Replies

1. 
   Dave45 | Dec 05, 2004 04:14am | #1

   A shop vac will obviously be better than having to sweep everything up but it isn't as good as a for-real dust collector - and even they don't get everything. 

   You're right, the dust collectors are better because they move way more cfm.

   When you decide to get a DC, go for at least 1100 cfm.  I got the 650 cfm Jet and it's ok, but 1100 cfm would definitely be better.  Something that may help if you're working inside would be an air cleaner.  Jet sells them for around $200 and up.  They get most of the airborne dust.

2. 
   ocelot | Dec 05, 2004 05:45am | #2

   Your situation is typical of all of us that have small shops. Yes there is a big difference between dust collectors and shop vacs. Primarily the difference is in the CFM's. You can get small 1 - 1 1/2 hp DC's that are portable, don't take up much space and work as well as a large shop vac. It all depends on how much wood working you plan on doing in the garage and how long you plan to do it, ie; 1 mo, 6mo's, one winter or every year etc.
   If you only intend to be in your garage once in a while a large shop vac might be your best bet. There portable and dual purposed. They can suck up water and other fluids as well as dust. If your wood working is more of a constant hobby then a portable dust collector might be the better choice. Most all dust collectors come with 4" inlets so you would need to invest in adapter's to be able to use a 2" hose. However you can run a couple of ducts to a spot near where you have your tools and run a 2" hose to your tools.
   Both system's have their advantages and disadvantages. One example is that when the dust collector bag is full you lose vacum, where as when the shop vac's tank is full it will start blowing dust out all over. the over fill ball in a shop vac works with fluids, not dust. You just need to decide which will work best for you. Just remember that neither one is a substitute for an air cleaner.

3. 
   richk1 | Dec 05, 2004 06:11am | #3

   I survived for a couple of years using a shop vac just as you described - moving it between machines.  This past year I finally sprung for a 1 1/2 hp dust collector and don't regret it one bit.  The shop vac had a hard time keeping up with the the 13" planer. Another thing I don't miss is the loudness of the shop vac.

   Ultimately it's up to you to decide but if I had it all to do over again I would have started with the dust collector.

   Rich Knab
   People of mediocre ability sometimes achieve outstanding success because they don't know when to quit.

4. 
   Anatol | Dec 05, 2004 06:12am | #4

   Hello

   I just bought my first good table saw and it has a 4 inch hose adapter.

   I connected my 16 gallon shop vac with its 2 1/2 inch hose to the table saw.

   After just a few minutes of use I realized even a big shop vac wasn't going to work out.

   I then bought the delta 1hp dust collector, the two bag type--one above and below, for about $170 with tax.   It's on casters, has a 5 foot hose, and stands about 6 feet tall.  The base is about 2 1/2 feet by 17inches. There won't be any chips with a 1hp DC.  I don't know if you have a hookup for your contractor saw.  For you though, a 3/4hp DC might be more appropriate.

   Very fine dust blown into the air might be a problem as the bags to this DC are 30 micron.  You can get finer mesh bags but I simply built a shop air filter myself to clear the air of the fine dust. 

   I got some plywood and routed out a circle to accept an attic fan.  The attic fan was rated at 1530cfm.  I use 3 pleated furnace filters with different mesh sizes and made a box using locking rabbets to accept the size of the filters.  I don't know what the actual cfm is after the filters are installed though.  I wired the fan with an extension cord and added a 600Watt dimmer switch to control the fan speed. 

   My shop is in a two car garage and any dust in the air is gone within about 5 minutes of this air filter running.  I normally replace the 1st filter about once a week and the other 2 filters about every 3 weeks.  The entire homemade air filter cost about $65 with 4 hours of work and I vary rarely use anything but the highest fan setting.

   Regards

5. 
   mudman | Dec 06, 2004 12:21am | #5

   Cor,

   Before I got a DC I only used my shop-vac on the planer. The other tools werent worth the effort. I'd say that the planer, jointer and router are the hardest machines for any kind of DC device to keep up with. The shop-vac worfed well enough. I'd say that it did 80 or 90 percent of the work my 1200 cfm DC does. However the noise was way to much and I hated unhooking it and moving it 4 times an hour, unlike you I usually don't plan the sequence of work very well. Pluss if you do larger projects and buy rough lumber You will fill the shop vac every 15 minutes or so.

   Having said all that: If you don't generate more than a trash can of dust in a day, and don't mind the noise, and don't plan on using a duct system on the DC. Then get a good shop vac. Even though I do have a DC I use the shop-vac all the time.

   Mike

   please excuse my spelling.
6. 
   stancalow | Dec 06, 2004 08:53pm | #6

   Corrado

   Here's my two cents.  You need both.  The DC is high volume, low vacuum, while the shop vac is high vacuum, low volume.  So they each work better on some tools vs the other.  I use both on the router table:  the SV to suck through the fence, and the DC to catch the flying chips.  SV would be useless on planer.  You need a SV to clean up anyway.  I don't think you can count on the SV to handle more than one tool at a time.  If you are going to leave a semi-permanent connection to one tool, you definitely need the DC.  I will tell you it is a PITA to move both and the cyclone-lid trash can around the shop.  I built a cart out of plywood to hold the SV and trash can, but it still takes up a lot of room.  If your SV is a big one, you need the big trash can and lid too.  Harder to manuever, but my first set up with the small lid, the trash can got sucked empty. 

   BTW I just replaced my old SV with a Craftsman 16 gallon model (had the fixtures filters and extra hoses already, from old SV) for $79.  Get the re-usable gore-tex filter, whatever brand you have. 

7. 
   CajunDan | Dec 06, 2004 09:02pm | #7

   The DC is A LOT quieter than a shop vac. The sound is more of a "whoosh" than that high-pitched whine that drives dogs nuts. Downside: they are tall and have a relatively large footprint.

   If you wheel it out to the driveway to work, it won't disturb the neighbors as much.

   Regards,

   Dan

1. 
   Elcoholic | Dec 06, 2004 11:56pm | #8

   I agree with those that say you need both.  The decision is just which one you need first.  I recommend the Fein vacs.  Although expensive, they really pull, the 2 larger ones are tool triggered, they are among the quietest (58 dB) available and can filter down to 1 micron.  I have the Turbo II in the shop and sometimes borrow the wife's Mini-Turbo to run my vacuum hold down table when I'm doing a large run.  I have a 2hp DC with the upgraded felt bags.  I use 1 or 2 10' lengths of 4" flex hose for the big machines which are all portable, hence no fixed ductwork.  I can't imagine anything smaller being worth the few bucks saved.John O'Connell - JKO Handcrafted Woodworking

   The more things change ...

   We trained hard, but it seemed that every time we were beginning to form up into teams, we would be reorganized.  I was to learn later in life that we tend to meet any new situation by reorganizing; and a wonderful method it can be for creating the illusion of progress while producing confusion, inefficiency, and demoralization.

   Petronious Arbiter, 210 BC