JacksonMaberry

Extremely true. More often than not, I think, it's cheap lousy pegs that cause more problems than the shaper. That said, as others have mentioned a better shaper will help you get around trash pegs. I have the Berbuers and like them fine, but if I had to do it over again I'd go alberti.

Damn that's cool, Marty!

Starker was the same way! People are pretty funny

Unfortunately, very talented scientists at the CDC (and elsewhere) have worked very hard and to a high standard of academic rigor, and found that as many as 1.2 million Americans may die during this epidemic. I am not trying to frighten anyone, but it's worth knowing what real science is saying about a given situation, especially a public health emergency. Nobody's hunches or beliefs mean a thing - only facts are important or useful. https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.nytimes.com/2020/03/13/us/coronavirus-deaths-estimate.amp.html

This is exactly the kind of thing we need to be doing as a society.

I'm not an economist or a virologist, so I'm going to steer clear of any armchair activity in either realm. I am fortunate to still be working, but like David B I am aware of the possibility that some of my commissions will be canceled. My wife, on the other hand, has had her income as a performer and teacher dry up completely. We are lucky to have been able to save some money to live on very frugally, but if the crisis drags on there will come a moment where we will be faced with some very hard choices. I am very concerned for my fellow workers who's livelihoods have evaporated completely and who live on the margins of poverty even in the fat times. We must all be very kind and very patient with each other, and generous as we can safely be.

At least! The amount of garbage masquerading as fact floating around this trade is astonishing.

An in-line HVAC HEPA filtration system is probably not in the cards at this point. As to smudge pots, they are still in use around here, especially just over the Oregon border where most of the orchards are. Actually, I think your initial guess of black mold may have something to it - the humidifier was right next to the vent, and I think it was saturating the filter, making it a perfect little petri dish. I've moved the humidifier elsewhere and changed the filter (of course) so we'll see how that goes. The HVAC filter isn't loading at an unusual rate. Anyway, I've got the Coway unit chugging along in the shop. I'll let it do its thing all weekend and see if it makes any difference.

Absolutely, right now it's quite good! I'll take it while I can get it. Bloomington was much worse in spring... Darn! Wish I could engage in some therapeutic application of agave derived medicinal ethanol with ya, brother.

Pretty bad in Walla Walla in the Spring-Summer. Starts with pollen, ends with glyphosate-infused wheat stubble dust / loess. When the forests around here burn, the smoke settles in the valley, adding insult to injury. What the hell was I thinking moving back here? =P Miss ya Jim! Hope you're well, my friend.

Thanks for this. I am working on pinpointing the principal sources of dust. I am also probably worrying more than is necessary - it's a habit. I have successfully varnished in dustier places, like the IU shop, which probably hadn't been cleaned in three decades by the time I was there. The oversized HVAC unit in our shop cycles the air about 6x an hour as it is, and we have a serious filter in it. Maybe in combination with the Coway it could make a difference, but it remains to be seen. I've already ordered it, so I'll give it a shot and if it's as unsuitable as you're suggesting, I'll return it. I have a month to trial it. In the mean time, I continue to work on mitigation.

Good thoughts folks, thanks. The cyclone is on the opposite side of the property, unfortunately. The exhaust fan is a viable option, but at the same time wood dust is only a small part of my dust problem.

There's at least one major tonewood supplier that uses a massive industrial vacuum to aid the curing process.

Me neither. That was a rough next day. Sorry, I think I misrepresented the idea. It's not so much that it is supposed to help with drying, but rather that it helps to relieve internal stresses and to diminish (by dilution, I suppose) water soluble extractives in wood, such as sugars and the like, that might be bad.

Closely related! I don't pond, but I've read about it enough in old books on wood I thought I'd mention it before the OP goes out and buys a 55 gal drum of everclear.