Dust Collection on the Brain

[Bob Deroeck]

Hi,

My 20 year old Shop Vac motor smoked away yesterday. Burnt armature. Replacement motor is almost the cost of a new shop vac. I got my moneys worth out of that vac, but I won't miss the screaming motor. Or maybe not?

I'm slowly getting my woodworking shop completed and have started collecting some of the machines I've wanted for decades. I'm waiting for the weather to warm up a bit before I start wiring the shop. I'm planning on installing a cyclone dust collector for the large machines, but the death of the Shop Vac has started me thinking about the hand power tools. I've been doing some research in the SMC archives. While there's some conflicting opinions, the majority view seems to be:

1. Cyclones don't generate enough static head to effectively collect the fine dust generated by random orbital sanders and other hand sanders. The high static head of shop vacs is more effective at collecting this fine dust.

2. Shop vacs with air volume control (Fein, Festool, etc) work better than ones without for sanders with built-in dust collection since the high suction can pull the sanding disk into the work.

3. A dust deputy is very effective at extending the operating time between filter cleanings of shop vacs.

Comments on this summary are welcome.

If the majority agree with item 1, above, then there seems to be no reason to run a branch from the cyclone system over to the work bench. Or, are there good uses for a cyclone system branch to a work bench that I am overlooking?

What suction source is recommended for a sanding table, a high static head shop vac or a branch from a cyclone system?

For those recommending a Fein, Festool or other high end dust extractor for use with hand power tools, can these vacs also be used for sucking up construction debris? Based on my experience with my old Shop Vac, hoses which are 1 1/2" and smaller are likely to plug up with construction debris, whereas a 2 1/2" hose will not. If so, should I consider purchasing a Fein Turbo III, which has a 2 1/4" hose instead of the long 1" hose of a Festool CT33 (though it has an optional 1.4" hose), or the 1 1/4" hose of a Fein Turbo II, or the 1 1/2" hose of the Bosch. Or, would you recommend a Fein Turbo II or Festool for use with hand power tools only and also buying a separate Shop Vac or Ridgid vacuum with 2 1/2" hose to use for sucking up construction debris.

Bob

[Dan Friedrichs]

1. Yes, although some people use it anyways. I believe Rod Sheridan does this? Maybe he will comment on the effectiveness.
2. To an extent. My Rigid shop vac (which makes 45" SP), when connected to a 27mm Festool hose, doesn't pull hard enough to stick my Festool sander to the work. If it did, it would be easy to add some holes to allow "bypass air" to flow into the vac before the sander.
3. Yes, but it's awfully expensive for a flimsy plastic cone. I'd recommend building your own mini-cyclone from Bill Pentz's plans. Also, a CleanStream Pro fitler gives you HEPA filtration, and is REALLY easy to clean.

See my thread here about shop vac modification:
http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthre...vac&highlight=

[Larry Edgerton]

Read Bill Pentz's site. Then read it again. Then start your plan.

[Rod Sheridan]

1. Yes, although some people use it anyways. I believe Rod Sheridan does this? Maybe he will comment on the effectiveness.
2. To an extent. My Rigid shop vac (which makes 45" SP), when connected to a 27mm Festool hose, doesn't pull hard enough to stick my Festool sander to the work. If it did, it would be easy to add some holes to allow "bypass air" to flow into the vac before the sander.
3. Yes, but it's awfully expensive for a flimsy plastic cone. I'd recommend building your own mini-cyclone from Bill Pentz's plans. Also, a CleanStream Pro fitler gives you HEPA filtration, and is REALLY easy to clean.

See my thread here about shop vac modification:
http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthre...vac&highlight=

As Dan indicated, I do use my cyclone with a random orbit sander, it works perfectly for the dust collection, you don't need much static pressure drop, the fan in the sander actually does that for you. All I've done is remove a restrictive dust bag from the sander and replace it with something that's actually drawing air.

The fault with using your cyclone for sanding dust is that the cyclone doesn't separate all the fine the dust out, a lot appears to go into the filter requiring me to clean my filter more often.

If I had enough room for a vacuum I'd buy a Festool or Fein vacuum. That way I wouldn't have to sneak the Kirby into the shop when I want to clean up for finishing...........Regards, Rod.

[Philip Rodriquez]

+1 for Rod. I use my cyclone all the time. The fan from the sander does most of the work.

[paul cottingham]

I use my sander with my single-stage 1.5 hp system all the time. Works great. Isn't the issue static pressure? If you have enough I don't imagine it matters what is producing it.

[David Helm]

I have a large Shop-Vac that I bought 2 hoses for. The small one for ROS collection (works great, I just refinished maple countertops in the house and had zero sanding dust in the house) and the larger hose for cleanup in the shop. Way cheaper than the Fein or Festool and does everything I ask of it.

[Alan Schaffter]

[Todd Kinsfather]

My Bosch VAC001 hose has a rotating split collar over a rectanguler aperture to adjust the suction to prevent pad sticking. http://www.amazon.com/Bosch-VAC001-1.../dp/B00005AFHY and fits into 2-1/4" shop vac port or DC adapter. I use it with an approx $100 Lowes Shop Vac that is quieter than most without the anoying shrill whine of most shop vacs. I now have one of the Porter cable italian hepa filtered vacuums too.
I would suggest you buy a cheap shop vac off CL for your construction debris. Lots of unused ones given as gifts to people that don't have much to vac.