Every so often I hear from woodworkers who own a great workshop, enjoy plenty of free time and possess the skills and inclination to build great things. Trouble is, they can't do much. A lifetime of exposure to wood dust has created allergies that make it difficult for them to spend time doing what they love. Unfortunately, my only suggestion for these folks is equipment that should have been installed years ago.
Dust collection in the home workshop has evolved from a non-issue back in the 1970s to a top priority today. The equipment and know-how available have never been better. It's now possible to build an affordable dust system that makes your workshop time significantly less dusty, healthier and much more enjoyable.
Winning the dust-control game depends on three things: effective collection equipment with enough power to do the job; convenient controls that make it easy to switch the system on and off; and quiet operation so it remains a pleasure to work around.
Any home workshop can be made almost dust-free. The real trick is doing the job at a reasonable price. That's why I recommend you begin with a dedicated dust-collection unit as the workhorse behind your system. A 1-hp model is fine for small shops; a 2-hp unit is worth the extra money for medium-sized spaces.
Considering a shop vacuum system? While these tools have their place, a dust collector makes more sense as your main collection engine. Even a 1-hp unit moves about four times the air of the largest shop vacuum, and it does the job more quietly for almost the same price.
While a dust collector is your best bet for bulk dust control, you need more. No matter how diligent you are with pipes and blast gates and flexible hoses, some dust inevitably escapes. And it's more likely to be the small stuff, the dust that causes the most respiratory irritation.
This is why whole-shop dust filters partner so well with dust collectors. Ambient filters trap fine dust that's floating in the air, and there are new designs hitting the market all the time. Look for a unit rated to remove dust down to the 0.5 micron level. This is the smallest size of dust particle known to pose health consequences. You'll get the best results by leaving the whole-shop filter running all the time you're working (and even 30 minutes after you shut down for the day). Use a remote control to switch your main collector on and off as needed.
Finally, handheld sanders—belt, random-orbit and finishing models—create the greatest challenges for dust control because they spew out such large amounts of fine dust.
This is why I'm convinced a sanding table is an essential component of any home workshop. The best commercial units can pull down the entire plume of dust kicked up by a big random-orbit sander that's running without a dust bag. Shop-built sanding tables work almost as well when you design them to connect to a 4"-dia. duct that plugs into your main dust collector.
While it's never too late to invest in effective dust collection, the ideal time to do it was yesterday. Take the dust challenge seriously and you'll never develop anything but an enduring love for the wood that makes our workshops worthwhile.
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