DC for circular saw, router, sander

[Doug Hobkirk]

I have modified several tools so they have DC fittings that fit a 1 1/2" hose. I adapted my Craftsman shop vac to suck the dust. Worked great for a week - then my shop vac died! But I'd like to stall buying a replacement - it's so noisy but quiet vacs cost so much. Which makes me ask...

I have a typical 2 HP Jet DC sitting in my shed - I haven't wired a 220V outlet yet. I had planned on using this just for the router table, planer, and maybe my Ryobi BT3000 table saw. But it would sure be convenient to hook the 1 1/2" hose into the DC...


Can I use it with reducers to suck on my hand tools (circular saw, hand-held router, belt sander, and RO sander?
Or will I toast the DC motor or some other terrible event if I try?
Would it help if I left another blast-gate open?

FYI - I use the EurekaZone saw table. The beam guides my circular saw and one of my routers (it's great for long dados). The hose collects 100% of sawdust from a dado and about 90% from the saw.

[Jim Becker]

A dust collector isn't going to perform well with the small ports on the portable tools. Dust collectors work on the principle of moving a lot of air at low pressure (pressure = "suction"); vacs move relatively little air at high pressure. The latter, since it doesn't depend upon the air supply so much, works much better with the small ports that can't physically pass much air.

Stick with a vac for this purpose, but invest in a good one and preferably one that doesn't depend upon the air stream coming up the hose for cooling the motor. Fein and Festool fit that bill as do a few others. A built in auto switch is also convenient, especially one with a delay off on the vac so the tool is cleared after the trigger is released. Again, Fein and Festool do this as do a few others.

[jerry nazard]

Doug,

I agree with Jim: your DC does not develop enough static pressure to be effective in this application. I use a big old Rigid shop vac connected to a ClearVue Mini-Cyclone. This is piped throughout my shop with 2" PVC. Every tool that does not have DC has a central vac hook up. The noise is isolated in a far corner of the shop, and even with constant use, the filter never needs cleaning. I realize that this setup takes a bit of time and $$ to fabricate: but, once it's up and running, it works like a charm.

-Jerry