There is no better way to describe sawdust than as a real pain. Keeping it under control is a challenge; keeping it out of your lungs is important. That’s why the interest in cyclone type dust collectors is rising so quickly. (And it doesn’t hurt that the cost of those units are moving down with the same velocity!) Just hook that big collector up to your main power tools and you are ready to cut & not quite. You still have to walk across your shop and turn the collector on, and then you have to remember to open the correct dust gate (blast gate) and close those gates not being used. It can get to be a regular little hike around your shop each time you change tools.
That’s where The Dust-Gate from JDS can save you some time and shoe leather. It is an automatic system to open and close dust gates and to turn your dust collector on and off. With just a bit of low voltage wiring, you can be controlling your dust collection remotely, just like a really big cabinet shop. The system is expandable and reasonably priced. The startup kit is priced around $60.00 (a central control box, one dust gate and 100 feet of wire). Expansion kits go for around $40.00 they include two dust gates and an additional 100 feet of wire.
To learn more about The Dust-Gate, go to www.jdstools.com.
Editor’s Note: To learn about complete dust control strategies, check out the March/April 2006 print edition of Woodworker’s Journal. It features a great article by Sandor Nagyszalanczy on dealing with every aspect of dust control in a small shop.
