Work Bench Help

[George Friedman-Jimenez]

Re: Work Bench Help

I installed an exhaust fan (fume extractor) in my solder bench as opposed to hoods and such I've seen employed in other shops. Having the fume extractor in the bench works well for pulling the fumes truly away from where they're unwanted. Here's a picture showing the fume extractor grate in the bench and the pvc pipe joined to the boxed in area under the grate:
http://www.audiopile.net/Technical_Library/fume_exhaust_grate.JPG
I solder directly over the grate... the fume extractor system pulls the fumes down and away from the work area.

Mark, the local exhaust ventilation concept is the best solution developed to date for toxic fumes like those from lead soldering, and your setup looks excellent. One question, do you ever lose small parts like resistors or small screws down the vent? That looks like large perforation speaker grill, would a finer grate or screen work better?

 

[W. Mark Hellinger]

Re: Work Bench Help

One question, do you ever lose small parts like resistors or small screws down the vent? That looks like large perforation speaker grill, would a finer grate or screen work better?

Yes, that is a large perforation speaker grill... with some history: If the history as I understand it is correct, that grill material came from one of 8ea. (as I recall) 4520 subs which were part of the original sound system installed in Studio 54. The grills fully covered the fronts of the speakers (not stock JBL grills).

And yes, stuff falls through the grill... there's currently an approx. 1/4" thick layer of parts and pieces "down there"... mostly stripped insulation bits... probably a few screws and such mixed in. By virtue of working on cone drivers placed on that grill, the grill is somewhat magnetized, which helps a little to retain fugitive screws and such at the grill surface. I have a piece of window screen I lay over the grill when I desire a safety net under my work instead of a sieve... however the window screen significantly diminishes the sucking power of the fume extractor.