while dust can be a nuisance it is also a health hazard
mdf dust and some timbers such as red cedar and Australian (tassy) blackwood are all irritant and/or toxic so take care.
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Formaldehyde from MDF supposedly leaks for up to months after cuts, so make sure you seal if you cut MDF! I’m planning to use polyurethane wood sealers if I do end up using MDF, then priming/paint afterwards.
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I ordered a couple of knockoff dust deputies. Gonna take awhile to cross the Pacific though.
https://www.aliexpress.com/snapshot/0.html?spm=a2g0s.9042647.0.0.CpmrDb&orderId=85537098722836&productId=32748638997
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Please report back on how the knockoffs work. I have the real thing from an Oneida sale, on a drywall bucket, and other than being a nuisance to haul around (should duct tape it to the vac) it works pretty well. They have a reputation for breaking if you tip them over, haven’t tested that yet.
I’m planning something like this for my half barn -> woodshop project (daughter’s cleaning out 40+ years of stuff as I type this), although it may just permanently stick the sled to the table. For ambient air filtering a box fan with a couple furnace filters duct taped (cheap prefilter, good electrostatic type under it) on the suction side makes a pretty good dust remover. Used them for years for wood and pellet ash along with sanding dust in the basement shoplet.
Edit: my BBC link was missing the http etc. Put it back. We don’t want no stinking dust (although we’re currently disturbing 40 years worth of mouse leavings; why do we keep these darn barn cats anyway?)
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I have a couple of those knock off dust deputies, and they work great. Finding hoses to fit them was a little trying, but I found that the Rigid 1-7/8" hose fit the port almost perfectly
http://www.homedepot.com/p/RIDGID-1-1-4-in-1-7-8-in-x-7-ft-Tug-A-Long-Vacuum-Hose-for-RIDGID-Wet-Dry-Vacs-VT1720/202077240
not sure it I have the same knock off, though. I bought mine on Banggood:
https://www.banggood.com/High-Efficiency-Cyclone-Powder-Dust-Collector-Filter-Top-Quality-For-Vacuums-IA1-p-1028998.html
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I have the Cyclone dust collector which is the same thing as the ones posted and it works well. I do find that MDF dust still finds its way in the vac filter so and it still gets around leaving a thin film on the area I use it in. Does anyone by chance know the differences between these type of dust collection devices and the bigger ones like in harbor freight:https://www.harborfreight.com/2-hp-industrial-5-micron-dust-collector-97869.html
Other than price and mechanics? Is there advantages to either?
I have the 1hp HF dust collector, which is a big blower attached to a canvas bag, for my basement wood lathe. Even with a trash can lid pseudo cyclone fine dust will get past. The big chunks will fall out into the trash can (which protects the impeller fan and keeps it from clogging) along with the larger dust pieces, but the fines go into the bag. The super fines go through the bag, which is why I like to wet sand.
You can upgrade the bags so they’ll catch finer particles, although that will probably cut down the airflow somewhat. I’ve heard of doubling up on the cyclones, but never tried it.
The best solution for your lungs is to blow the exhaust outside, although you still have to deal with the sawdust pile, and it’ll leave your heat/cooling power vendor with a big grin during the relevant temperature modification season.
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The real Oneida Dust Deputy has tapered ports so your hose size can vary a bit. Not sure that’s worth the extra price; duct (or gorilla) tape would be the weapon of choice to accommodate the difference if you don’t have a 3D printer.
A rubber hose with clamp the size of your vac tube works well and gives a proper seal.
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Cutting MDF is one of the worst, it generates a LOT of VERY fine dust. Even if using a cyclone of some kind, I suggest the HEPA filter or better in your shop vac. They are a little pricy, but at least mine is washable, and I only do that after banging out the dry dust in interim cleanings. Just a thought
You can get a long hose at the pool supply store that fits the small shop-vacs. Take the exhaust from the vacuum and release it outside.
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Just thought i would mention, contrary to popular belief, that a dust deputy does -absolutely nothing- for fine dust, it just keeps the big chips out of the shopvac. I don’t think it’s usefull for a maslow, it’s made more for planers and big routers that expell large amounts of tangible dust.With the speed of a maslow i can’t imagine it making a lot of chips. Also there are more practical designs to do that. like this.
The best you can do is indeed just vent your shopvac outside in summer. Also i have a big fan i’m gonna install in my door so all the dust that misses the collector will still get get blown outside
While nothing tops venting outside, my dust deputy did capture a fair amount of debris from the Maslow. I’ll check and see if it’s still there or got emptied.
In addition to a fan blowing outside (tough when it’s below zero, either F or C) you can tape a high quality filter, like higher end Filtrete, to the intake side if a box fan. Use a regular filter as a pre-filter to extend it’s life. Besides the shop we used them to control the fine ash from our pellet stove.
Totally unrelated, but our ambulance call charting software decided to autocorrect the “MI” abbreviation for Michigan to Middle Initial everywhere in my reports last night. No workaround. Patch on the way…
If you google around woodworking sites you’ll find a few semi-serious studies about workshop dust, and the only thing they all agree on is that a decent dust mask on your face is the only real way to protect your lungs. Also the dust most damaging to your health are the particles that are not visible to the naked eye. The debris in your deputy are an inconvinience, but not dangerous in the way of health or dust explosion
ok, haven’t read that one yet, that doesn’t seem to be just semi-serious 
It’s full serious, guy has such bad sawdust allergies that he seriously researched the subject, then started designing his own equipment, then started a company with his son. I also have dust issues, not as bad as his, and am planning to pony up the extra bucks for a CV1800. It rates high on the no regret lists in the woodworking forums. There’s a diy version, but I’m so far behind I’d have silicosis before it got finished (found an older floor under a foot of rock and “concrete” where the new shop is going, only need to haul out another thousand drywall buckets of rubble to get to it, gonna be a very long arm and sore moose, progress!).
Just the opinion of an old Ranger riding moose
Stay away from dust masks, go full HEPA mask or respirator. I get outdates from work (you know, Zika or latest hysteria). Neither are all that comfortable. Get the mask with the vent if you wear glasses and don’t like looking through a fog, cuts it to a light mist
I once was routing a lot of mdf indoors (it was winter and it was a on a tight deadline, so i couldn’t do it outside) When i was done i was walking in 2cm of mdf dust and spent a week cleaning the garage afterwards. I had fever-like symptoms for almost a week even though i was wearing a decent dust mask all the time. Haven’t had problems like that since then though.
MDF dust is nasty stuff, what with the glue and formaldehyde.
Better living through chemistry
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