I am in the habit of using my dust extractor to pick up piles of dust / shavings, and assorted muck from the floor, sometimes swept up, sometimes just all over the place. Not being quite so worried about the absolute best design, cleanest floor, etc etc, I often have lots of wood dust all over the machine top surfaces, as well as assorted rulers, pencils, wrenches, router bits etc.
I have always wondered about the possibility of fire in a dust extractor system. Well actually to tell the truth - I have just had a laugh at all the theories of prevention / lack of need for same etc arguments. (As amusing as left tilt/right tilt...)
So this is to say - in my own rambling way - that often as I walk around using a 3hp dust extractor as a vacuum cleaner, with its 4"nozzle guzzling away, and little static discharges firing into my loins as I reach to steady myself against the Unisore, I look at the swirling, dry, static charged maelstrom in the bottom bag, and muse. Now as I was musing thus today, I looked at where I was passing the end of the hose across the top of the extension on the Unisore, where my Routa is based, only to see at the last second the pack of extra long matches I had left there from lighting the barbie the other night whisk itself into the end of the poor mans vacuum appliance.
The next bit was a little pathetic, as I stuck my huge manly type arm down the tube, watching the bottom bag with the one eye, and used the other eye to frantically guide my move around to the other side of the saw to get to the off switch on the extractor. Now I cant tell you quite if I was more fearful of the possibility of the matches hitting the sawdust, or the explanation session required when SWMBO found out how my Dust Extractor started burning in the first place. It did however hurt when I got to the corner of the saw, and attempted to turn said corner with right arm still jammed down the hose, which was still on and connected.
I retrieved box, extracted arm, had a giggle, and went back to musing.
Little tiny moment in my day, but another little lesson learnt. Never go around corners with your arm up a poor mans vacuum appliance.
Have a goodun. Mike Brisbane, Australia.