Oneida Air Systems Dust Deputy DIY Anti-Static Retrofit Cyclone Separator for Wet/Dry Shop Vacuums (DD DIY)

I'm a finish carpenter with a small garage shop I use for some built-in projects that are easier to do from a shop than on-site. Currently in the middle of a shop re-do with the goal of having a more efficient small space, and to utilize my 14 gal Shop-vac better for dust collection. Eventually, I will hard pipe in the Dust Deputy, but for now built a "prototype" roll-away cart for it. Not the prettiest thing in the world, but it does what I need with the added bonus of giving me a bit of storage space (though the drawers I intend to build into will have to wait). (See pic)I have been using the Rockler DustRight separator for a few years now. Nothing necessarily wrong with that system, but it was not nearly efficient enough for me, and had the added issue of being less efficient the more the bin filled up. So, after doing some research, I decided on the Oneida Dust Deputy and bought the kit that has the hardware, gasket, and a hose. In retrospect, knowing what I know now, I would have just bought the bare cyclone, and saved a few bucks. The hose is cheap, and virtually useless to me. The hardware didn't work for my application, and I know how to make gaskets. If you are going to just use a 5-gallon bucket, then the kit I bought would be worth it. I wanted a little more capacity for chips than a 5-gallon bucket would give me.I won't bore you with build details on the cart. I combined/changed some ideas I had seen on YouTube, and built what I wanted. Something to consider, however, when you put things together. First and foremost - as Oneida has in their instructions - make sure your connections are tight and the system is as leak free as possible. Every single little leak will effect the way the cyclone works. Before I took the weekend to build what I did, I just made a lid for my Dust Right container, clamped it on, and used the Shop-Vac hose. The Dust Deputy wasn't performing much better than the Dust Right had been at that point, because I had some leakage around the lid, and most of the leakage at the actual Shop-Vac hose. With the system as built right now, this thing is well above 95% efficient at dropping it into the container, and not my Shop-Vac bag. If I were to put this on a 5-gallon bucket, I would consider devising some sort of structure to support the cyclone as the plastic flange at the bottom is a bit thin and I would be concerned with it breaking at that point. My Shop-vac has the 2-1/4 hose and fittings, as does the flexible hose I reused from my old Dust Right system, and these fittings snugly fit onto the Dust Deputy. The inlet and outlet areas are tapered, and though I haven't tried them, suspect my smaller jobsite Shop-Vac fittings would fit as well.The actual review? I've never used one of the knock-off cyclones so I can't compare it those. Compared with my old Dust Right system, this one is head and shoulders better. As I've already said, it is well over 95% (estimation only, I know how full my bag got before this) efficient. I reused the Dust Right container (after gluing a foam window insulation seal around the edge of it) and it is about half full right now. This is when I began to see blow by from that old system. No signs of it right now with the Deputy. I've also noticed this set-up has improved the dust collection of my Delta 36-725 table saw (which if you are familiar with those, you know the dust collection ain't the greatest). Overall, I am very happy and satisfied with my purchase. Are they more expensive than the knock offs? Yep. Imo, though, these are the real deal.

I've got to say that I was skeptical at first with this thing, but after just one use I am thoroughly impressed. At $50+ the price is steep for just the cyclone piece, I think they could throw in a gasket, or maybe some various hose adapters. I'm using mine on a white "food grade" 5 gal bucket I bought from Home Depot. A quick squeeze of this bucket compared to the typical orange Homer bucket revealed the white one was a tad thicker and I thought would be better at not squeezing in. I made a rigid round doughnut for the lid about 9 inch diameter and and caulked it to the lid. I also printed out Oneida's template for the bolt pattern. I got a 1/8 inch thick 6" x 6" piece of rubber from Ace Hardware to make a gasket seal between the cyclone and the top of the lit. I used 1/4inch x 1 1/2 long bolts with washers and nuts to attach it. Came out looking sweet and feeling really solid. Attached to the bucket and gave it a whirl. Only minor lid depressions from the suction, and no leaks. Like other people complained, it is a little tippy. But I'll resolve that with some concoction of a cart to hold the vacuum too. I don't do a ton of woodworking, so I feel the 5 gal bucket size will be fine for my need.As far as the vacuum, I'm using a Home Depot Rigid model WD4070 bought for $69. I looked around for the something that sucked but didn't suck* and thought that was the best value. I am very happy with the power, size, and abilities of it. It's not as loud as people complain too. I felt that since I was using the dust deputy, I didn't need a huge shop vac, so I opted for a similar power one with a smaller volume. Not sure about the science behind all the static pressure, and suction pressure. But this one gets the job done well.After a 20 minute run sucking up saw dust of poplar, pine, and fir, and some plane shavings, the dust deputy did incredible. Its satisfying seeing it swirling around in there too, and even more satisfying when I opened the vacuum up after and not a freakin spec of saw dust was found. Its almost like magic! haha.The only frustrating occurrences I had were with the hoses, attachments, and adapters. Since I can't really blame Oneida for that since they didn't provide any, and it would be hard for them to because of all the different sizes out there. The adapter and hose companies really ought to dumb it down for us DIYers, and color code which hose will fit on which connections. The outer diameter and inner diameter sizes are a nightmare, and it really forces you to over-buy several different options bring it home and see what fits, then return what doesn't. The good thing about the dust deputy is [that I thought at the time] that the nozzles are tapered so maybe it could fit a few different close sizes. I ended up buying a larger hose for the vacuum end, and using the original hose that came with the vac, on the opposite end before the dust deputy. Ugh. My local HD didn't have a big selection of adapters, nor did they have optimal size rubber-and-hose-clamp ones.PROs: would buy it again, well engineered and gets the job done well.Con's: prepare for an annoying time getting hose fittings to work.