1. Two Stages are Better than One

Many woodworkers, myself included, start out with a sin­gle-stage dust collector since they’re the least expensive and the footprint is relatively small. Unfortunately, these units have some drawbacks. All the chips, shavings and dust pass through the blower and need to be trapped by the filter. As dust builds up on the inside of the filter, air doesn’t pass through as easily and the suction is reduced. As well, any small cutoffs, screws and nails that may get sucked up come in direct contact with the impeller which can cause damage and may even be a fire hazard.

A two-stage dust collector adds a pre-separator, most often a cyclone, that separates the majority of what gets sucked up, leaving only the finest dust to pass by the impeller where it gets trapped by the filter. Less dust to the filter means the suction remains high and the filter doesn’t have to be cleaned as often. If you currently own a single-stage unit, you can purchase a cyclone separator to create your own two-stage collector. The suction will be reduced slightly but the overall performance will be improved.

2. Maximize Filter Area

My first dust collector in the early ’90s had a thin cloth bag for a filter which let all but the largest particles through. The walls adjacent to the collector were always coated in a layer of fine dust. My dust collector was effectively a dust pump pollut­ing the air in my shop. Filters have improved considerably since then, with the most effective ones trapping the smallest wood dust particles. Over time, these particles build up on the inside of the filter making it harder for the air to pass through, which reduces the suction. Filters with more surface area take longer to clog, which lead to the development of pleated filters that have more than 20 times the area of a similarly sized bag filter. After-market pleated filters are available for most dust collectors. They’re more expensive than bag filters but they last a long time and offer a sig­nificant performance improvement.

3. Clean Your Filter

If you notice your dust collector is losing some of its suction, it could be that your filter is getting clogged with fine dust particles. This is to be expected, and is an indicator that it’s time to clean your filter. I do this two or three times per year, based on the read­ing on my water manometer. I do it outside, typically on a windy day, using a combination of my leaf blower and my compressor set to 60psi to avoid damaging the filter material. Be sure to wear a dust mask to avoid inhaling any of the dust.

4. Maximize Duct Size

The size and type of ductwork you choose will impact the perfor­mance of your dust collection system. In general, larger diameter pipes with a smooth inner wall work best.

Some dust collectors come with a reducer at the inlet so you can connect multiple 4″ pipes to different machines. You’ll get much more airflow if you eliminate the reducer and use a larger pipe to match the size of the inlet. My collector has a 7″ inlet so I used that size pipe for the main run and I branch off from there to connect to each machine using a blast gate to control the airflow.

My engineering background was helpful when designing my sys­tem but it isn’t a requirement. Online resources are available and some manufacturers offer design services for a fee or even for free.

5. Enlarge 4" Dust Ports

Most woodworking machines come with a 4″ port, which is acceptable for smaller machines. On larger machines like planers and jointers, this small size will limit the ability to collect all the chips and dust that are generated. You’ll get better airflow if you enlarge the port to match the size of your mainline up to a maximum of 6″. I recently added an edge sander to my shop, and with heavy sand­ing there’s not enough suction with the 4″ port to capture all the dust. I plan to make a new dust shroud with a 6″ opening that will more than double the airflow, making it much harder for dust to escape. If you can’t change the port size, it’s best to run a larger diameter pipe to the machine and place the reducer there.

6. Split Some Connections

If you have a 5″ or larger mainline duct, you may want to create split connections to some machines to improve collection. For example, I have a 6″ pipe running to my large bandsaw where it splits into a 5″ hose running to the base of the saw and a 3″ hose next to the blade. Even though the 3″ hose is relatively small for dust collection, it improves the dust collection noticeably over just using the 5″ connection at the bottom of the saw.

7. Leave It Running

Repeatedly turning on and off a single-phase dust collector places a lot of strain on the motor. Unlike a jointer, planer or table saw, which powers up without a load, a dust collector is under a heavy load when it’s switched on. I’ve got an ammeter on my dust collec­tor and the startup current is about five times more than when the collector is running. This generates stress and heat inside the motor, which accumulates with repeated starts in a short time. In my shop, I leave my dust collector running if I plan to use it again within the next 15 minutes.

Another advantage to leaving your collector running is that it acts as an air cleaner. With a 6″ blast gate open, it takes time, but my particle counter shows an improvement in air quality as the dust collector draws in dusty air and blows out clean air through the filters.

8. Augment with a Shop Vac

Dust collectors are meant to move a lot of air through a large pipe but they don’t work well when connected to a small opening found on a sander or a handheld router. For those cases, a shop vac is a better choice. More expensive shop vacs are quieter and often have filter bags that are easily changed, but lower-priced units can be just as effective. If your shop vac doesn’t have a pleated filter, I recommend adding one to trap more of the fine dust so it doesn’t get blown into the air. Like dust collectors, those pleated filters will benefit from an occasional cleaning.

9. Add an Air Cleaner

Even the most powerful dust collector can’t capture all the dust generated in a shop. Hand-held routing, hand sanding, turning at the lathe and many other operations send a lot of dust into the air. As previously mentioned, your dust collector makes a good air cleaner, but you can also buy or make a dedicated unit that can stay running even when you leave the shop. I have two homemade air cleaners in my shop – one above my lathe and the other in the middle of my shop. They’re effective even though they take several hours to clear the dust, as confirmed by my particle counter.

10. Wear a Dust Mask

A properly fitting dust mask should be part of everyone’s wood­shop dust control plan. Any dust that’s not captured at the source will become airborne, and even with a good air cleaner, it will remain in the air for some time. Wearing a dust mask is an inexpensive and effective way to protect your lungs. Consider getting a few and placing them in different locations in your shop so one is always handy when it’s needed.