Basic Woodworking Part 4: Dust Collection and Adirondack Chair x2

Though I haven't much time during the academic year to make anything, I wanted to make a companion Adirondack chair for the one I made last summer, using the same plans. First, however, I needed a way to collect all the sawdust coming off my radial arm saw. I had a scrap piece of poplar, so I wanted to make a small shield that would redirect outgoing dust into a collection slot in the back of the saw table.

I predrilled and countersunk screw holes on the short side of the L-shaped piece, and cut the second layer at a 15 degree angle on the radial arm (I originally tried using the jigsaw, but I couldn't get a straight line). To mount the top layer, I used a series of dowel-pin joints and woodglue (along with several strong bar clamps). My first mistake was haphazardly drilling the bottom layer of holes - this made it extremely difficult to line up the top layer holes for a tight connection.

Dust filter before sanding (biscuit joint on right edge still needs to be sanded here)

To get the long edges to line up, I cut a small biscuit joint (not exactly a biscuit joint, but the idea is similar) on the edge with my drill. After tapping a piece of scrap into the glue-lined slot, cutting and sanding the edge smooth, and filling the remaining space with wood filler, the edge looks clean and the whole piece is sturdy.

Here you can see the dust shield positioned behind the blade to direct sawdust into the slot for collection.

Of course, as I continued to cut the wood for the chair, I realized that the shield works well right up until you adjust the radial arm for anything but straight cuts. Ripping wood especially threw sawdust everywhere.