

New here, probably gonna order a new 'C' within the month. Had a few thoughts.

Who started this nasty rumor of garages being used for cars? They have special paint and weatherstripping specifically to allow them to live out of doors. What's the point? You have to take it out to go anywhere don't ya? ;)

I was a little surprised to see that two NASA scientists forgot about the dust issue (their gear all exists in clean rooms for cripes sake). It overheats and slows cuts, dulls cutters and is ground even finer and made more dangerous. The dangers of fine airborne contaminants cannot be over stated. They stay aloft for virtually ever and are the most dangerous element of the hobby/job. Having experienced all manner of problems from air borne shop contaminants I am a big fan (no pun intended) of excellent air cleaning. I was lucky to come across an old Ridgid AF3000 that I added a reticulated foam and washable furnace type prefilters and HEPA filters to. That does a wonderful job of keeping the fine particulates under control. I have other means as well.

My shop is tiny (12'x24') with a loft. To keep it temperate it is super insulated (R-40 walls and floor & R-60 ceiling), and relatively air tight (all seams and joints were siliconed as it went up). To keep it clean I use Festool dust evacuation on all of my tooling - equipped with HEPA filters. Larger tooling such as the Mini Max Band saw, jointer and planer are on wheels and get rolled out to a sort of ante room where they connect to a custom 6" duct, multi-stage cyclone system that sits in the loft. Even with all of this, and axillary hoods on my lathe and Kapex chop saw, I still wear a mask. The shop also has a high volume, low velocity outdoor air exchanger with a ground loop tempering chamber/heat exchanger that's basically a bunch of buried pipes within pipes to keep the heat loss and gain to a minimum.

Here's a great site for scaring yourself silly about the dust issue and learning some ways to control it. To each his own but I'm thinking more and more about enclosing the whole machine in an insulated cabinet, like the industrial CNC mills use, just to be sure and quiet.

http://billpentz.com/woodworking/cyclone/DCBasics.cfm

One nice benefit of what I grudgingly refer to as the Euro-style wood shop (they have much more stringent worker safety rules) is that at the end of the day I'm not covered with fine dust that can be dragged back into the house to share with everybody else. It's nice to work in quiet and clean surroundings. So much so that I can't stand visiting others shops anymore. They feel absolutely filthy by comparison and their air quality just straight sucks. I can cut and route MDF all day long and were you to walk in - you'd never be able to guess that a tool had been running.

I don't use or endorse Bill's equipment, but I do admit to using his ideas to fashion my own system. I strongly urge all to consider doing the same.

Oh yeah...the computer in my shop, its cooled using water blocks and a circulating pump. I got into overclocking years ago and find it a great way to keep old hardware viable a lot longer. Using the water cooling reduces the total air flow required and allows me to seal the cabinet except for one 2 1/2" duct that uses air from outside and returns it there while creating a positive pressure in the cabinet to keep any shop dust that might get close from being able to enter. The outdoor air exchange is filtered through reticulated urethane foam with a 3 micron washable filter back up. The 3 micron outdoor air filter gets dirty faster than the sub micron HEPA filter in the shop.