The Story of Magport

What is Magport?

Magport is a solution to a problem I face on a daily basis as a woodworker.  I make commission furniture and woodwork for all types of people and places and as such I never know what I'll be making next.  For this reason it is hard to set up a shop that can accommodate projects of all shapes and sizes so my shop must be flexible and able to conform to my ever-changing needs.  That's why I developed Magport; a quick-change magnetic fitting system that promotes flexibility in the shop by allowing quick changes in the configuration of dust collection systems to keep machines running smoothly.  

I developed this solution out of frustration after years of repeatedly cramming tattered flex hoses onto machine dust ports.  Each time I would reconfigure the shop for a new task my workflow suffered from inconveniences like dust collection.  

I increased ductwork... But too much ductwork makes handling large, heavy materials like a dangerous game of Tetris.  I thought about a large, central vac system... But in a one man shop I often won't run a single, large collection system for cuts here and there and have since opted for several, smaller, prosumer-grade collection systems.  Then, I thought about a quick change fitting system using magnetic couplings.  

To my surprise, this idea had not yet been applied to woodworking dust collection.  My first protoype, made of wood and plastic chopped from an old fitting, proved the idea worked and from that moment I set out to make this magnetic dust fitting a reality.

With my brother's help we began making 3D printed prototypes to test in the shop.  I began testing and adjusting the design.  3D printing worked great for design but was too slow and the models lacked integrity.  I began designing a prototype I could make in the shop that was durable enough to sell to the public as a beta version.  That is how this version, v2.2, came to be.

The Magports for sale on this website are made by me, in my shop in St. Louis.  My goal is to raise money selling these prototypes to build an injection mold and make these fittings by the thousands.  Additionally, plastic injection molding will lower the unit cost and I will be able to sell them at a much lower price!  

Throughout the forseeable future, I plan to write about my successes and failures as I develop this product and prove that it makes a huge difference anyone's shop.  

-Dave