Cyclonic dust collectors are elegantly simple. Create the right cone shape, suck dust in at the correct angle, and the heavy stuff settles at the bottom while cleaner air goes out the top. Oneida’s new Dust Deputy proves this theory at the low end of the size and price scale.

I used the $99 Dust Deputy Kit, which comes with two 5-gal. buckets, one for the dust and another that bolts to your vacuum canister to hold the first pail. When I snapped the tiny plastic cyclone onto a bucket, connected it to my shop vacuum, and added a little wooden leg so the whole thing didn’t tip over, the cyclone turned my poor-performing vacuum into a powerful machine.

Clean filter means full power. With the Dust Deputy attached, the filter stays surprisingly clean.

To torture-test the unit, I replaced the dust-caked HEPA filter in my vacuum with a new one, and spent an hour vacuuming several months worth of dust from every surface in the shop. The cyclone bucket filled up three times, but the vacuum canister remained empty, and the filter had only the finest layer of dust. As a result, the suction was at least twice as powerful as before, and it never let up.

Not very portable. The Dust Deputy and shop vacuum in tandem result in a rig that’s awkward and tippy. A short wood leg added to the Deputy bucket helps keep everything upright.

The significant downside is that the buckets/cyclone must stay tethered to your vacuum by a short hose, leaving you to drag everything around. Also, the multiple hoses and cyclone lid kept popping off. A few sheet-metal screws would secure the hoses. I recommend the Dust Deputy for folks who don’t have to move their shop vacuums much. I’ll use it for my router table, chopsaw, and sander, which are within 10 ft. of each other, but I’ll stick to my broom and dustpan for shop cleanup. For more information, go to www.dustdeputy.com.

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