28 – When the Dust Settles

Video - September 23, 2007

So how do you spend your time between projects? For me, its a great time to tune up my equipment, wax the cast iron tables, touch up the chisels, and do some general cleanup. And nothing is more inspiring than a nice clean workshop at the beginning of a new project. So watch the video and you will see some of the things I like to do between big projects.

Products Used

Saw Blade Cleaning Kit
Shapton 1000 Grit
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Shapton 5000 Grit
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Shapton 8000 Grit
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Discussion

Mike Lingenfelter September 24, 2007 7:57 am

Thanks for another episode full of good ideas. Loved the leaf blower tip. I think it’s time blow out my garage.

Mike

Reply
Skee September 24, 2007 8:21 am

Marc,

The out takes at the end are great! I really need to get out to the shop and start putting stuff away. I like your previous concept of “Put 10 things away before you start your day in the shop.” Unfortunately, over time, I think it needs to be moved to 15 or 20 things.

Great inspiration to be more organized!

Reply
Jeremy (Bama5150) September 24, 2007 8:22 am

Another great video Marc. Lots of good info about the least fun part of woodworking. Leaf blower=Genius!! haha

Bama5150

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Kendall September 24, 2007 10:12 am

Great job on an other well done episode! The easiest thing I do to keep my shop running smooth is… Keep Chelsi out.

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KDB September 24, 2007 10:47 am

Great Episode! The production values, as well as the tips, advice and instruction, keep getting better and better.

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Travis September 24, 2007 10:57 am

Marc- can you write an update once you’ve had a chance to check out the Tenryu? I’m looking to eventually upgrade from my Freud, and it’s pretty much between that and the WWII.

Looking forward to the next video!

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Steve September 24, 2007 3:54 pm

I agree with Travis let us know about the performance of the Tenryu.

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schmeab September 24, 2007 6:27 pm

leaf blowers are the bomb. once cleaned out my house with mine. but thats a different story. have several tenryu blades at work. love em.

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Vic September 24, 2007 7:06 pm

Sylvia is making me tell you this. I mean it in a totally straight and very platonic way. You make me happy! There I said it. O.K.!!!! Yeah, she says that’s good enough. I can come outta my room now.

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Mike in St. Paul September 24, 2007 9:28 pm

Another excellent episode, Marc and Nicole! I love how you often tackle topics outside the normal focus of woodworking. You would never see other celebrity woodworkers tackle a whole episode on clean-up, yet it is a topic that affects productivity and safety. Like you said, “a clean shop is a safe shop.” It’s also a heck of a lot more easy to get your work done.

I can’t think of any other place where you get real-world examples on techniques like dovetails and other joinery, plus good information on design, shop equipment, and safety. The variety is what makes this site the most informative and most entertaining.

One thing I can share is an “extra” filter for the shop vac. I read somewhere that you can take a piece of women’s hose (panty hose leg or knee high) and stretch it over your regular shop vac filter to help keep out the fine dust (be careful so it doesn’t tear as you roll it over the filter). I’ve done it and it works great. Granted it doesn’t get the ultra fine dust, but it does help keep the regular filter from clogging. I was surprised how much it helps. You do get some weird looks as a guy when you buy three pairs of women’s panty hose, and the looks don’t get any better when you tell the cashier “it’s for dust collection.” Oh, well… it does work!

Thanks for some awesome tips (and bloopers)! Keep up the great work…

Reply
JoeW September 25, 2007 9:01 am

I have been using my Rockler saw blade cleaning kit for a couple years now too. It really does work and I am impressed that the pan is sized to also accept curled 14″ band saw blades. Another clean up point may be the use of an abrasive cleaning stick on the sander’s belt and disk or spindle.

Reply
JasonK September 25, 2007 9:33 am

Marc,

Awesome show man! Loved the outakes! It’s funny, I was just wondering about the best way to clean the pitch from the saw blade, like you read my mind. Keep them coming! Thanks for all of your and Nicholes hard work!

Reply
Brad Nailor September 25, 2007 10:25 am

My shop is my garage, so I have been using the leaf blower technique for a while..it works great! As far as clean up, when I worked in a production shop I was too clean…I used to get in trouble for putting tools away that people were still using! Sometimes you can be too neat!

Reply
Ace HoleInOne September 25, 2007 11:08 am

This sucks!

For dust extraction of the shop floor in lieu of a leaf blower ;). Go to a vacuum repair shop (if you can still find one) Buy real cheap an old Eureka canister type vacuum (the kind Mom used years ago to clean house) that takes a bag or something similar but still uses a bag and more importantly, the hard floor attachment. Just make sure you can still purchase the bags.

I’m telling you this works great! What you get out of the deal is a heavy-duty vacuum and the bags cost around $1.10 cheap each and last a long time. This will free your shop vac for sucking on exclusively your power hand tools. Now, if you have $26.00 that needs to be spent. Go to Rockler and buy the dedicated i-socket 110m Tool and Vacuum Switch (on sale).

Ace

Reply
JohnC September 25, 2007 1:10 pm

Hey Marc,

Last time I cleaned blades, I just sprayed simple green (full strength) all over it and left it in a basin for awhile, then brushed with an old soft toothbrush. Worked great!

I’ve been using a rigid shop vac with no bag, and you’re right- it completely drives me nuts! I don’t think they offer bags either. Could you post the model of your shop-vac, or put a link in your store?

Thanks again for another great show!
-John

Reply
Byron September 25, 2007 6:44 pm

I get alot of crap built up on ALL of my blades from cutting M.D.F. and prefinished mouldings… Is that also considered pitch and can it be removed the same way? or do I still have to take them to the Gypsy in the next town over to have resharpened for $6.00 ($12.00 for chainsaw blades)??????

Reply
thewoodwhisperer September 25, 2007 7:07 pm

Excellent tips guys! Thanks for contributing.

Byron I would assume that material can be removed. Just give it a good soaking and then clean with a fine bristle brush.

Vic, I love you too. :)

Reply
Heinz Roesch September 26, 2007 6:10 am

Hi Marc!

Enjoyed the show, there is always something to
learn and lough.

What i wantet do mention is, that your thowing the
saw blade on the cast iron table would have earned
you a pair of red hot ears if you were a german apprentice
in the woodworking field! :-)

You know it, carbide is very brittle and will not stand
that treatment without harm!

Otherwise excellent job. Love your shows and look
forward to it.

Heinz

Reply
Jeff September 26, 2007 7:17 am

Marc,

I realize that I am shelted by living in Indiana, but one question about when you went out to dump the trash can. WHERE THE HELL IS ALL THE GRASS AND TREES!!!! Were you robbed lately? Did you need wood for a project and cut all the local trees down?

: ) Jeff

Reply
Jim Jones September 26, 2007 6:42 pm

I also have a Rigid shop vac and would sure like to have a pre-filter before the HEPA filter. I bought a new HEPA but haven’t installed it because I know it will be pretty much useless after a few days in the shop. Would Shop Vac brand filters work for the Rigid?

Jim

Reply
Claude Stewart September 27, 2007 5:43 am

I don’t know about using the the dust bags. I have used them for cleaning up drywall dust and they worked great for that. I think that if you have dedicated dust extraction system this would work great but if you , like me, have no dust collector system than I think you would be going through a large amount of bags picking up things wood chips and sawdust. I have a hepa filter on my shop vac and I regularly clog up the filter. However the 12 gal. shop vac is usually full and ready for dumping by that time anyway. I just knock the dust, dirt and wood chips out and then blow the filter out. I have been using this same filter for about 2 years years now and it looks long in the tooth but still functions well. As for using shop vac bags in a rigid? I don’t know but I’ve using off brand bags in my Kirby for years and the only thing I have to do is modify the hole in the bags. Which is a pain but that is better than driving 60 mi. to get the Kirby brand. So maybe they will work with a little encouragemnet.

Reply
thewoodwhisperer September 27, 2007 10:39 am

Hey Claude. I totally agree with you about the bags and I should have been more specific. If you plan on using your shop vac for small tool dust collection or cleaning up small wood chips and fine dust, the bag is essential. If all you pick up with the vac is large chips, nails, scews and chunks of wood, the bags would fill up fast and it would be a waste of money. Thanks for bring that up.

And I have no idea whether the different brand’s bags would work with Rigid.

Reply
Chet Kloss September 27, 2007 6:50 pm

Marc,

What Tip grind did you get for the Tenryu blade – ATB or TCG?

Reply
LordLQQK September 28, 2007 9:49 pm

Great show. I too use the pantyhose and filter trick on my Ridgid shopvac. Wife looked at me awfully strange the first time, but then I told her that I would also be using it for straining finishes and I think she believed me a little more. I have found the best combo is a HEPA filter and the pantyhose. I haven’t had a caked up filter since, although I still have to regularly knock out the super fine dust, but it is a lot less frequent. The not so fine stuff just falls off the hose when the power is turned off instead of clinging to the pleated sides.

LQQK

Reply
Joel Mark Witt October 2, 2007 7:48 am

Great show. Funny and interesting. Keep up the good work. Peace.

Joel Mark Witt

Reply
Eric Collins October 3, 2007 10:38 am

I’m in Houston, hot, wet, humid. Keeping out rust isn’t really possible, you just try to manage it.

I use Boeshield T9 line of products from Woodcraft. It rocks! If it gets rust, it takes it off easily with a scotch brite pad, and keeps it off better than anything I’ve seen.

What kind of cyclone dust collector is that? Looks like it just uses a trash can?

Reply
Hank October 3, 2007 10:46 am

Once again AWESOME show!
Like all the others, your out takes are SO funny!
I have a Shopvac with a HEPA filter, but I also have a sponge filter that slides over it. This seems to work very well, but I am going to try the bag system. I wish Dyson made a shop vac (hey, maybe I should suggest that?!) Because bagless ist the best!
Also, I work out of the garage and do a fair amount of turning so the volume of chips and dust is out of control. Using the leaf blower is standard operatin procedure for me, but I never told anyone since Jeff Foxworthy said “If you use a leaf blower to clean you garage (or house) you might jsut be a redneck!” Well I guess then we need to lift a cold one to all of us rednecks out there ’cause when somethin’ works who cares what other people think!

Thanks again for a GREAT site and helpful teaching and tips!
Hank Merkle

Reply
moffit October 18, 2007 5:38 pm

Hi Marc
Personally I liked the music and the “good eats” viginets. Helpfull info at the right time.

Reply
Thomas Kila November 6, 2007 12:06 am

Marc,
Regarding maintenance for cast iron tops, what do you think about using talcum powder? I read in some older WWing books that said method was commonly used. Have you ever heard of that? If so, is there any down side to using it?

Thanks in advance!

Reply
thewoodwhisperer November 6, 2007 1:29 am

No am not familiar with that Thomas. But I would be interested to hear if that works for people. I know it used to work on my butt when I was a baby, so why not on my tablesaw? :)

Reply
Steve November 12, 2007 6:20 am

Here’s my 2 bits.

Talcum powder is probably not a good choice because the dust is considered a respiratory hazard. I was told it’s inert like silicon and asbestos, gets deep in the lungs and your body has no choice but to throw scar tissue over it.

When I touch up my chisels I keep my Arkansas stones in the drawer and use my highest grit sandpaper and some light oil. It works really well, is always close at hand and is CHEAP! I picked this up out of a Fine Woodworking article about 22 years ago. At school I only use 400 grit to touch up the edges, any higher grit is a waste because the kids are so rough with them.

Love the show! I need to learn how to capture them onto a DVD so I can watch them in the shop.

Steve

I have to ditto Eric on the rust issue. SW Ohio summer weather is very humid, I just try to stay ahead of the rust. My preferred material is minwax paste wax to prevent rust, WD 40 and steel wool to remove the rust.

Reply
Jeff Ricker December 2, 2007 11:06 am

I like your site, Great job. I am not sure if I am doing the proper thing. To clean my blades and bits i put them in my cleaning tray, put baking soda on them and pour Hot water into the tray. After soaking 5-10 mins, i use a fingernail brush to clean them. Wipe them dry, and they are ready to go. Thanks

Reply
thewoodwhisperer December 2, 2007 11:19 am

Interesting Jeff. I have never heard of anyone using baking soda but that sounds like a very interesting idea. One of these days I might just try soap and water to see if we are all going through all this trouble for nothing. It might not matter what additive we use, so long as the blades an bits soak for a while. I wonder if anyone knows a specific reason NOT to use baking soda?

Reply
joerabbi January 15, 2008 1:42 pm

Marc, great show. I grew up in Phoenix (Sunnyslope) and recently lived 16 years in Tucson, now I live in Colorado Springs; what a change.
I didn’t see mentioned, shop vac makes a rag/paper filter cloth that drapes over the cannister of the shop vac and acts like a pre-filter like the stockings do. They are hand washable or you can just go outside and slap them around some to clear the dust. I have used them for fine woodworking dust and drywall dust and they have worked very well and last a long time. They would likely work for other brands also. They have a collar that fits the shop vac brand, however, a large rubber band (very large) will hold them in place on other vac’s.

Reply
JRS February 20, 2008 12:35 am

Soaking blades? Put a towel in the sink. Put blade on towel. Spray with oven cleaner. Turn over and spray other side, turn over and brush a bit, turn over and brush other side, rinse both sides. Done. If you have heavy callouses skip the gloves otherwise wear them. Eye protection is wise. Lemon scented is ok. You could also use strait lye if you wanted to get really cheap.

Reply
thewoodwhisperer February 20, 2008 5:58 pm

Just a heads up. Its generally considered a big “no no” to use oven cleaner on blades. It apparently can weaken the bond of the teeth to the blade.

Reply
Matt January 30, 2009 11:53 am

would mineral spirits work? we always have a 55 gallon drum of mineral spirits that we use for a parts washer (the 55 gallon drum is not the same one we use for the washer).

Reply
- thewoodwhisperer January 30, 2009 9:25 pm
  
  Mineral Spirits seems to clean off just about anything, so I would say yes.
  
  Reply
Jason May 18, 2009 8:38 am

Hey Marc,
Thanks for all the great ideas and tips.

I’ve been going through some of these older posts and I was wondering if you have considered the guy who empties your trash bin?

A few years back my local “sanitation engineer” asked if there was any way I could bag my dust collectors excrement, because when he empties the bin into the truck, he can’t get away from the saw dust mushroom cloud.

No problem – I now bag the dust and I have a happy and pleasant garbage collection guy. And I don’t feel guilty for clogging the lungs of a perfectly good service worker.

Just a thought…

Reply
Heath October 18, 2009 8:55 pm

Mark, where do you get the info that oven cleaner will weaken the bond between the carbide teeth and the blade? I’ve done some quick googling and can only find that claim repeated in other places, but nothing really to back it up. The only bit of real testing I could find (http://www.carbideprocessors.c.....leaner.htm) concludes “No effect was found on the carbide or the braze alloy.” Being a scientific man yourself however, I figured you would know of some convincing evidence to the contrary.

Reply
- thewoodwhisperer October 18, 2009 10:18 pm
  
  It could very well be one of those overblown myths that get repeated so many times, people think its absolute truth. Sort of like PVC blowing up shops and never using varnish on a cutting board. But years ago, I read an article or something from the President of Freud where he stated that common oven cleaner attacks the tri-metal brazing they use. So for me, if one pres. of one particular blade manufacturer states that it could be a problem for their particular blades, that’s cause enough for me to take caution with any blade. And part of the reason for this defaulting to caution without much further investigation, is because the less harmful alternatives are so easily accessible and work really well. So I figure, why use something so caustic as oven cleaner when Simple Green and citrus cleaners do the job quite nicely. Of course that’s just my opinion.
  
  The only reference I could find to the Frued comments are on NewWoodworker: http://www.newwoodworker.com/clnblades.html
  
  Reply
  - Heath October 19, 2009 9:30 am
    
    Thanks a lot for the answer, Mark! And I hope you didn’t read my original post as confrontational or challenging you in any way. I was just seeking information. I agree with you that it is best to err on the side of caution, especially since other cleaners get the job done. As someone else said on another forum where we were discussing this, “I don’t know if I would want a carbide tip buried in my forehead to prove it!!!”
    
    Reply
Scott Jackson December 22, 2009 6:46 am

again great video but i do have one question. I am also always dumping my shop vac and cleaning the filter. you mention that you added a bag and fixed this hasstle. can you please tell me what type of bags you are talking about? thanks

scott

Reply
- thewoodwhisperer December 22, 2009 8:16 am
  
  Hey Scott. Most shop vac companies also sell a bag for their units. I just purchased the Shop Vac brand bags that they sell at Lowes.
  
  Reply
Darryl Neuschafer July 20, 2012 2:19 pm

Marc,
Thanks for the great video, the information was very helpful. I was wondering if was OK to put the Renaissance Wax and/or Minwax Finishing Paste Wax my pipe clamps which are black steel? I wasn’t sure because the bar clamps have grooves that catch the clamp itself as the pipe clamps are smooth. I used the Minwax my Jet Proshop table saw and my Grizzly Jointer and boy what a difference it makes sliding wood across both!!

Thanks,

Darryl

Reply
- thewoodwhisperer July 20, 2012 2:31 pm
  
  That’s a great question. I have never waxed my pipe clamps before. But now that you mention it, it probably isn’t the best idea since the clamps do work on friction. But it is easy enough to test out. If the clamps start slipping, just clean the bar with mineral spirits.
  
  Reply
  - Darryl Neuschafer July 20, 2012 4:15 pm
    
    Hey Marc,
    I’m glad I asked. I just picked up some Bessey pipe clamps today so I haven’t even used them yet but I am about to now! I will go ahead and do two of them with Minwax Finishing Paste Wax (i just order the renaissance wax today) and will let you know what happens. I’m currently working on a table top that is made from Walnut and Maple, I would send you a pic of where I am currently at but I don’t think there is a way to attach a pic on this thread. BTW… I got into woodworking about 1 1/2 ago and I watched your video on the checkerboard cutting board project and that was how I made my very first project! :)
    
    Darryl
    
    Reply
Darryl Neuschafer July 20, 2012 4:30 pm

Hey Marc,
Ok. I just applied two coats of Minwax Finishing Paste Wax with a paper towel, I waited approximately 3 minutes and then wiped it off. I tested it out a big piece of Mahogany and they seemed fine and is holding the wood quite well. However, it could just be that the sliding part of the Bessey clamp is simply scraping off the Wax as I slide but I didn’t see too much wax buildup as I was sliding the clamp so it’s hard to say. Please let me know if you would like for me to do some further testing. Also, I heard you were on LumberJocks so here is my project page if you would like to check it out. I just started woodworking so it’s mostly cutting boards and simple things and as stated before, I’m currently working on my first big piece of furniture which will be a large end table or couch table I was mentioning previously.

http://lumberjocks.com/DarrylJN/projects

Thanks,

Darryl

Reply
Andrew Levine December 16, 2012 7:31 am

What kind of shopvac bag is that – are they reusable?

Reply
- thewoodwhisperer December 16, 2012 9:01 am
  
  I just use the ShopVac brand that Lowes sells. They are not reusable unfortunately.
  
  Reply
Brandon December 28, 2012 6:29 pm

What maintenance measures would you suggest for the granite top machines?

Reply
Kim SG January 14, 2013 10:57 pm

Hi Marc,

I have a tin of beeswax (I guess it’s furniture wax?) would this be ok to use on my bandsaw table and saw table? I can’t seem to find a big range of wax here in Australia but found a tin of this stuff. What do you think?

Reply
Scott March 8, 2013 4:13 am

Hey Marc and family,

do you dilute the pitch and resin remover? My Rockler order should be here today and I’m excited about getting to clean some blades and router bits.

Reply
- Marc Spagnuolo March 8, 2013 7:39 am
  
  I believe the stuff is concentrated and you can dilute it. But because I re-use mine all the time, I keep it concentrated.
  
  Reply
  - Scott March 9, 2013 1:02 am
    
    Thanks Marc. My order came in today. Rockler only had the spray bottle in stock which is pre-diluted.
    
    Reply

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28 – When the Dust Settles

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