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

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.

Healthy Shop Habit
There’s a reason to be concerned. Wood dust is related to many health hazards, including 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. Estimates indicate that up to 13% of woodworkers have dust-induced asthma. Breathing wood dust can also cause chronic bronchitis or emphysema. During their lifetimes, one third of all woodworkers experience some adverse health effects from contact with wood dust.

While shop vacuums are extremely popular among woodworkers, they may not be the best solution for systematic dust control. First and foremost, their capacities are generally much smaller than that of most large, stationary machines. Second, their filters usually don’t trap some of the micro-particles that can aggravate allergies and irritate the respiratory system. There’s no doubt: For most shops, a complete dust collection system is necessary to protect your health.

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

Choose the system that’s right for you!
Dust collection systems are now more affordable than ever. These are among the most popular versions of dust collection systems for home shops:

During their lifetime, one third of all woodworkers experience some adverse health effects from contact with wood dust.

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 #24770 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!

Fittings and Accessories:
Rockler Woodworking and Hardware has everything you need to set up a complete, thorough, and efficient dust collection system.

2-Machine Dust Collector Starter Kit - #68665
Custom build your own two-machine dust collection system! 22-piece kit includes two elbows, two Y-fittings, two metal blast gates and sixteen 4" wire hose clamps.

Y-fittings are used to service more than one machine and provide increased lateral air flow. All 4" diameter fittings are manufactured from abrasion-resistant plastic. 4" hose sold separately. Whenever using plastic hose and fittings, we recommend grounding the system to eliminate static electricity.