Hint - Use a shop vac to pick the waste material

I found if I use a small shop vac to pick out the chaff and waste from the cuts I can:

  1. Tell if I need to do another pass
  2. Re-position the material for the next cut much easier.

I make a lot of little holes for small screws in my work. If I try to re-position the work for the next cut the chaff from these screws catches in the honeycomb. By vacuuming them out I prevent them from blocking movement and catch those that didn’t quite cut all the way through.

I should note: I have a shop vac with a metal can not a plastic one and I empty the thing out before and after a cut. I don’t want the chaff to ignite inside the vac.

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There should be no chance of ignition in the vacuum after the cut is done. This would mean you have active embers which you should be able to identify by the smoke coming up from them. I have yet to see any active embers after a cut, even in paper.

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