Drank the green kool aid - question about adapting to shop vac

[Brian Tymchak]

Well, I decided I needed a track saw, and I had a couple Woodwerks gift certificates, and Woodwerks happens to have a large Festool presence, so bottom line is that I now own a TS55REQ. I do not have the extra money to buy the plug-n-play dust collection system. So, I need to make the TS55 work with my shop vac (Ridgid) that has the standard 2 1/4" port.

I was hoping that with the Festool universal adaptor provided with the saw, and my Mirka dust hose that mates to the shop vac, that I could make the connection. However, last night I could not figure out any magic combination that made this work. I was hoping that the tool-side adapter on the Mirka hose would unthread, but it appears to be bonded (or I'm just a weakling.. ;))

Googling around and looking on FOG, it seems that a few have used this Bosch vac hose (https://www.amazon.com/Bosch-VAC005-5-Meter-Vacuum-Hose/dp/B0000AV78B/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1367501564&sr=8-1&keywords=bosch+35mm+hose) but I'm not sure what the connection at the saw looks like. I figured I would get drawn and quartered if I posted out there that I was trying match up a Mirka hose on a Festool...

Hopefully someone here has mated a TS55 to a standard shop vac. if so can you provide your complete set up - from tool to vac including all adapters?

Thanks for your help!

[Mike Henderson]

I have that hose (looks just like the one I have) and it works fine on Festool tools. I have mated all my Festools to a regular shop vac. I added features to adjust the suction and have it turn on when the tool turns on. If interested, post and I'll talk about how I did that.

Mike

[roger wiegand]

The Bosch hose works splendidly on both my Mirka sander and Festool tracksaw.

[Brian Tymchak]

thanks guys! Really appreciate the info.

Mike, did you need any extra adaptors to make the connections or just the hose itself? And I would greatly appreciate it if you would post detail on what you did to adjust suction and auto-on. I was planning on looking into auto-on at some point.

Roger, good to know about mating up to the Mirka (Ceros in my case).

I figure I will just buy the Bosch hose. Just did a quick google on that hose and I'm surprised on the variance in price - anywhere from $28 at Pro Source to $53 at Grainger. Checked the shipping on Pro Source - $48 !! Back to Amazon I go...

[Mike Henderson]

thanks guys! Really appreciate the info.

Mike, did you need any extra adaptors to make the connections or just the hose itself? And I would greatly appreciate it if you would post detail on what you did to adjust suction and auto-on. I was planning on looking into auto-on at some point.

Roger, good to know about mating up to the Mirka (Ceros in my case).

I figure I will just buy the Bosch hose. Just did a quick google on that hose and I'm surprised on the variance in price - anywhere from $28 at Pro Source to $53 at Grainger. Checked the shipping on Pro Source - $48 !! Back to Amazon I go...

I used an ivac (https://www.amazon.com/BCTINT-10031-010-Automated-Vacuum-Switch/dp/B0035YGLZG/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1485819551&sr=8-4&keywords=ivac) to control the vac - that is, so that it turns on when the tool turns on - and a router speed control (https://www.amazon.com/TruePower-123-Variable-Router-Controller/dp/B00YEGVC6W/ref=sr_1_4?s=hi&ie=UTF8&qid=1485819709&sr=1-4&keywords=router+speed+control) to control the speed of the motor, and thus the amount of suction. I have some pictures of my setup on my web site - look here (http://www.mikes-woodwork.com/mikes_projects07.htm), about halfway down the page.

The hose was a direct plug in to my vac and to my Festool tools.

Mike

[Greg R Bradley]

The Bosch VAC005 will work well but it does restrict air flow as it goes inside the track saw and has the ribs to hook to the small sanders.

The Ridgid Pro Hose will work better. You unwind the standard end and use the small end shown in pic at bottom center. It is only about 10' long instead of the Bosch 15' but will get lots more dust.
http://www.homedepot.com/p/RIDGID-1-7-8-in-x-10-ft-Pro-Grade-Vacuum-Hose-Kit-for-RIDGID-Wet-Dry-Vacs-VT2570/100375877

[Brian Tymchak]

Mike, thanks for detail, and I must say, you've done some really fine work with those trays!!

Greg, thanks for that tip. It turns out that I can use the Mirka hose with the Festool adapter. Guess I was hose-challenged last night... However, the Mirka hose is only 1" ID, and after reading your post I'm thinking the larger hose could be a better solution.

[Patrick Curry]

I've got that same setup in play and it's more than worth the extra $50 or so

[Cliff Polubinsky]

The Rockler small port hose kit adapters fit my Festool sander perfectly. I would assume the saw has the same size port.

Cliff

[mark mcfarlane]

The Rockler small port hose kit adapters fit my Festool sander perfectly. I would assume the saw has the same size port.

Cliff

Unfortunately the TS55 saw sawdust port is larger than Festool's sanders. The hose goes over the Festool sander port, and inside the saw port. So the Rockler adaptor may work if it is flexible enough and/or has the right thickness.