Inspired by my brother who is equipping his new woodworking shop with pneumatic blast gates, I built a prototype of the one I will use when I put my new dust collection system into action. The idea is that all of the dust and chip producing tools share a common vacuum system and each one is fitted with a blast gate to connect or disconnect from the ducting system. When a tool is turned on, the corresponding blast gate is opened while all others remain closed. My brother’s system is much more sophisticated, employing an Arduino controller and current sensors on all machines. Mine is basic with each valve solenoid hard-wired to each tool and a slower close than open rate to allow the lines to clear. Above is a video of my test run. I spent less than an hour putting the whole thing together and it worked like a charm.