New to dust collection. Need help

[dave hunt]

I have a garage wood shop and I need some kind of dust collection system. I don't want to get a big unit that I have to run pvc and flex hoses.I would like to use a good shop vac keep it under my outfeed table and plug the hose in to what ever tool I am using.Is there a rmote outlet I can plug the shop vac in to? I don't wan't to flip the switch every time I want to turn it on. What is a good shop vac to get for around $100.

Thanks in advance

[dave hunt]

would I be better off getting a small dust collection unit from Harbour freight?(the small roll around one that would fit under a table)

[Paul Greathouse]

Dave

Unfortunately, a shop vac is not going to serve you well for a tablesaw or other large stationary tools. The shop vac with a precollector (Onieda Dust Deputy or equivelant) ahead of it is great for handheld sanders and saws but it doesn't move enough air for larger stationary tools.

Do some shopping around, the Harbor Freight that you mentioned has alot of competitors in its size range. Also do some searches here at SMC, you will find alot of threads on the smaller collectors including the Harbor Freight. I don't have any experience with them, I have an Onieda Cyclone and I use the Onieda Dust Deputy and a shop vac for my track saw and ROS.

Good luck with your selection, there's a wealth of information here, just do some searches and you should find what your looking for.

[Leo Vogel]

Dave - you may want to look at the Harbor Freight 2hp dust collector. It is on sale for $139.00, on casters, and rolls easily. You could have a short piece of flex hose and attach it to each machine as needed.

[Harold Shay]

Dave you will want to put some kind of pre seprator on the Dust Collector, otherwise, you will collect chips and redistrubute the fine dust all over your shop. I agree there is a palethra of information on this sight. Good hunting
Harold

[jason lambert]

It's not grate but jet also makes a small one to go under or next to a table saw, jointer etc. It is still 100x better than a shop vac a shop vac simply doesn't move enoght air once you take that 1 or 2 " hose and bring it to 4". On the high end oneida also make a roll around model.

to compair them a top end shop vac may do 300 cfm with a 1.5" hose. most dust collectors do over 1000 cfm with a 4-6" hose.

[Greg Peterson]

Dave - just to calibrate your expectations, dust collection and chip collection are two different things. The dust you want to collect you can't even see.

[dave hunt]

Dave - just to calibrate your expectations, dust collection and chip collection are two different things. The dust you want to collect you can't even see.

Yea I should have said chip collection. I normally have the garage door open when I am working. This is more for chips. Do you guys use a remote or manually turn on the shop vac then turn on the tool?

[Harold Shay]

Yea I should have said chip collection. I normally have the garage door open when I am working. This is more for chips. Do you guys use a remote or manually turn on the shop vac then turn on the tool?

I have blast gates that turn on the DC The remote would be nice but I am not going to change since the gate switches work well. I have to manually turn on the shop vac.
Harold

[Dave Wagner]

They do make a switch that automatically senses load (saw, etc..) and turns on the outlet to the dust collector.

http://www.rockler.com/product.cfm?p...&filter=switch

You can also get Remote Control Type ones too with a remote.

I have been using my ShopVac (6 gallon?) with my tools and it seem to work fine, it does fill up quite fast, but if you check after a couple boards and empty it and bang out the filter good. it does a pretty good job.

[dave hunt]

Thanks for all the advice. I ended up making room in the corner,adding a new circuit and buying the Harbour freight 2 hp dust collection system.It was on sale for 139.00 like others had mentioned. So far I am very pleased with it. I might add a remote for it later but so far it's not that much of a hassle to turn it on manually. The unit is pretty quit too.

Thanks again for the help