Shop vacuums are great for cleaning up the shop and for catching dust from small power tools, but most of the convenience is lost when it comes time to clean out the vacuum itself. Many vacuums are awkward to empty, and cleaning off the fine dust caked on the filter cartridge liberates much of that unhealthy powder right back into the shop’s air.

Oneida’s Dust Deputy is designed to capture even the finest dust in a simple bucket—before it gets to the filter. And that is exactly what it does, remarkably well. The Dust Deputy is a hefty but small, 12-in.-tall, welded-steel cyclone that’s bolted onto the lid of a 10-gal. steel barrel. The shop-vacuum hose attaches to the 2-in.-dia. port on the top of the cyclone; the pickup hose is connected to the 1-1/2-in.-dia. side port.

Oneida claims the Dust Deputy captures 99% of the incoming dust, and I wouldn’t argue with that number. In repeated tests using sawdust, shavings, and quarts of the finest sanding dust, not even a teaspoon of the dust made it into the vacuum. In an average shop, this means you could easily go a year without having to clean the vacuum and its filter; instead, you just empty the barrel when it’s full—an easy task.

The Dust Deputy is solidly made and nicely finished. Oneida also offers a do-it-yourself kit version of the cyclone for $130, which includes a cyclone, instructions for making a shopmade lid, and the necessary hardware to mount the lid to a drywall bucket. Hoses are sold separately. 

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