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Fine Woodworking
The authors and editors are woodworkers themselves!

Shop Dust Collection

Getting Tough on Dust

If you don’t have a dust collection system in your shop, now’s a great time to start. For many hobbyists and home-shop woodworkers, such systems seem like a luxury - the last tool to be bought. But more and more of us are beginning to take dust seriously. That’s a fact that the tool industry now recognizes.

Very few woodworkers do their best work while kicking through mountains of shavings and coughing out a cloud of dust. Once you have a dust collection system installed, it will do a lot of the shop clean-up for you - while you work, not afterward.

Being aggressive in cleaning dust from the air in your shop doesn't necessarily mean you have to spend a ton on new equipment.

Choosing a Dust Collector

To choose the right dust collector for your shop, you'll need to consider the air volume requirements of the tools in your shop and also the amount of static pressure your dust collector will have to overcome. To help explanation of dust collection design - including formulas for calculating air volume, velocity and static pressure losses - we recommend a dust collection book, where you'll find the detailed information you'll need to do the best job of designing your dust collection system.

There are, however, a few dust collection "rules of thumb" that are based on the size of your shop and the type of tools in it. Below well offer our picks for dust collection systems ranging from a small portable dust collection solution to a central system for a well equipped two car garage sized shop.

How Dust Collectors are Rated

Dust collectors are designed and rated to produce a sufficient air moving force to capture and move woodworking debris under certain conditions. Nearly all manufacturers publish ratings for individual dust collectors including:

Air velocity in feet per minute (fpm)
Air volume in cubic feet per minute (cfm)
Maximum static pressure (sp)

A large, powerful dust collector will, of course, move more air with more friction-overcoming force than a small, portable unit, and therefore can be used to service machinery that produces greater volumes of debris and have greater cfm requirements. Also, because of their greater capacity for overcoming static pressure losses, more powerful dust collectors can be situated farther away from individual machines, making them more advantageous for central dust collection systems.

Affordable, Portable Systems

A portable dust collector is a good option if your priorities are affordability and simplicity.

A portable dust collector is moved from machine to machine, keeping it in close proximity of the tool it's servicing and limiting the static pressure losses caused by long runs of ductwork. There's a minimum amount of set-up involved - the dust collector connects to the dust collection port of the tool it's servicing with a short length of flexible hose and a keyed hose clamp.

Any of these Jet Dust collectors make an excellent choice for a small woodworking operation where an affordable solution is the goal. The DC-650 has a permanently lubricated, totally enclosed, fan-cooled motor rated for continuous-duty. The remote control operates off of radio frequency. No need for line of sight to turn machine on and off.

DC-1100 Dust Collector, 1-1/2HP, 1Ph, w/Remote & Canister Kit

Jet DC-1100
w/Remote & Canister Kit

Jet DC-1100a
Dust Collector

Jet DC-1200 JET Dust Collector w/ Bag Kit, 2HP, 1Ph

Jet DC-1200
w/ Bag Kit

Jet DC-1200 JET Dust Collector w/ Canister Kit, 2HP, 1Ph

Jet DC-1200
w/ Canister Kit

In a central dust collection system, the dust collector stays in one place in the shop and is connected to the woodworking tools it services with a system of ductwork. A central system has a couple of advantages over a portable system. The central dust collection unit can be placed in an out-of-the-way location where it doesn't take up the most valuable space in your shop. Also, a central system is permanently connected to your tools, meaning that you can move from tool to tool freely, without having to stop work to transfer the dust collector's connection.

Cleaning the Air

In fact, “dust collection” is really somewhat of a misnomer. “Dust collectors” are actually collecting mostly wood chips and particles. The dust, for the most part, winds up in the air. To protect yourself from that dangerous airborne wood dust, you either need to wear a respirator/mask or, for the highest degree of safety, use an Air Cleaner as part of your dust collection process.

One of the best is the JET AFS-1000 Air Filtration System. This high-quality system features an electrostatic filter which removes 98% of all particles five microns in size. This technology also removes micro-particles of smokes, viruses, bacteria, and fine dust at the rate of 25 times more effectively than an ordinary home furnace filter. And it cleans and circulates the air in a 20 x 20 x 8 shop in under five minutes!

» Dust Collection Hose, Fittings and Accessories
Clear Flexible Dust Collection Hose	Mr. Nozzle	Spiral Pipe and Fittings for Dust Collection System
Did you know that wood dust is related to many health hazards? These include irritation of the eyes, nose, and throat, skin rashes, asthma, allergies, and some serious lung diseases. It has even been linked to a rare form of nasal cancer.
Dust Collector Starter Kits and Hanger Clamps	Dust Collection Splicers	T-Connector Dust Collection Fittings
Estimates indicate that up to 13% of woodworkers have dust-induced asthma. Breathing wood dust can also cause chronic bronchitis or emphysema.
Y-Connector Dust Collection Fitting	Elbow Connector Dust Collection Fittings	4'' Dust Coupling
During their lifetimes, one third of all woodworkers experience some adverse health effects from contact with wood dust.
Hose Adaptor	Hose Reducers	Universal Dust Adapter
While shop vacuums are extremely popular among woodworkers, they may not be the best solution for systematic dust control.
Dust Collection Fittings	Vacuum Tool Kit	JDS Dust-Gate Automated Blast Gate System
First and foremost, their capacities are generally much smaller than that of most large, stationary machines.
Dust Collection Blast Gates	Metal Blast Gate	Dust Collection Hose Hanger Clamps
Second, their filters usually don’t trap some of the micro-particles that can aggravate allergies and irritate the respiratory system.
Adjustable Hose and Pipe Hangers	4-1/2'' & 3'' Keyed Hose Clamps	4'' Spring Clamp
There’s no doubt: For most shops, a complete dust collection system is necessary to protect your health.
Steel Base Clamps	Universal Dust Port	Tabletop Dust Fitting
Universal Dust Collection Port	Table Saw and Jointer Hoods	Dust Collection Floor Sweep
Dust Collection Separator	Dust Collector Remote Switch	Dust Grounding Kit
Round Swivel Dust Port	Counter Dust Brush	Large Aluminum Dust Pan