Replies

1. 
   Dave45 | Jan 21, 2007 05:24pm | #1

   Jazzdog -

   I've used some of those multi-adapters that you have to cut off to get whatever diameter you need, but haven't been terribly impressed with them.  I've made "sleeves" out of aluminum flashing, but they're usually pretty marginal.  I've also been known to get something that's pretty close and wrap it in duct tape. - lol

   I really wish that the tool manfacturers would make all of their dust collection connections to fit the "standard" shop vac diameters (1.25" and/or 2.5").  The biggest headache for me is my DeWalt ROS.  I had to buy a "special" hose that would fit the sander, then jury rig a sleeve to connect it to my DC port.  If I need to switch between it and my detail sander, I have to change hoses, too.  It's a real PITA!!

1. 
   jazzdogg | Jan 21, 2007 10:22pm | #2

   Thanks for the reply, Dave. That's exactly the kind of frustration that could provide the impetus to make an enterprising individual rich. I cannnot, for the life of me, comprehend why the companies that make these kinds of odd-sized doo-dads don't also offer adaptors.

    -Jazzdogg-

   "Don't ask yourself what the world needs. Ask yourself what makes you come alive, and go do that, because what the world needs is people who have come alive." Gil Bailie

1. 
   [email protected] | Feb 17, 2007 08:01pm | #3

   I guess I'm not the only one with this problem. I have the Fein Turbo vacuum and have a devil of a time attaching it to other tools. An example would be a Bosch ROS, PC Router, etc. If I manage to wrangle something together the weight of the hose does me in. I've tried the step adapters, but they don't worok very well. Has anyone found something that works ?

1. 
   jazzdogg | Feb 18, 2007 05:01am | #4

   Hi Deb,

   Thanks for posting another unmet need. I wonder of anyone from Bosch, Porter Cable, Fein, Festool, etc. have thought of supplementing their product line with adaptors - could prove lucrative.

    -Jazzdogg-

   "Don't ask yourself what the world needs. Ask yourself what makes you come alive, and go do that, because what the world needs is people who have come alive." Gil Bailie

2. 
   dgreen | Feb 18, 2007 05:37am | #5

   Have you tried the step adapter and rubber sleeve that Fein offers for their vacs? I have found them to work well.------------------------------------

    

   "The West won the world not by the superiority of its ideas or values or religion but rather by its superiority in applying organized violence. Westerners often forget this fact, non-Westerners never do."---------------Samuel P. Huntington

1. 
   tool_fool | Jul 06, 2007 07:16am | #6

   The most overlooked feature of standards is that there are so many to choose from. 

   After initial failure to launch I took careful ID and OD measurements of all my stuff to several different dealers and measured again, and again.  The online descriptions are vague and only lead to disappointment.  One must touch and measure the gods.  After several frustrating safaris, the duct tape helped finish the project. 

2. 
   Lataxe | Jul 08, 2007 10:25pm | #12

   Don

   Your suggestion about using stepped adptors is the best practical solution, I have found. Being a bit wary of getting a dusty lung, my shed has many suckers in it (including me of course). 

   The smaller of these vacs often come with two hoses of larger and smaller diameter, which helps a bit in fitting to different machines. Various portable power tools have dust outlet ports but these too vary in width quite a bit. 

   Axminster Tools here in Blighty sell two multi-step adaptors. One has smallish diameters of from around 1 to about 2 inches and is made of thick but pliable rubber.  The other is made of hard plastic and goes from around 1.5 to 2.5 inches. Both have (from memory) around 5 or 6 steps from one end to the other. 

   So, I have made 4 different adaptors from these two, by cutting them in the right place, to fit a variety of routers, sanders, the biscuit joiner, planer and so forth.  All work well although the softer rubber one in easier to conform to exact size (by cutting out one or more thin wedges to reduce a diameter at one end and create a slight funnel shape).  Also, the rubber one stays stuck in place better than the plastic one as it offers more friction in or over the dust outlet.

   One other item I have used is a heat-shrinkable rubber sleeve.  These are about 4 inches long and come in various diameters.  You put two hoses (or a nozzle and a hose) together inside the sleeve then heat it with a hot air gun.  It shrinks to fit.  Normally this is used for a semi-permanent connection, although a smooth nozzle can be slid in and out of the shrunk sleeve ("out" goes easier then "in").

   Lataxe

   Edited 7/8/2007 3:28 pm ET by Lataxe

3. 
   BobMc | Jul 09, 2007 01:19am | #13

   Along similar lines to Lataxe's post--I needed some bizarro reduction that I couldn't find anywhere (1/3 sheet sander that had a dust bag--I wanted vacuum fitting), so I bought a plastic funnel of the type used to put motor oil into an engine (long cone shape).  I cut a section from the center that had the small end about the correct diameter, ditto the large end, and did a bit of fitting with the help of a hot-air gun.  Works fine.

    

3. 
   BruceT999 | Jul 07, 2007 07:26am | #7

   "I have the Fein Turbo vacuum and have a devil of a time attaching it to other tools."Have you tried calling Fein customer service? I had the same problem with my Makita ROS. Fein customer service sent me a perfect adapter for it - arrived in three days; no charge. Now that's customer service!BruceT

2. 
   USANigel | Jul 07, 2007 09:04pm | #8

   Best I've found sofar is a drywall sanding kit in HD. comes with a length of hose and a few adaptors which fit most things I have. I dumped the drywall sanding pad as I only wanted the hose and other parts. $15 as I remember. its in the drywall section yellow box with a window.

1. 
   jazzdogg | Jul 08, 2007 01:27am | #9

   Thanks for the heads-up!-Jazzdogg-

   "Don't ask yourself what the world needs. Ask yourself what makes you come alive, and go do that, because what the world needs is people who have come alive." Gil Bailie

2. 
   PADDYDAHAT | Jul 08, 2007 05:15am | #10

   US A, I picked up a pair of the Porter Cable hoses for it's dry wall sander from the Amazons for ? 18 or 23 bucks each -max. It's long and I plug it into a tap in an over head 4"or 6" line to my cyclone at the bench areas where I use ported power tools. ie. sanders, jig saws or circular saws etc. They sit on slats across the overhead joists and adjust in to useable lengths slung in soft bungees to site. They work great. Paddy

3. 
   [email protected] | Jul 08, 2007 09:21am | #11

   I own almost exclusively Porter Cable small tools, because they all have the 1-inch dust collection port.  The routers, the saws, the sanders, the biscuit joiner, all have the same 1-inch port. 

   I bought the first Porter Cable sander after using a friends, that had the dust collection hose.  Went home, ordered the sander kit with the hose included from Amazon, and sold my Dewalt and Makita sanders on ebay when the Porter Cable got there.  

   I also switched to a "Mr. Nozzle" hose set up on the shop vac with a drywall filter bag installed for use with the small tools.  The "Mr. Nozzle" hose is a1-1/2-inch id hose, but has a smooth interior, and even though it is twelve feet long has better suction than the stock 6-foot hose.  The drywall filter bags do a pretty good job of actually trapping most of the dust. 

4. 
   JasonWhite | Jul 17, 2007 05:19pm | #14

   You can get a "non-antistatic" Festool hose for fairly cheap (they are gray in color instead of the usual Festool-green).

   They have a rubber "booty" on the end that does a great job of gripping non-Festool dust-collection ports. Also, they've got a bit of stretch to them for fitting around odd-sized ports. They're made to slip either inside the port or wrap around the outside. The quality of the hose itself is also top notch. I think I paid around $30 for my hose.

   The "vac" end of the Festool hose is a standard size and will fit any regular shop-vac.

   TP

   Toolpig (a.k.a. The man formerly known as "Toolfreak" and "Toolfanatic")