In article s.com,
"EXT" wrote:

"Smitty Two" wrote in message
...
I occasionally cut plastic extrusions into short lengths on a chop saw.
Since this makes a fairly big mess of plastic sawdust scattered over a
large area, I've done this just outside a rollup door, where I can drag
a table, an extension cord, and an air hose fairly easily.

However, my building manager recently rented my work area out to another
tenant who is storing pallets of material there. I can easily do the job
inside, but the mess would need to be contained to a smaller area.

Any ideas for a breakdown containment system that is inexpensive to
make, sets up and breaks down easily, and can be stored in a small
space? I have one wall to work with, but can't fasten anything to it.

Did they block the roll up door totally (are they allowed to do that)? I
would probably roll the door up and set my cutting in the opening when the
wind is NOT blowing in the door and do my cutting there. The dust would
mostly blow away unless the storage is piled real close to the door. At
minimum, using some dust collection, will reduce the heavier particles
allowing the fine dust to naturally dissipate in the air.

The rollup door is not blocked.

One big issue with various approaches suggested so far is that this is a
precision job. Cuts have to be absolutely square, and length tolerance
is +/- .005". In reality, I hold +/- .002. To accomplish that, I
vigorously blow off every speck of plastic dust from the saw, the stop,
and the workpiece before every single cut. (I suppose I could do some of
that with a vacuum instead, but it would probably take 3 times as long.)
So, I'm contributing to the mess with the air hose as much or more than
the cutting itself.

So, working in front of the door with the door open is not an option,
because I'd be blowing stuff inside. But, maybe I can work in front of
the door with the door (almost) closed. I'll survey that option.

A couple of other notes: I do thoroughly clean up the mess, even when I
work outside, with a broom and a vacuum cleaner. I'm not sure that this
process generates much in the way of fine dust; it's more like small
granules. They do tend to have static cling, so cleaning off the saw and
work table involve more vigorous blowing.