Seeking recommendations for Shop Vac for bandsaw

[Eric Cohen]

Greetings,

I have a Laguna 14" SUV bandsaw. That is my only powertool. I need to add some dust collection and want to rely on a shop vac for this. I'd like a shop vac with a bigger hose, ideally at least 2 1/4".

I've heard good things about the Festool and mixed things about the Bosch 3931.

As this is the only power tool I use I don't want to spend $ on a large and bulky DC. I have read that the shop vac should work well enough on the bandsaw and that way I can use the shop vac for multiple purposes.

Anyone have any recommendations? Any and all help is most appreciated!

Eric

[Marty Tippin]

Save your money and get the Rigid 12 gal high-performance shop vac at Home Depot. Works like a champ. Add a disposable bag and you'll catch nearly all the dust that enters the vac.

[Reinis Kanders]

+1 on Rigid for bandsaw.
I use it for Jet 14" saw, works well, noisy though.


Save your money and get the Rigid 12 gal high-performance shop vac at Home Depot. Works like a champ. Add a disposable bag and you'll catch nearly all the dust that enters the vac.

[Paul Cofrancesco]

A foot pedal switch available at harbor freight ~ $20 could be used to kick the vac on/off when making a cut. Also, if the dust is going to be piped outside through an exit hose you could remove the filter as it is optional if the exhaust is routed away from windows, neighbors etc. More suction, less maintenance. If a filter is used it can be cleaned and reused with a leaf blower (wear a dust mask).

[Roger Chandler]

I use a shopvac 16 gal, 6.5 hp contractors model with steel tub for my shop........while I do not have it connected to the bandsaw I have now, I did have it connected to an earlier one I had. It runs quiet and has lots of suction, and I also use a filter bag and a filter cartridge.........this is one of those tool purchases that turned out better than expected. Got it from Lowes, and replaced an older model 16 gal that the switch wore out on...........the difference in the old and the newer one.......now about 2 1/2 years old is large..........I am so impressed with the noise reduction they have accomplished and the additional suction from the older model.

[Jim Andrew]

If your bandsaw runs on 120 volts, you can buy a switch that will turn your vac on when you turn on the bandsaw, I bought one at Sears. I use both Rigid and shopvac brand vacs in my shop, as long as they have a paper filter, they work ok. The old vacuums with the foam filters were worthless.

[Bill Ryall]

+1 on the Ridgid stainless steel barrel. Use the dust bags- less escaping dust, easier cleanup and longer filter life.

[Marty Tippin]

Minor correction to my original recommendation: I have the Rigid 14 gal Professional Wet/Dry Vac - it's remarkably quiet. In any case, I don't see the need to go high-dollar on a vacuum for this application.

You could also consider the Harbor Freight 2HP dust collector - folks generally seem to like it, and it can be the platform for modifications that make it much more efficient if you're so inclined. Much higher airflow than a shop vac and so, much more suited to serving as an actual dust collector.

[Myk Rian]

The bigger problem with band saws is how to collect the dust efficiently.
I built a box under my Delta, and plug a 2 1/4" hose into it. Works very well after sealing the lower wheel gaps.

301284

[Rich Enders]

I have had a Fein for about 15 years. When I bought it I was living at the beach where houses are built right on top of each other and I wanted to be neighborly and buy the quietest unit. At that time it was the Fein. The Craftsman Shop Vac I replaced had a particularly annoying whine, and it was "good riddance". I use the Fein on my 14" Rigid bandsaw with no issues.

I do not know the noise rank of the vacs these days, but I would say that quiet has a certain value.

[Mike Chalmers]

This one. (http://www.homedepot.ca/product/16-gallon-ridgid-pro-vac/906289) Lots of power (tried a metal drum ShopVac Ultra Stainless Steel before this). Low noise. HEPA filter from Lee Valley. Excellent combo.

[Tom M King]

Most suck for the buck is the big Rigid or Craftsman-same powerhead. The Gore-Airstream I think they are called-filter that fits either is washable many times over. We have some that are seven years old that get used daily on jobsites. They don't come on the vacuum, but as soon as the stock filter gets clogged the first time, it gets tossed, and an Airstream goes on it. We run a number of these.

[Curt Harms]

Most suck for the buck is the big Rigid or Craftsman-same powerhead. The Gore-Airstream I think they are called-filter that fits either is washable many times over. We have some that are seven years old that get used daily on jobsites. They don't come on the vacuum, but as soon as the stock filter gets clogged the first time, it gets tossed, and an Airstream goes on it. We run a number of these.

Gore Cleanstream and yup, they're a nice upgrade. The "Craftsman Red Stripe" fits my Fein TurboII.

[Ole Anderson]

After reading a tool review in Wood mag, I replaced my 6 gallon ShopVac with a 12 gallon Craftsman. This thing is so powerful, it scoots along the floor just from the air blast coming from the exit nozzle. And it is quieter. I think I picked it up for $79 on sale. Seems like every ShopVac I had, the bearings went on it.

[Eric Cohen]

Thank you everyone, much appreciated!

I have 2 4" ports on my bandsaw. My intent was to get a 4" to 2 1/4" adaptor and try hooking up the vacuum to just the lower port (closer to the blade) and see how that works. I might also try a Y connector to hook it to both ports but I would be concerned that I'd lose a lot of suck and would lose efficiency. Any thoughts or ideas as to how best connect the vacuum?

Thanks everyone!

[Prashun Patel]

If you want a dust-collector-that-doubles-as-shop-cleanup, then you might instead consider one of the small 4" dc's like Rockler's DustRight. It does its best work as a shop vaccuum, but can be a serviceable dc for a single tool.
pp

[Eric Cohen]

Interesting idea. Is this the one you are referring to?

http://www.rockler.com/new-dust-rightreg-wall-mount-dust-collector


If you want a dust-collector-that-doubles-as-shop-cleanup, then you might instead consider one of the small 4" dc's like Rockler's DustRight. It does its best work as a shop vaccuum, but can be a serviceable dc for a single tool.
pp

[cody michael]

I would check into something like this, cheap and should be more powerful then shopvac

http://www.harborfreight.com/1-hp-mini-dust-collector-94029.html

[Prashun Patel]

Yes. You might consider upgrading the filter bag and adding a preseparator. For that matter, you can add a pre-separator to even a shop vac. The right one (Dust Deputy, Clearvue Mini, or Thein Baffle; I'd stay away from the cheap lid-style separators) will keep you filter cleaner longer.

Here's the thing I've noticed about 2", shopvac-style dust collection: There's a lot of suction. This means ducting is an issue. I have a 20' hose at home on my shopvac. When the vacuum encounters resistance, retractable hoses (I have a couple) shrink, and the hose rips out of my hand or the cyclone topples over, etc. If you don't have a retractable hose, then the darn thing just lays there like a dead, corrugated python when not in use.

With the 4" dust collectors, they move a lot of air, but don't have a lot of suction (at least that's what it feels like to me). Hence, the retractable hoses don't unintentionally retract as readily. I guess it's just harder to block the airflow completely on a 4" pipe.

Also, in my shop, I'm forever wanting to vaccuum up plane shavings and lathe curlies as well as sawdust. The larger items tend to clog my mini cyclones. So, I end up sweeping most of the stuff up manually and then vaccuming up only dust.

The thing you should know about using a dust collector as a shop vac is that it won't handle metal very friendly. That stuff will hit the impeller, so unless you take pains to NOT vaccuum screws and nails and bigger chunks of wood, you should install a pre-separator too.

[David Weaver]

WD1450 rigid vac is one of two I use in my shop. I use it as a dust collector, but I'm not much of a power tool user. When I use a vac on the bandsaw, I do use that vac.

My other shop vac is a fein turbo II or something, i can't remember - not the small one.

The ridgid shop vacs are more like a dust collector in terms of high volume at low static pressure and mine doesn't have enough suction power (since it's single stage) to pull over the trash can when it gets clogged. I use a plastic garbage can and the most the vac can do is suck the sides of the can in a little bit.

The fein is much nicer to use for close in work (and really anything outside of the shop), and it's a two stage vac and has a lower nominal air volume but it could collapse the garbage can if you wanted it to, so I don't use it on my dust collection setup.

So, anyway, I'd use something like the ridgid wd1450 (HD still sells it, I've been using mine for 7 years) because it's more like a dust collector than a strong 2 stage vacuum. I have never used anything but the stock filter - just tap it out once in a while.