OK, as a woodworker I have a chore that I’m responsible for once in a while. I need to empty the dust collector bag. It’s not a fun chore and boy does it make a mess – even in the best of times. Having had a dust collector, I’ve often put it off too long so that the bag is overflowing. Recently, I thought I had gotten better at judging when it needed emptying. Oh, yeah I do have one thing that keeps that info from me. The dust collection is in an out building (a small shed with a 4″ hole connected to my shop) so that I can’t see the bag’s fill level unless I open the shed.
I’d been feeling like I should empty it for the last week or so. I finally got to it today.
OH..MY..GOD! Not only was the bag overflowing but it has started filling the space in the upper bag (yes, I thought there might be a problem because a day or so ago, the sound it made changed). I got my wife, Kathy out to help me and she was laughing at me about the whole thing. I did manage to get it all cleaned up but it was a dusty and chippy mess.
I think my issue is that all the hand tool work creates a done of shavings. These curly shavings ultimately take up a lot more space and so fill up the bag quicker than dust from a table saw. Hopefully I’ve learned my lesson.
