I will likely need to find a 100% duty cycle 2-stage machine. I think Quincy has one for about $2k that I may spring for, but that’s not high priorirty just yet. I can blast for 5 or so minutes at 90 psi, then it keeps 75 psi for a little bit. I usually let it catch up after 10 minutes or so.
If I had really good space, this would all live in a 2500 sq ft dedicated shop where all of the tools, toys, and cars can live. I’ll keep holding my breath.
I run my blast cabinet off the same compressor. It definitely does give it a work out but it keeps up pretty well as long as I rest it every so often.
I did have several other reasons for backing out of the cabinet:
It was the right move for me.
You sound like you’ve learned some lessons in life that I’m still catching up to 
Always learning, my friend. I would say I also have a little “history repeating itself” with some of the learning. 
I like to say “We learn from our mistakes” but I sure wish I could have one day of no ‘learning’, if you know what I mean!!!
1 and 3 - I can relate to 100%. I avoided #2 by building my shop 150 feet behind my house and giving my better half the entire house garage which she needs to park her Mini Cooper in of course!
Last night I cut up some yoga mat into 6" strips and affixed them to the interior-side of the bars of the enclosure. This material is soft enough to flex but rigid enough to hold its shape/position. I’m pleased to say, this has helped a ton with smoke being contained. I’d say 90% of smoke from some jobs today was exhausted out of the house.
At this point, I can try to improve the efficiency of the fans I have, or consider a bigger fan mounted on the exterior wall. But, I feel like I’m on a good path.
One thing I would like to know is, if you get rust staining on your siding where your fan exhausts outside after a period of time.
I just want to caution you regarding too much exhaust air volume. You are not allowed by building code to put a dwelling into a negative pressure state. Negative pressure can be very dangerous if you have any gas appliances in the house…they may not vent exhaust gasses properly and carbon monoxide build up can occur.
Make sure you have adequate volume of replacement air coming into your house so nobody dies of CO poisoning please.
Other than that things look great! Keep us updated on your progress.
Cheers!
@Knick , so far soo good. The plastic vent outlets have some staining but nothing on the siding.
@Truckinu , good info. I hadn’t considered this. Maybe this info will help in determining: the house also has a ceiling-mounted whole-house fan installed. Sucker is huge and draws a TON of air. We use it somewhat regularly. I do open some windows when it’s running, but would this tell you anything about pressures?
@TinWhisperer can tell you more, but some gas appliances have there one air intake so they would not be affected. A whole fan would not normally be used during the heating season and there designed to be used with open windows
Here is the critical exhaust conditions worksheet for just such a scenario
Also installing a CO alarm
here is also good information about depressurization testing
If you keep the water / coolant level 3/4 - 1/2 inch below the material you cut, it will eliminate better than 95% of the fumes / smoke you get when cutting.
I really like the separation between the control box, RazorCut machine and the plasma table.
That’s not the case for me, I still get a oily greasy like film on everything close by. Even cutting in a spray booth with a fan running.
My water is usually just a hair below the tops of the slats. I’ve actually preferred slightly less water just to cut down on splashing.
I have noticed the interior sides of the enclosure rails have gotten dirty much faster since ‘sealing’ it up. I imagine the machine itself will require slightly more frequent cleaning/wiping down.
I learned that lesson with woodworking. You can have all the big fans and dust collectors that you can afford but at the end of the day, there is still dust and debris. The fans main purpose is to help with the fine dust particles that remain suspended in the air. With wood and probably metal cutting, those suspended elements are the ones that are the most hazardous to your health.
I notice that if I have the dust collector running, I can cut wood/plywood for hours without any sort of mask/respirator. But try and cut for two minutes without the dust collector and I can feel it in my throat.
I’ve been following this thread since late January, and I just gotta say: This is super cool. You really got my ideas flowing for when I buy one myself.