Hi John,
I am just getting ready to turn half of the basement into a wood shop and the other half into an office for a college professor. In the past, I have used a Shopvac brand vac as my dust collector. It is loud as blazes and I am not sure how effective it is for small particles. I use a table saw, a router, a compound miter saw and various drills. So, the question is: should I go the expense of buying a dust collector, like the Delta 1 1/2 hp model w/ a 1 micorn bag, or just muffle the existing shop vac, or buy a new, presumably quieter and more efficient shop vac.
I will be cutting lots of studs and paneling in the basement remodel. I will also be making a number of bookshelves. I can read reviews of either shopvacs or dust collectors, but I don’t see anything that advises me on how to pick one system over the other.
Any advice will be appreciated.
Thanks
Mark
Replies
Mark,
What make and model table saw do you own?
John White
Hi John,
It is a DeWalt 745, a 10-inch table saw (my first).
My compound Miter is a Makita 10'1inch.
Thanks
Mark
Mark,The big central dust collectors are designed to work with large diameter unrestricted piping systems. Chop saws, and the shrouded table saw you have, with their small dust ports, don't work well with dust collectors, the restrictions kill the air flow. Shop vacs are designed to pull air through restricted systems and will do a much better job hooked up to your tools. The noise levels created by shop vacs have been reduced substantially in the past few years, I think you will be pleased with the newer machines. The stock filters that come on most shop vacs don't catch the finest dust, but replacement filters are available for some brands that will trap the finest dust.I have had good luck with the Ridgid brand vacs sold at Home Depots. They are reasonably quiet, have fine dust filters available, and they are not expensive. Often it is easier to buy the smallest vacs, the 5 or 6 gallon size, placing one at each machine, rather than dealing with switching hoses around all the time.John White
Thanks John. That is very useful.
Mark W.
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