DC ductwork design

[Thomas Crawford]

Ready to design my ductwork around the Oneida V-3000. I'm considering just having Oneida design the ductwork but I see their costs are a bit high but with free shipping on the 26ga pipe. Advantage is it is just done and shows up in a box and I get to the stuff I actually want to do sooner.

Decisions to make:

26ga pipe, spiral pipe, or Nordfab? Estimated costs are spiral 50% more, Nordfab twice the cost. Concerned that since I am just finishing the shop I'm going to need to make changes over time.
Where to buy ductwork if I do this myself? Local HVAC suppliers in Austin have a bad reputation (at least online) for price gouging non-pro's - not sure I'm going to save any money buying the ductwork locally


Machines to hook up:

3HP Sawstop PCS - to be purchased this month
16" jet bandsaw
J/P combo - currently Makita 2030 that I need to make some kind of DC connection for, hoping to talk the wife into a Hammer A3-31
Milwaukee SCMS - want to make some kind of hood, will accept a hose - is this worth a dedicated DC drop? Or just use a dedicated shop vac?
eventually a lathe but no timetable
floor sweep


Any recommendations on suppliers for pipe?
Any experiences or recommendations on 26ga vs spiral with modifying existing installations?
Any experience using Oneida design service?

[Jim Becker]

Kencraft in Ohio is one good alternative source for DC components, snap-lock and spiral pipe. It's true that Nordfab is expensive, but the ability to very quickly install and change does help make up for that in some cases. HVAC suppliers are often the worst place to do business, outside of, perhaps, getting straight stove pipe or spiral without shipping cost. They don't generally carry appropriate components for DC work...the air flow is the opposite direction from HVAC.

My system is all 26 gage snap-lock with Oneida fittings, except for a few Nordfab or equivalent quick disconnects.

CMS/SCMS is about the hardest tool to collect from. Definitely a hood that surrounds the back side and a big, healthy drop to that tool! Lathe doesn't need much of a drop since you can only use it for sanding and that's often done with a movable hood that goes right behind the workpiece while your sanding. The J/P you anticipate will require a bit of air flow...5-6" drop for sure.

[Charles P. Wright]

I used the Oneida design service this month. I got one design, we tweaked it (I wanted either 4" or 6" blast gates to eventually swap in iVacs), and then I approved and got a quote based off of that. I deleted the 4" flex hose, using my existing; and added longer 5" and 6" flex hose for the table saw and jointer.

I ended up with 3 extra 4' lengths of the 24 ga. straight pipe; but the fittings were spot on. If I had done a slightly better job of measuring the shop, maybe I would not have had the extra.

I figured that for a one man hobby shop the 24 ga. was good enough. The price difference over 26 ga. wasn't that much. I was tempted by spiral, but really couldn't justify it.

I also thought of maybe buying pipe locally; but I think having almost exactly the right materials and very little waste might make up for any cost savings of getting local pipe in the end.

I'm quite happy with my experience.