Maximize Your Dust Collection

Understanding what makes a dust collection system work and work well.

- Logan Wittmer

Dust collection tends to be a tricky subject when it comes to woodworking. There's a lot of misconception about dust collection and what exactly is necessary and important when it comes to wrangling dust in your shop. However, I understand some of that ambiguity, as everyone's dust collection needs are different. In my shop, where I use mainly hand tools, I stick with mostly a Dust Deputy (now the 2.5, as you see on page 11) and my shop vacuum. This handles dust from sanding and the occasional routing task that I do.

In the larger Popular Woodworking shop, however, our dust collection needs are different. We have various tools set up in permanent spots, and with a handful of projects going on, dust piles up in a hurry. In shops like this, dust collection is more important and is a necessary thing to consider.

In deciding what dust collection system made sense, I decided to reach out to Robert Witter, the founder of Oneida Air Systems. Oneida is the largest name in dust collection, and I wanted to pick the brains of the experts on what's really important when it comes to dust collection.

Oneida Air Systems

Before we dive into it, I wanted to give a little background on Robert and Oneida. Robert, a mechanical engineer by trade, founded Oneida Air in 93'. He was an engineer at a dust collection company that concentrated on industrial dust collection. When he continued to get calls from small 1 or 2-man cabinet shops, he decided to start building smaller-scale dust collection pieces and sell them out of his garage. Now, nearly 30 years later, Oneida is the leader in dust collection systems and continues to make innovations in the space.