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If finances are very limited, you do what you can. That probably means using hand tools rather than power tools, scrapers rather than sandpaper. If you have to sand, try and limit it to outdoors or wet sanding. Decent face mask when necessary.
Pretty much all that can be done.
Anyway, Strad lived until he was 90 or so. Not an air filter in sight. . . . I know, probably one of the few lucky ones.

Me too. I have a workbench build up outside under a porch. I might hand sand a few things inside just to touch up something but otherwise it's planes, scrapers and chisels inside and all sanding outside. The wind does a wonderful job of removing dust

I use Ken Everette's trick of taking a box fan and putting a filter on the intake. Cheap and easy. Also when you sand put one by your project and turn it on high. It is not a down draft table but will pick up a lot of the fine dust.

EddieLee

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EddieLee

What grade filter do you use? If it is a HEPA grade filter and the filter is boxed to the fan inlet so that air will not leak around the filter, then this idea would work. But most box fans do not have enough static pressure to pull enough air through a HEPA filter to be effective.

When a box fan is used with a typical house hold air conditioner filter it will pull more air, but the air will have a lot if invisible fine dust in it. So the fan will actually increase the amount of very fine dust in the air (but you can't see it) since it is pulling the dust up and mixing it with the room air - blowing it around for one to breath.

The best way to control dust is to catch it at the source. Get a good shop vac and all the necessary adapters to connect to your sander, router etc.
-C

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Freeborn Guitars
and home of BeauGuard©

If you have a box fan and a window, place your work bench under the window, put the box fan in the window and blow the dust out of the window. Do what you can, and live with what you have to.
" Taiwan is a hell hole, everything there is crap, no one appreciates the work, everyone wants to pay nothing , ... , ... "
Hummm.... this sounds vaguely like the cabinet shops in Maryland, most of which don't have decent dust collection.

I've been doing that, when the weather is cool. In the summer it isn't possible because it's bloody hot outside but at the same time I am concerned about damaging the AC unit from all the dust. The dust filter in the AC catches stuff but it was only like 32 mesh rather than sub micron, so maybe there's something better out there I can use to catch all the stray dusts?

I think I'll try and do most of the power sanding outside if possible (as in using random orbital and pad sanders). Those power sander really kicks up a dust storm!

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Cat-gut strings are made from kitten guts, stretched out to near breaking point and then hardened with grue saliva. As a result these give a feeling of Pain and anguish whenever played, and often end up playing themselves backwards as part of satanic rituals.

Typhoon Guitars
http://www.typhoon-guitars.com

you might try a double filter on your AC unit. Think simple. Cut a piece of foam for example, and tape it over the inlet to the unit. I had a problem with mine where dust collected on the fins and the unit iced up. My fix was to simply tape another filter over the inlet, one with a cloth like mesh on the outside. Very easy to see when it gets dirty, then just take it outside and shake it to clear it and start over.

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Phil

http://www.oleninstruments.com

"Those who tilt at windmills are only considered insane by those who can't see the dragon."

Something like this might help.

http://www.woodworkingtips.com/etips/2008/07/17/sn/

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EddieLee

This is not perfect but it will help. Put it close to your sanding.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xiVUi9ldCiI

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EddieLee

Above is a good idea on a tight budget. The same thing is here, but with the addtion of a second cheaper filter that will extend the life of a more expensive HEPA filter. That is, two filters on the suction side of a cheap box fan which: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3S0NGTvC ... re=related