Wood Dust Systems for Home Workshops

How serious of a woodworker are you? It usually starts as a hobby—maybe you're making birdhouses or Pinewood Derby Cars for your Cub Scouts. Next, you've built some simple outdoor furniture, then you're designing beds, making cedar shutters, selling custom shelves on Etsy, and now you've got a website, formed an LLC, and are backlogged with orders!

When it comes to woodworking, people engage on a spectrum. That's why our friends at Oneida Air Supply offer a wide range of wood-dust collection systems, from simple DIY models that connect to an existing shop vacuum to larger workshop systems connected to a system of ductwork.

This is the wall-mounted Dust Deputy Bagger sawdust-collector from Oneida Air Systems. By using the power of your existing shop vacuum, it's an easy and budget-friendly way to help keep your work area tidy.

Why It’s Important to Mitigate Wood Dust 

Anyone new to carpentry or woodwork will quickly learn what the pros know well: Wood dust can be a problem beyond just the mess. Prolonged exposure to wood dust can elevate that problem from a nuisance to a hazard. Both the skin and respiratory system can become sensitized to wood dust. When a worker becomes sensitized, he or she can suffer severe allergic reactions (such as asthma or dermatitis) after repeated exposure or exposure to lower concentrations of the dust. Other common symptoms associated with wood dust exposure include skin and eye irritation; nasal dryness and obstruction; and prolonged colds. According to OSHA, certain species of hardwood—such as oak, mahogany, beech, walnut, birch, elm and ash— have been reported to cause nasal cancer in woodworkers. This is particularly true when exposures are high.

These dust-related problems should make dust collection a high priority. Dust collectors are a type of air-control equipment used in workshops, warehouses and factories. These machines collect and filter dust and particulates that are often released into the workplace. Pros and DIY’ers alike should explore their dust-collection options, because manufacturers offer a range of sizes for large shops as well as small non-motorized units, which DIY’ers can connect to their existing wet/dry vac.

Big Systems

Serious woodworkers eventually upgrade their equipment, and a fully installed dust-collection system connected to a system of ducts might be exactly what is needed.

But you're a woodworker, not an HVAC tech! This is why Oneida Air Systems now offers a ductwork design service, so you don't have to learn a new trade to get the system you want. The service includes a CAD Drawing of the recommended layout, an Itemized list of components, detailed ductwork assembly instructions and more. Oneida also offers

ducting supplies made in the USA using heavy-gauge steel to withstand the high air pressures created by the dust collection systems.

Still want to design and build it yourself? Oneida has you covered there, too. Download and print the Ductwork Installation Guide as a free PDF. It offers clear and easy-to-use instructions for building an efficient dust-collection ducting system. This 36-page instructional guide includes step-by-step details and color installations to walk you through every step of the project.

Oneida Air Systems' latest innovation for woodworkers is the wall-mounted Dust Cobra dust collector with either a 30-gallon drum (left) and 14-gallon wheeled bin.