The 7 Best Dust Collector Machines for Woodworking

You can also choose three speeds and use the timer function to filter the air in the room at regular intervals. The Wen also comes with a remote that has a range of up to 26 feet. This is the crown jewel of air scrubbers and one of the quietest on the market, emitting just 50 to 60 decibels.

The Wen multi-speed air filtration system has a strong one-sixth horsepower motor, and weighs just 31 pounds. The lightweight design paired with the carrying handle and eye-bolts make this machine exceedingly portable. This Wen machine pushes air through a five-micron outer filter and a one-micron inner filter, then releases it back into the workshop .

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Best Wall Mount

Rockler Dust Right Wall Mount Dust Collector

This wall-mounted dust collector has an extra small footprint, making it the perfect choice for a shop when space is at a premium. The machine moves 650 cfm of suction power through a 4-inch inlet. The Dust Right operates at about 85 decibels, staying just below the harmful noise level.

Included in the kit is a 30-micron bag with a clear window to see when the bag is getting full. This bag will filter out the bulk of the wood dust, but not fine dust. You can upgrade to a 5-micron bag filter and, for even more filtration, upgrade to a 1-micron canister filter.

Pros

• Mounts off the floor freeing up space
• Snap band ring makes changing the collection bag easier
• Crank style filter cleaner

Cons

• Lacks a cyclone stage, which would cut down on bag changes

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What to Consider When Buying a Dust Collector

Before deciding on a dust collector, it’s important to evaluate what you need. Put simply, your dust collector needs to pull more air (rated in cfm) than your most air-hungry tool (and the ductwork) requires. There are other factors to consider, like the level of air filtration and the collection bag capacity.

If you’re just getting started in woodworking and have minimal capital to invest in large stationary tools, consider a small portable dust collector. They’re designed to be very manageable and moved around the shop from tool-to-tool as needed. However, you’ll sacrifice the cyclone system that separates chips and dust, resulting in more dust reaching the pleated filter. This means cleaning the filter more often.

Consider replacing stock bags with felt bags rated at five microns or less. Dust particles under 10 microns are the most harmful for your lungs, and standard bags are good at capturing particles of 25 microns or bigger. Also, check the noise output to make sure it’s not too loud.

Types of Dust Collectors

There are several types of dust collection products available, with the main differences being the power, portability and dust collection capacity. 

• Shop vacs: This is an affordable option best used for smaller tools and to pick up random debris such as screws. You will have to empty the vacuum more often, and the filter clogs more frequently. The filtering capacity of a shop vac is not nearly as strong as a dust collector, but there are ways to improve it.
• Dust Extractors: These are designed to collect dust from handheld power tools. Dust extractors, like the Festool HEPA version, can be extraordinarily quiet with a tool-activated switch that turns the extractor on automatically.
• Single-Stage Dust Collectors: Two-bag, single-stage dust collectors work by transporting sawdust and wood chips through an impeller on the way to a collection bag. The heavier particles and debris then settle in the lower bag. It’s a simple design with a higher horsepower output that lets you connect to larger tools like a table saw or planer. They come in various designs: upright, wall-mount or handheld.
• Cyclonic Canister Dust Collectors: This type has a higher airflow and two-stage dust separation, separating smaller dust particles from larger pieces. As a result, the finer dust particles pass through the impeller and into the filter. The canister filter is excellent at capturing one-micron and two-micron dust particles effectively.

How We Found the Best Dust Collector

As shopping experts, our only job is to help you find a winning product. We start with the research and reporting basics—what products are made of, what they look like and how much they cost—to ensure that we’re only recommending the buys that are worth your time and money. Then, we research the features that speak to the product’s quality, taking advice from industry insiders and subject matter experts on what makes a product a smart value (or worthy of a splurge). Finally, we do the work of combing through user reviews to see how real people interact with the product, and if it stands up to the test.

FAQ

How big of a dust collector do I need?

Cubic feet per minute (cfm) and horsepower (hp) are two essential features to consider when understanding how big of a dust collector you need. Horsepower determines how strong the dust collector motor is, and the cfm is the amount of airflow the collector generates.

Medium sized dust collectors are typically around one horsepower and 700 cfm. If your workshop has two or three power tools, then a one horsepower, 700 cfm dust collector will be the smartest choice. Larger shops with multiple stationary power tools should use collectors that are around one-and-a-half horsepower with 1,200 cfm.

How does a dust collector work?

A dust collector has high air flow and low suction, which is why lighter sawdust gets picked up by the hose, but it can’t pick up large pieces like screws. The dust collector’s motor drives an impeller fan that generates a large volume of air flow that moves dust and debris from woodworking tools. There are many types of dust collectors, but they all have a larger hose than shop vacs and a more powerful motor.

Is a dust collector better than a shop vac?

A shop vac is meant for general cleanup and to keep surfaces clear of sawdust, not the air. If your smaller tool has a two-inch or smaller dust port, a shop vac will be adequate. A larger tool like a table saw, jointer or planer is going to create a large amount of wood chips and quickly overwhelm a shop vac.

Dust collectors are made specifically for a wood shop. They move higher quantities of air, catching the finer dust particles in the filter. Dust collectors handle significantly more sawdust quicker and experience less drop off in performance further away from the source because of the greater volume of air it is moving.

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