I noticed Thursday that the jointer was again chock full of dust/chips on both sides of the machine, i.e. the dust collection chute side (left side as you face the machine) and the motor housing cabinet (right side) were both jam packed. The obvious indicator/symptom of this situation is that when one is jointing/planing a piece on the machine, dust and/or chips are coming back up and out of cutter area and being ejected onto the machine, the floor, or you. In such a situation PLEASE STOP USING THE MACHINE AND CLEAN IT THOROUGHLY - BOTH SIDES (and the back access to pulley housing as well). If you can’t bring yourself to do that, then simply stop using the machine and walk away and find someone willing to clean it for you.
Continuing to use the machine when the motor is completely choked off with dust and chips is incredibly bad for it, and incredibly unexcellent (I know…it’s not technically a word). The obvious, foreseeable outcome of this continued behavior is a jointer that no longer works, and then no one can use it. So…please do not be that person that helps ruin the jointer for everyone. And every bit as important, if you see someone using the jointer when dust/chips are coming out onto the machine or the floor rather than into going into the dust collection system, PLEASE STOP THEM and explain the situation and politely ask them to not be that person that helps ruin the jointer for everyone.
This issue/problem with the jointer typically arises under two conditions: 1) the dust collection system is not turned on and/or jointer blast gate not open, and 2) people planing large boards too aggressively. These are both under an individual’s control. If the jointer is being used to plane down a larger piece of stock (e.g. something over 3" wide or so), it needs to be set to remove no more than 1/32" of stock per pass, otherwise the volume and size of chips generated will choke/clog the machine and re-create this issue. Alternatively, if you decide to take a deeper cut you should then check the machine for choking/clogging periodically during and after your use.
Low effective dust collection CFM at dust chute outlet is also an issue when more than one blast gate is open in the shop, but that is not directly under anyone’s individual control at this time, and presumably will need to be addressed at some point in the future by workshop committee.
Also, the last person(s) that had opened/entered the dust chute side, probably Wednesday sometime, left one of the bolts on the floor, which I stepped/slipped on…definitely not excellent. But at least it wasn’t permanently lost. Anyway, similar to changing a tire and making sure none of the lug nuts go missing, it would seem to me that if one is not responsible enough to keep track of and replace all of the bolts securely for an effort like this, one should probably not be undertaking such an effort.