Tools that work & Etc.

[ebb]

First, please accept an apology for seeming to high-jack this venerable thread as I seem to do others. BUT, this has to be important.

One of the worst things we renovators do to the Commander and Ariel is sand/grind the interior down to green fiberglass. Breathing this dust is dangerous to our health - THAT is an understatement. We did the interior of lit'lgull from stem to stern with a 4" Makita angle grinder. Without a vacuum attachment.
I hired a guy to do it.
And have profoundly apologized to him.

If you can smell the work you are doing through your mask you are contaminating yourself. I did a hardware store lead paint test on the paint in the Ariel and DID NOT FIND LEAD. However, even thru the canisters we wore we could smell the paint and smell sweet styrene from the ancient polyester. If there is a shaft of sunlight you can see tiny pieces of glass filling the air you are breathing.

Long after the boat was grinded, the wood shop on the estate where I am employed got a Festool system.
Festool is basically a modular set of hand power tools engineered to remove any dust from your workplace. Dust is drawn into a powerful vac THROUGH the tool. It works unbelievably well. A tool is wired to the vac which shuts off when you shut the tool down. BUT there is no way you or aye can afford the system. Or the vac.
I took the vacuum and a disk SANDER down to the boat for a little grinding on the hull. The air stayed completely clear - the vacuum was in the cockpit so the HEPA 'used' air did not recycle in the accommodation. It was to me a revelation. No evil dust and no facial appendages that never work anyway. I don't believe Festool has an anglegrider in its system. If they did you wouldn't need a DustBuddie!

My grinding days in lit'lgull are over,
but here is something I think somebody could look into. Even if you haven't torn the interior apart.
Dust collection is mandatory in every boat yard.
Whatever bottom renewal system you have, if you are fortunate enough to have your boat out in a DIY yard,
look into these two shrouds that fit over the head of your grinder. I am suggesting that a backing pad can be bolted on to an angle grinder and flat sanding disks used to turn the grinder into a sander. Have to watch gouging. It is probably safer to invest in an orbital sander with 8 hole disks and attach it to a energetic sander. Can be noisy.
http://dustlesstechnologies.com

One shroud for your angle grinder is called Dustie and clamps around the head of your grinder. It looks like the cheaper of the two.
The other one is a see-thru polycarbonate shroud with a "brush skirt" called DustBuddie. It looks more versatile, and seeing the work is a plus.
If these work at all they're probably worth every dollar.


[Just checked their prices. They each have a small and larger model, as for your 4" Makita. and a 7" model for larger grinders. The see-thru fancy one is $102!! The Dustie is $30 They say the DustBuddie will easily clamp on t o a Makita angle grinder and any number of other 4 and 5" grinders. The website shows only hoods for angle grinder style tools - no stand-up sanders.]
Here is the internet buy-site:
http://www.dustlessdepot.com

Dustless Tech also sell vacuum systems you can connect with your tool. They are in the ridiculous price range of Fein and Festool. For a little inconvenience you can hook up with a reasonable Rigid vac from HomeDepot.. We're not in the contracting business.

[For years the head maid here on the estate has used an ash vacuum (for cleaning fireplaces) made by Dustless Technologies. Never a problem.]