super vacuums

[John Piwaron]

So I'm a little hard headed. I resisted worrying about collecting dust from most of my tools, particularly the small ones - the sanders and the router(s)

But now I have a Festool CT22. The single factor that swung the deal in favor of Festool over Fein was that the Festool inherently uses a bag to collect the dust and chips and the Fein doesn't. And the Festool has HEPA filters built in. The Fein can have a better filter, but it's more work and expense to put it in. Yes, l know bags are available for the Fein, but again, more work to add that. The Fein, while great, didn't fix the emptying problem (dust cloud while dumping) and didn't have the best final filter.

But I digress.

I'm blown away by apparently collectiong 100% of the dust from my ROSs. A Porter Cable 333 and 334. Nice. Very nice.

And it collects most of the chips/dust when routing. From my Bosch 1617EVS with the dust collector hood added. And from a Porter Cable 890 with the grip vac handle.

Combined with my old shop vac collecting chips from above the router table with the Festool collecting from below, they got 99% of the chips and dust from a panel raising extravaganza in my shop this past weekend.

It's nice. Very nice. I wonder why I waited so long.

[Joe Chritz]

They are nice vacs for sure.

Good to hear about the router working well. I really need to get a dust hood for the ones I use, it is about the only operation left that makes a mess.

Joe

[Erik Christensen]

I agree a nice vac is very cool to have - i added a mini-cyclone to my CT22 (a clearvue - now a collectors item) and a bag lasts me a year or more of heavy use.

[Van Huskey]

With heavy use the DD for the CT would probably save its cost in bags.

http://store.oneida-air.com/dust-deputy-festool.aspx

[John Piwaron]

With heavy use the DD for the CT would probably save its cost in bags.

http://store.oneida-air.com/dust-deputy-festool.aspx

Not sure I'd ever pay for it through using fewer bags. Only time will tell. I'm a hobby guy, not a pro.

[John Piwaron]

They are nice vacs for sure.

Good to hear about the router working well. I really need to get a dust hood for the ones I use, it is about the only operation left that makes a mess.

Joe

Well, about that. I did try the Festool vac with the router plowing a dado. I wouldn't say it got it all, but it did look to be over 50%. Even then, much less cleanup effort afterwards. It does appear to grab all of the real floaty stuff. The air is much cleaner compared with how it used to be doing that kind of work.

[Rob Steffeck]

Not sure I'd ever pay for it through using fewer bags. Only time will tell. I'm a hobby guy, not a pro.

I am not a pro either, but if I use my CT33 for anything but sanding, the bag fills up quickly. I'm refering to general shop cleanup in a shop that does not yet have a formal dust collection system. I think I could have filled up one $7 bag on jointer and planer shavings in one weekend.

For me, as Van said, I do think the Dust Deputy / Festool product would pay for itself in time. I just haven't jumped on it yet because I'm waiting for more reviews on its durability.

[John Piwaron]

I am not a pro either, but if I use my CT33 for anything but sanding, the bag fills up quickly. I'm refering to general shop cleanup in a shop that does not yet have a formal dust collection system. I think I could have filled up one $7 bag on jointer and planer shavings in one weekend.

For me, as Van said, I do think the Dust Deputy / Festool product would pay for itself in time. I just haven't jumped on it yet because I'm waiting for more reviews on its durability.

I see that Oneida has a little metal cyclone, maybe that could be used to make a homemade super durable unit.

I still have my other shop vac, that's not going away and is what I use for general cleanup. You're right about cleaning up jointer chips and the other stuff that finds it's way to the floor. In fact, my shop vac is what I use right now for the planer. It doesn't take long to fill it. A 16 gallon Craftsman.

[Rob Steffeck]

I see that Oneida has a little metal cyclone, maybe that could be used to make a homemade super durable unit.

I still have my other shop vac, that's not going away and is what I use for general cleanup. You're right about cleaning up jointer chips and the other stuff that finds it's way to the floor. In fact, my shop vac is what I use right now for the planer. It doesn't take long to fill it. A 16 gallon Craftsman.

Thats exactly what I do. I bought the CT33 to replace my Craftsman 16 gallon shop vac. I just can't bring myself to use the CT33 for the nasty shop cleanup duties, so I still use the Craftsman for that. The CT33 feels like having a sports car that you only want to take out on sunny weekends. I guess I just gotta get some scratches on it and start treating it like my daily driver.

[John Piwaron]

I bought my CT22 expressly for my sanders and routers. But before doing so, to prove the concept to myself (I had to see before committing to the expense) I made an adaptor to use the shop vac on a sander. Wow, that did it. But I knew that pulling that fine dust into the Craftsman vac would clog the filter in a jiffy.

I also notice that Festool charges very high prices for their various adaptors. That fact is one that discourages me from using the CT22 for anything but my planned use. I've got all the adaptors I need for regular shop use of the Craftsman, the Craftsman isn't in bad shape at all, so it can continue to be used the way I've been using it.

The Festool is a great machine for catching fine dust and that's what I need. Any of the available options, for me, will be limited to things in that vein. Except maybe if a dust deputy were to show up. Then it can grab from the planer too.