Joshua Vasquez

Let’s be honest. When it comes to operating miter saws, these tools kick dust out the back like a spray paint can. Most of us have accepted this quirk as-is, but not [Inspire Woodcraft] who’s on a mission to achieve near perfect dust collection. And he nearly has it. With a budget dust collection setup, he’s able to eliminate over 90% of the dust from his cuts, and others who’ve adopted his setup can vouch for his results. The solution comes in two pieces.

Over the years, I’ve been curious to dig deeper into the world of the manufacturing in China. But what I’ve found is that Western anecdotes often felt surface-level, distanced, literally and figuratively from the people living there. Like many hackers in the west, the allure of low-volume custom PCBs and mechanical prototypes has me enchanted. But the appeal of these places for their low costs and quick turnarounds makes me wonder: how is this possible?

Off-the-shelf stock parts are the blocks from which we build mechanical projects. And while plenty of parts have dedicated uses, I enjoy reusing them in ways that challenge what they were originally meant for while respecting the constraints of their construction. Building off of my piece from last time, I’d like to add to your mechanical hacking palette with four more ways we can re-use some familiar off-the-shelf parts.