Hello,
I am new to woodworking. Was wondering whether a Shop Vac (6HP-16 gal) would be sufficient to collect dust from a table saw, mitre saw etc. Or do I need to buy a $200+ dust collector. I will be making cabinets, doing crown molding etc. Nothing industrial really.
Any constructive comments with past experiences would be appreciated.
Thanks, MGN
No.
Get a DC. You can get a 115VDC DC and 20 feet of hose, a 1 micron bag. A shop vac doesn't draw enough air to effectively collect from a table saw, jointer, planer, etc. You'll NEVER be sorry you sprung for a DC. I got mine the minute I got into WW'ing. There's no way in hell I'd use my equipment without the DC running.
Dave
Reasons I bought a DC:
Thanks, Dave and gw. Could you recommend a good DC and a good place to buy it from. Appreciate it.
MGN
A big SV will work pretty well for a single tool, or two. I use one for my router table and my RAS; they are right next to each other and I can switch back and forth easily. It won't do so well if you are running pipes with multiple outlets. Keep things short and direct. When you get tired of moving it from tool to tool, you may want a dust collector.
Steve
The shop vac is best for my bandsaw and miter saw. When I reduce the DC hose size so it fits on those two, it loses so much suction that it's worse than the shop vac. But I put the shop vac on the table saw and it has absolutely no effect at all. (Even the DC only gets the under-cabinet dust when I'm using the zero clearance insert. I need an overarm guard with dust collection for the rest of it.)
So for me, neither the vac or the DC is the one solution. I built a rolling plywood box for the vac, lined on all sides with carpet, and a line of 1-inch holes in the back for the exhaust. Cuts the noise to only a little more than the DC, except it's in a higher pitch. And it gives me a work surface where the shopvac used to be underfoot. Plus a nice place to hang the hose. :-)
I'm not qualified to comment on the various brands. the one I have came from TWC which if I'm not mistaken, has closed up shop this year. It was around $200 IIRC and works like a champ.
Oh! I had a ton of trouble with the inlet clogging up until I picked up a waste can separator lid (about $30) for the DC. It converts an ordinary garbage can (METAL--so it won't collapse from the vacuum) into a chip and large debris separator, allowing only fine dust to enter the DC itself. Highly recommended that you get one.
Dave
I should add: a Shop Vac works fine for pulling dust/chips through a router table fence that is set up for DC. Someone else noted here that a SV works on a CMS also. I agree, but I've given up on attaching my SV to the CMS as it doesn't generate enough mess for me to warrant the effort (I don't cut THAT much on the CMS). I just let the little black bag collect what it can behind the blade (DeWalt).
Dave
It depends on your environment and your needs. With a clean slate, I'd recomment the DC. But, if you already own the shop vac, try it out and see if you're happy with the results. It may work fine for you regarding collecting the dust, but you might get tired of moving it from machine to machine. Several here, myself included, have used shop vacs plumbed to various machines with blast gates etc. with decent results. YMMV.
Tom
MGN,
Not directed at you, but is Shop Vac following the Sears computation of HP. Where in the heck do they come off with a 6 hp machine???? Was there not class action suit a while back regarding bogus HP ratings??
With 6hp you would need a 50 amp breaker to run the thing!!! I would bet my true 2hp motor on my Bridgeport mill weighs more than the entire vac and its accessories.
I bought my 1½ hp ShopFox from toolcorral.com (a hardware store in Ellenville NY). Shipping was only $20. Also check out Grizzly and PennState. Joe
mgnric05 wrote:
Shop Vac lists it as peak HP, which of course is of little use since a Vac is used in continuous mode. If you are comparing models, look at the amperage rating.
Steve
GW.... You might add:
mac
Please remove splinters before emailing
I have the (supposedly) 2 hp DC from Harbor Freight, which works well for me... if my shop vac had 6 hp, i'd be taking pulling tools off the shelves and opening drawers all the time.. lol
mac
Please remove splinters before emailing
I would love to have someone from Shop Vac (or Sears for that matter as they seemed to of started this cr$#^) explain to me what exactly maximum developed HP is and what adopted standard they are using to measure it.
They must really think that most people are stupid enough to fall for this false advertising.
Actually, in some cases, it's the opposite situation.
GoreTex filter in vac traps sub-micron dust; per specs all DCs I've seen pass that through.
HTH, J
My recommendation for the Table saw would be a diaper.
No, not a pampers, one made from cloth that gets installed on the base under the unit just inside the legs with a couple snaps on each of the sides. They can be made very easy as long as you know someone that can sew. Buy the canvas at a fabric store and they can tell you how much you will need if you take your dimensions with you.
I made one for my TS and it works great and I would say that it takes care of 90% of the chips. It is easy to clean, unsnap, drag from under TS, take outside and dump.
My TS is an old Craftsman flex drive and is on legs. The diaper is the same size as the skirts of the stand and about 12 inches deep.
Looks similar to this:
Most people are.
A DC moves much more air than a shop vac and that's what you need to pick up sawdust. Look at a 2HP Penn State or Grizzly with a metal prop. If you have extra $, a remote is very nice to have.
On Tue 16 Aug 2005 01:24:28p, "vdubbs" wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@z14g2000cwz.googlegroups.com:
That's what I had on mine for quite a while. Actually it was a garbage bag and masking tape, but the same concept.
I liked it and it made things a lot cleaner but when I got the DC I found out just how much fine dust was in the air. Or rather, NOT in the air any more.
That, for me, is the reason to put a DC on the saw. The bag thingee gets most of the chips but it does nothing to get the real dust that just hangs around in a cloud. I suppose even a shop vac would get some of it but in my experience, not enough to notice.
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