Sorry, no pics with this post, I was pretty late getting home for dinner as it was.
Phase 3 - Sweeper attachment for the lathe and drill press is completed. It’s now possible to sweep the dust off of these tools when you’re done using them.
Phase 4 - Shoot dust out the window. So this has generated a bit more discussion. If somebody wants to redo it later I won’t object. We’ve had a couple of promising suggestions, but nothing I personally feel like doing.
From all the sources I’ve read we’ve got two problems with internal fine dust collection:
- It’s a health hazard, which is never going to be better than pushing it out the window. This health hazard results in the dust collecting in your lungs, and never leaving, resulting in gradual diminishment of your lung capacity over time. Right now the wood shop is a bit of a problem just walking around, with all the dust that’s accumulated in various corners during normal use.
- It’s expensive. The filters run about $120-150 a piece, and should be replaced every 3-6 months, depending on the amount of usage. (Commercial woodshop it would be about every 3 months, but we don’t run it as often) It was cheaper to run it out the window once than to replace the current filter, which is likely due for replacement. Further, this isn’t something you can necessarily tell by looking at it, since the particles are so tiny they’re invisible. So the approach we’ve been following for the past 1-2 years of beating the filter will only take you so far. It was clearly due.
I’d like to personally thank the following people for their help in this. Brad, Tim G, Nancy, Greg, and Hank, who all pitched in at various times with suggestions, and just holding stuff.
What’s left to do?
I’ve got another idea for a dust collector for the radial arm saw
Transparent box for large dust. (This way people can see they’re being lazy 
)
Plywood chute for Jointer
Adapter for Drum Sander