Festool questions before callling uncle Bob

[Mike Holbrook]

Ok, I am a confirmed addict now. Who is running the rehab program these days?

I got the CT22 sucker, it came with what I believe is a 1" hose 11.5" long. I am thinking about a few cleaning attachments and maybe a boom soon. I am wondering if I should invest in a different, larger diameter, longer hose? The tools I have so far are the 55 saw, 1400 router and the 1080 table. I imagine I will end up with a sander or two and other Festools in the not to distant future. I do not want to invest in tools that are built for the small hose and then find out that everything has to be replaced because I need/want a larger hose. I see hose converters at Bob's site but I am not sure if they will solve problems with a hose that is too small or short somewhere down the line.

I did notice that the vacum system was missing a fair amount of "saw dust" from the plastic garage tiles I was cutting last week. I did not have the splinter guard on the saw as I did not feel I needed it with plastic material. I am not sure if the splinter guard aids in reducing escaping saw dust or not. I also see a "Cover Plate for the TS 55 saw", which might help. I was hoping to go to school on the vast Creeker Festool experience before my next investment. I did get some extra splinter guards and I plan to use one on my next project to see how it changes things even if I do not feel it is needed as a splinter preventer.

I will be doing many fairly large construction projects over the next couple years. I will also be building cabinets, shop work stations and some rough outdoor and nicer indoor furniture projects.

Thanks for your continuing support of my habit and I am looking forward to the next "users meeting".

[Bob Childress]

Mike,

I have the CT-22 as well. The small hose fits the dust extraction ports on all the Festools. Don't know if the larger hose will fit. I can believe that the larger hose would be better for general cleaning up around the shop. Less chance of particles jamming in the nozzle/hose. But I bought the cleaning kit for the small hose and I have experienced no particular jams yet. I use the CT22 on my RO150, OF1000, Porter-Cable sanders, P-C circular saw, Bosch planer and jigsaw, and anything else that will hold still long enough. My hose fits all those tools quite well.

I have seen the boom at the dealers and it is quite sturdy and impressive. May be my next investment. :)

Festool addicts unite!

[Peter Pedisich]

Mike,

So far the only thing to clog the 27mm hose on my CT22 has been from routing dados in plywood - makes long strings of wood.
Since I just ordered an OF1400 from Uncle Bob a 36mm 11.5' hose will be in the future for me I'm sure.

I also have and recommend the boom arm - a great value.

Pete

[Randall Houghton]

Mike
Festool vac hoses are available are available in three different inner diameters 27,36, and 50. 27mm is the hose your refering to and will accomdate the dust output of your saw sufficiently. The only tool I've used that requires a larger diameter hose is the planer which uses a 36mm hoses because of the larger volume of shavings it produces. As far as a boom arm I've lived without it for 8 years and although i'm sure it's a convenience I'll do without as I think it's overpriced. If your experiencing a decrease in collection you should clean the filters in your CT22 as a vac should pick up about 90% of what your saw produces. I use a 65 and only notice this problem as the filters start to clog.
Regards
Randy

[Steven Blunt]

Hey Mike,
I have the CT22, the ATF55, the router and the ROS and found that after a couple of years of use, the original 1" diameter hose has flattened a bit into an oval shape which has a limiting effect on the amount of suction. I am going to start using the larger diameter hose that came with the cleaning kit and see if that makes a difference. It should, in theory, allow a higher suction since there is less air friction along the larger diameter hose, as well as less chance of something getting stuck along the hose. I think I'll have to get an adapter, but other than that, it should be better.

One more thing - it's not a bad idea to feed a running garden hose through your vacuum hose once in a while to make sure something isn't stuck somewhere along the line...

Anyone know why they would use a 1" hose as standard? It doesn't make sense - I know that the bottleneck is at the smallest diameter junction (at the tool itself), but the air resistence would be less in a larger hose which would then increase the air speed at the tool itself...

Just my 2 cents...
Steven

[Steven Wilson]

Just order the Universal cleaning kit from Uncle Bob. It comes with some decent attachments as well as a 36mm hose. It's all packed up and ready to go in a handy Systainer at a price that shouldn't break the bank.

[Bob Marino]

Mike,

As stated, the "standard" 27 mm that comes with the vac will fit all the tools. The 36 mm hose will fit the TS saws, 1400 router and 850 planer as well as vac accessories, and are the preferred hose for those items - moves more air and a lesser tendancy to clog up. The Dust Cover would certainly aid in dc, but also make sure your vac is at full suction.

Bob

[JayStPeter]

Plastic is kind of funny. I cut some of the composite decking with my ATF55 and it totally clogged my saw. The clog was so bad it prevented the blade from retracting into the housing. For the next couple pieces I took off the dust cover to allow the sawdust to escape once it clogged again. I very well could've been using the wrong blade for the job, but it's not good when your blade doesn't retract :eek: . However, I do recommend the dust cover for other materials.

[Mike Holbrook]

Hmm, I know I posted a responce earlier, did I miss the post it button??

Anyway, thanks for the great information guys. I was going ot get my thoughts together before calling Bob, but here he is with the answers before I even call.

I am still a little fuzzy on the physics. I understand that a larger diameter hose can move more air or waste material, but doesn't the smaller hose create more suction? It is looking like Festool does not make all those different hoses just to confuse me. Maybe different hoses work better with different tools, work paces and work methods.