Why do you need a dust collector?
As a woodworker, you are constantly exposed to wood chips and its fine shavings, often flying up in your face and entering your nostrils. Obviously, this affects your health in the long run and to prevent any adverse health issues, it is important that you take preventative steps so that your woodworking career isn’t cut short due to health reasons. All you really need for your shop is a dust collector. But which is the best dust collector for you?
Health hazards due to wood dust
Long exposure to wood dust can sensitize the skin and the respiratory system. This would mean that you could suffer allergic reactions like dermatitis or asthma, eye or skin irritation, colds that hardly ever go away, nasal obstruction and dryness. Working with wood species like mahogany, birch, oak, ash and elm are known to cause nasal cancer among woodworkers over a protracted period.
Other reasons for installing a dust collector
Clearing dust from your job site is time-consuming
If you spend time cleaning your workplace, it means you’re not doing actual woodworking projects. You need help with clearing dust faster and efficiently.
Buying tips
As with buying any device, you need to look for certain features of a dust collector that will help you choose the right one for your woodworking unit. Some of the features that could render these devices as the best dust collector for small shops are:
Filter size: Check that the dust collector you’re looking at can filter down to a minimum of 2.5 microns.
Suction power: The CFM (cubic feet per minute) rate of a dust collector determines its efficiency to suck up dust. Your needs for high suction of dust depends on the tools you use in your workshop. Ensure that you count the amount of loss of static pressure that will take place between the location of your dust collector and your tools set-up, so bear in mind that the length of pipe will add good resistance to the dust collector’s suction efficiency.
Single Stage System or Two-Stage System–Which to choose? Obviously, it’s cheaper to go with a single stage system than a two-stage. Being single stage does not have any serious impact on their efficiency. A two-stage system works differently, however, so the benefit of using it is that the largest saw dust particles and chips don’t have a chance of clogging the system’s filter. Plus, the filter suction keeps working without any glitches.
So, despite the fact that a two-stage collector is more expensive than the one stage, yet its design ensures that it runs well and sucks out all the dust particles from the air.
Best Dust Collector Reviews
Here are some wood dust collector reviews that you can benefit by reading:
[easyazon_link identifier=”B00LPD9BDI” locale=”US” tag=”wwwafforda061-20″]WEN 3410 3-Speed Remote-Controlled Air Filtration System Review[/easyazon_link]
Air-borne wood dust doesn’t dirty workspaces but also damages your respiratory system. The WEN 3-Speed Remote-Controlled
Air Filtration System gets rid of these pollutants by sucking them into the device by virtue of its two filters while it helps air to circulate in your work space continuously. This system works silently and can be controlled to a maximum distance of 26 feet by means of an integrated remote system.
Its lightweight design stands at a weight of 14 kg with easy to install hooks on ceilings. It has three speeds, depending on your need. You needn’t be bothered about remembering when to switch off the device as it works to a timer. Once the timer is sounded, you can clean your workshop thoroughly, even though you’re not actually present there.
Pros:
- As a dust collector, it is absolutely perfect.
- The set-up is simple and quick.
- The timer works well and is handy.
- It works silently and is ideal for small shops.
Cons:
- This unit is just a bit too small.
[easyazon_cta align=”none” identifier=”B00LPD9BDI” key=”wide-orange” locale=”US” tag=”wwwafforda061-20″]
[easyazon_link identifier=”B001R23T44″ locale=”US” tag=”wwwafforda061-20″]Shop Fox W1727 1 HP Dust Collector Review[/easyazon_link]
The vast range of dust collectors in the market today can make choosing just one extremely daunting, not to mention challenging. To go by your needs is the best way, primarily to choose one that does a good job of picking up all the wood dust 
and chips that your woodwork brings about.
Here’s one that not only takes away all the sawdust that flies up while you work, but also makes the air pure and safe for you to breathe in. Woodstock International’s Shop Fox W1727 1 HP Dust Collector from Woodstock International is clearly an international quality product, which is built solely to keep your workshop safe from impurities like wood chips and dust that could pollute the air and endanger your health. It is also highly portable and is perfect for compact workshops.
Pros:
- It works efficiently to control dust collection.
- A good alternative to the web-like flexi hoses that shops have on their walls or ceilings.
- Competitively priced
- It can be used on a standard 110 circuit.
Cons:
- The rivets on the band that hold the dust bag broke down after two weeks of use.
[easyazon_cta align=”none” identifier=”B001R23T44″ key=”wide-orange” locale=”US” tag=”wwwafforda061-20″]
Having dust around is unprofessional: If you leave dust around unattended to and have clients walking into your shop, you can be sure they won’t come back a second time. Besides, even after clearing the dust mess, dust particles are known to hang in the atmosphere for days. Providing a dust-free environment to your customers and to yourself would be wonderful, so why not invest in a device that does it for you efficiently?
