re: Remote Switches for Dust Collectors

Kelly – seeking clarification of “Two Cords”.

Normally, 220/240 is supplied via a single cord: two hots (120 each), with a ground wire – in the vernacular this is 12/2, with ground (12 guage – rated at 20amps, 2 hot (if you’re running 220/240) or one hot & one neutral (if you’re running 110/120). The ground wire exists in either case. When you want to support a 220/240 load, such as a dust collector, and support a 110/120 load with the same wire, you would need a 12/3, with ground – the extra wire is the white neutral – you would wire two hots to the 220/240 device, and use one of these ‘leads’ plus the white to support the 110/120 device.
The term “two cords” leads me to believe, perhaps incorrectly, that you’ve supplied 110/120 from two different wires to drive a 220/240 load. If this is the case, you may want to rethink this – my guess is it doesn’t meet local code requirements…
Again, just seeking clarification.
MJCD