There are only few upgrades that have benefited my shop more than a recent dust collection system install. Like most I started connecting machines to portable shop vacs. As the number of machines grew a larger but still portable dust collector was added that allowed multiple machines to be connected. Tired of tripping over hoses and moving the dust collector around a much larger Oneida cyclone unit was installed and permanent spiral ducts were run. Some machines even automatically activate the DC. Looking back at the humble beginnings of my dust collection attempts I can't help to wonder why the upgrade wasn't done sooner knowing now the benefits; cleaner air to breathe, lack of sawdust collecting on everything in the shop, etc. For those just starting out in woodworking my advice would be to give a higher priority to dust collection, especially a system with a more permanent arrangement.