Ahh the things you find.... no sucky suck!

Doing my first little project on the new to me Robland X31. A simple cupboard base (toe rail) in pine.... just to familiarize myself with the machine and any idiosyncrasies it might have.

So while I'm waiting to buy a 2nd hand dusty from a guy who's away up north on the mines till the end of the month, I hooked up a simple shop vac to the dust outlet off the saw while working to at least get some of the sawdust etc.

So I'm sawing away and before long I'm covered in fine pine sawdust, as is the machine and half the workshop.

So remove the cover around the blade (coz i wanted to take the riving knife off so I could house out the rear of the toe rail to take a center rail)...and the housing is full of saw dust...

Got a long piece of thin metal and try to poke the dust down the hole while the vac is going.... nada - it's just compressing in there!

Tried poking back from the outlet end...and nada there either... seems thoroughly blocked. In fact I pushed the hose off its fitting inside the machine housing.

So I fed it back and down straight from the guard so I could push a metal rod down thru it, and FINALLY it gave way and all the blockage came out!

There was old wet/solidified/petrified Jarrah sawdust - must have come from Noah's ark... it was so jammed and solidified in that pipe!

Managed to get it good and clean - and re attached to the outlet - and actually got the housing done etc - and what a difference - the dust actually ended up inside the shop vac!

The more I work with this machine the more I am coming to realize what a tough life it seems to have had - who ever owned it prior had no clue...about maintaining machines or how they should be set up...., BUT as I work thru each of the issues, I am becoming more and more happy with it.

It has the potential to be a great little machine, when I eventually get it set up right, how I want it & get dust extraction set up properly etc.

I am just wondering what I will find "next".

Such is my personal journey today.

Who know's what tomorrow will bring.

Cheers!