57
votes
Accepted
What advantages does a dust collector have over a shop vac?
Short answer: A shop-vac is better than nothing, but barely adequate for dust collection on almost any stationary power tool. On the other hand, a dust collector would be inappropriate and wouldn't ...
rob♦
- 18.6k
21
votes
Accepted
Is PVC pipe safe to use for a dust collection system?
PVC is commonly used in dust collection systems. Typically for longer runs you should use 6" or larger pipe, regardless of the material. If you're using PVC, the larger, less expensive pipe is ...
rob♦
- 18.6k
16
votes
Accepted
Why and when should I wear a dust mask?
Short answer: always wear a properly-fitted, high-efficiency respirator so you can reduce your chances of developing respiratory problems or certain types of cancer of the respiratory system later in ...
rob♦
- 18.6k
15
votes
What advantages does a dust collector have over a shop vac?
Shop vacs pull a smaller volume of air (cubic feet/minute) than dust collectors, but with a higher pressure differential. That might not mean much to you, but what it amounts to is this: shop vacs are ...
- 5,394
13
votes
Accepted
How can I enclose the top of my contractor table saw for better dust collection?
If you feel it must be sealed up, some nicely placed HVAC aluminum tape will do the trick. A careful application at the edge of the table and bring it to the sides with a little turn-down to seal it ...
- 838
11
votes
How can I enclose the top of my contractor table saw for better dust collection?
I wouldn't worry about it unless you hook everything up and find that you aren't getting good enough suction. In fact, you don't want to completely seal up the saw, or else there won't be enough air ...
rob♦
- 18.6k
11
votes
Accepted
What sort of dust collection system would be adequate for a two-car garage?
There's two things to consider here: how much the machine throws dust all over the place, and how good dust collection is at the source. The circular saw and RAS are both going to throw dust with a ...
- 4,156
11
votes
Accepted
Can I expect an improved weekend shop experience from installing an air filtration system?
What specific benefits can I expect?
Your health. I have a large dust collector which I run most of the time I'm using large power tools. While it does a pretty good job of keeping things 'clean' ...
- 15k
10
votes
Accepted
Can you hook up two shop-vacs in parallel to increase airflow through a dust collection system?
This could work, but you would want them setup to run in parallel, and not in series I would think. For example at the end of your ductwork, you have a Y that splits right into the two vacuums. My ...
- 1,838
9
votes
Why and when should I wear a dust mask?
As with Rob, the short answer is to always wear a dust mask to reduce the risk of respiratory problems.
The long answer is, it depends. Visible dust is less of a hazard than very fine particles. ...
- 8,028
9
votes
What advantages does a dust collector have over a shop vac?
Dust collectors have higher air flow but lower static pressure than a shop vac. In other words, dust collectors are better at sucking in all the dust chips and fine dust. They will have a harder ...
- 2,390
8
votes
How to improve a sliding miter saw dust collection?
Most miter saws don't have very good dust collection. You can buy or build a hood to catch the dust.
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(Source)
Some hoods can be connected to your dust collector, while others funnel the ...
rob♦
- 18.6k
8
votes
Respirator / Dust mask for hand tools?
My hope is that in general hand tools will not produce fine enough dust to be concerned with.
While it is now fairly widely known that the finer dusts are the most hazardous (as produced primarily by ...
- 58.7k
8
votes
Accepted
How to connect dust port from Dewalt table saw to Shop Vac?
You would use this type of adapter which you can obtain from any of the big box stores in the shop vac department. This adapter kit handles 2 1/2, 1 7/8, and 1/1/4 hoses.
This link for adapter
...
- 644
7
votes
How to improve a sliding miter saw dust collection?
I tend to agree that compound miters have horrible dust collection design. Mostly I've given up, even though I have hose connected to my dust collector.
My dust collector doesn't have enough ...
- 15k
7
votes
Accepted
Should I locate a centralized dust collector in a roof crawlspace above a garage shop?
Unless there is a space concern within the shop area, I'd keep the dust collection bin inside the shop, but run the PVC piping up through this crawl space. In other words, run the PVC directly up into ...
- 1,028
7
votes
Accepted
Can you use Festool dust extraction with non-Festool tools?
Yes this is not a problem however you won't get the anti-static properties. Depending on the tool you might need an adapter to match the tools dust port size.
- 4,796
6
votes
Accepted
Why is my dust collector way too loud?
These are moderately noisy beasts. The best that can be said for them is that they're less noisy than a shop vacuum, and much less noisy than any of the large tools you're likely to connect to them. ...
- 9,091
5
votes
Accepted
3/4 HP dust collector for a single tool (Bandsaw or jointer)
With the tools you are talking about, yes it should work fairly well. As keshlam pointed out, you would probably be just fine using a shop vac for these and handle everything just fine.
The joiner ...
- 15k
5
votes
Accepted
How to calculate dust collection horse power per feed and bends
Note that 90 degree bends greatly restrict airflow and should be avoided as much as possible. Long sweeps, less severe bends, and diagonal runs of dust collection pipe will cause a smaller drop in ...
rob♦
- 18.6k
5
votes
What can you use instead of PVC pipe for your dust collector?
For my system I used 4" diameter sheet metal flues for all of the runs with corrugated flexible tubing from the machine to the metal flues.
It's light weight and easy to hang.
Readily accommodates ...
- 3,668
5
votes
Accepted
ShopVac with Cyclone hoses, 2.5 or 4.0?
You definitely do not want to decrease your hose size as you get closer to the dust collector/vacuum. Just about every shop I have worked in has had confusion over dust collection piping, usually ...
- 1,838
5
votes
Accepted
Dust Control on a Table Saw Not Intended for It?
There are many ways to adapt contractor-style table saws to dust collection systems. They all tend to follow a common blueprint, but naturally they range from simple to complex, depending on how much ...
- 2,762
5
votes
Accepted
Is using a wet & dry vacuum cleaner suitable for use as a dust extractor?
A shop-vac (generic use, not the name brand) will work just fine for light-duty dust collection. Particularly when the dust stream is run through a cyclone collector.
The cyclone collector will ...
- 5,394
5
votes
How to connect dust port from Dewalt table saw to Shop Vac?
Thanks to some of the comments I figured out the solution. I was thinking about this wrong! I was looking for a hard plastic adapter that would go right on the dust port of the table saw. After ...
- 211
4
votes
Should I locate a centralized dust collector in a roof crawlspace above a garage shop?
In addition to Paulster2's points, you'll be making your dust collector work harder. If your crawlspace is small and well sealed, it will quickly become pressurized, since you're basically pumping ...
- 4,328
4
votes
3/4 HP dust collector for a single tool (Bandsaw or jointer)
One thing you might consider is getting a cyclone attachment for your current vacuum system. Lee Valley makes one that I haven't personally used, but it's similar to one that my dad made and uses in ...
- 12.1k
4
votes
Correct "piping" (hosing) for adding a mini-cyclone to a shop vac
If you're working with a shop vac, whose blower is designed to pull a pressure difference rather than move large volumes of air (the biggest difference between shop vac and dust collector), I think I'...
- 9,091
4
votes
Can I expect an improved weekend shop experience from installing an air filtration system?
Peace of mind really.
I've got one, way over spec'd for my shop size and it does a really good job of picking up the dust (based on the crap I have to clean out of it). But generally the dust wasn't ...
- 1,033
4
votes
What can you use instead of PVC pipe for your dust collector?
There are many different kinds and searching for Dust collection hose at amazon gives a whole list of stuff. However I personally have these two in my shop.
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and
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The first is ...
- 15k
Only top scored, non community-wiki answers of a minimum length are eligible