[Jewelry making - Article 00197] - Re: [Orchid] Shop Setup and Ventilation

[R . E . Rourke]

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    I have used the regular vent hood over the soldering area to great
    satisfaction. it is at least eight feet from the work table and
    doesn't have a thing to do with where you concentrate your torches
    heat. Don't worry about that aspect of set-up. I do recommend your
    workbench being separate from your soldering area for a number of
    reasons. the soldering table can also house your pickle pot which you
    don't really want on your bench anyway..and since you go from torch
    to pickle it's only logical that they would be separated. you may
    also consider the squirrel cage on a standard universal tool stand,
    with casters that lock. then it can be moved around the shop, and
    modified to suck particulate stuff away from you and into a
    collection bin whilst polishing and /or grinding..There is a 39.00
    stanley model on sale at most home centers that has 3 speeds and
    pivots nicely and has two extra outlets for portability and
    versatitlity. I urge you to go inspect its force. and if yours is
    more forceful than the highest speed perhaps have Dad modify it to
    move less cfm's of air through your spaces. if its a reversible
    motor, or he can rewire it to be reversible than it can be connected
    to a length of dryer venting or corrugated plastic tubing and that
    attached to a 13 or so gallon plastic trash can ( metal cans are too
    noisy and have too many beads rolled to keep the dusts you want to
    reclaim in grooves.) on one end and rig it to the back and underside
    of your grinding, polishing table to collect precious metal dusts.
    If you want to save assay charges have two lids and two cans, one for
    silver,one for gold..if you're wealthy have a third for
    platinum!.the squirrel cage is a great thing to move air in a shop
    provided it is as quiet as is possible. Otherwise studies have shown
    people use it less than they would if they did not have to deal with
    the noise most dust collecting systems create.. 

    you probably don't want to pull particles and dust past your face
    anyway, so mounting the cage on a highly reconfigurable and mobile
    stand is ideal..and a vent hood, chicken brooder hood, et, all work
    great to pull solder fumes away from you. I had mine mounted into the
    wall behind the soldering area though as opposed to directly over it,
    for reasons from - it had lights built in that if left sans tube or
    bulbs could create enough of a spark when turned on to set off
    acetylene gasses that were mistakenly left on as you exited your
    shop, and collected on the ceiling ( propane collects nearer the
    floor being heavier than acetylene).and that I hate anything
    directly mounted over my head..even a ceiling fan cannot be mounted
    over my bed's area (quirky-,idiosyncratic, I know !!!). And it pulls
    the fumes directly past your face, which when wall mounted does not
    happen..One of the local crafts schools has 8" fans mounted along the
    back wall of the "soldering room". theoretically the fans are placed
    between each of four or six places equipped with smith torches, and
    two or three pickle pots shared between those seated at the soldering
    bench/table.consequently all the hoses lead to the side of the table
    mounted tanks ( chained down of course!), and the fans are kept on
    during the entire time the shop is operational to vent out fumes,
    etc. 

    What you are proposing will work. Modifications for mobility, and
    possibly to double as a dust collector ( which means cleaning out the
    squirrel cages body more frequently) are equally reasonable..My major
    recommendation is to separate your solder area from your bench area
    and use a classic skin or other tray to catch metal you want to reuse
    or send off for exchange, and DO NOT HAVE ANY SUCKING OR BLOWING
    DEVICE CLOSE TO YOUR WORK..at least 6 feet above your work, more if
    you can get away with it..Some building codes require things to be
    four feet from the ceiling so check your local codes before voiding
    your homeowners policy! and on that note, make sure your tank set-up
    complies with code as well..If you are asking whether you should have
    the vent hood directly above your work ( implying a couple of feet at
    most) then I urge you to read, or re-read Tim McCreight's" Complete
    Metalsmith" and let DAD read it too. In it he covers studio set-up
    and recommendations that are hard to argue with!and I think there is
    even a copyable template that lets you play with moving the
    components around so that you and dad are on the same page as to what
    your needs and wants are in setting up a workspace..and while you are
    modifying, you may want to install a wall safe or other safe to keep
    precious metals and stones in if they are at all at risk of being
    stolen once the neighbors ( if there are any) aren't tempted to
    relieve you of your stash without a little resistance at least!. 

R.E.Rourke
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