Not so dusty: How tech is changing woodworking

"I've seen workshops that are nigh on dust-free," marvels furniture maker and woodwork instructor Ryan Saunders.

It's one of the big changes that technology has bought to the woodworking business in recent decades.

"We've understood so much more about the safety of our lungs," Saunders says.

From high-pressure extractors to high-quality filters, there are more tools than ever before to protect the lungs of people working with wood.

Better dust collection was at the core of a company launched in 2024 by Chris de Jongh, an engineer and woodworker.

He noticed that companies were running their dust collections systems too much, sometimes around the clock.

So his company, BlastGate.com, sells a device that "ensures that you're only extracting dust when needed".

For one Dutch client making kitchens, the system paid for itself within half a year, according to de Jongh.

The latest tech has also been employed to make machine tools, like table saws, safer.

US company SawStop also developed a safety feature that stops a saw before it can cause injuries. The blade has an electrical signal that detects when skin comes into contact with the metal.

Within five milliseconds of that contact, the spinning blade comes to a dramatic brake, and the blade whooshes below the table.

Because the safety system is activated by contact, a finger may get nicked.

But "that is the difference between having a plaster and going to a plastic surgeon," says Saunders, who also demonstrates SawStop........

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