Forgive my ignorance but other than the huge one in highschool shop class years ago, I have no experience with a dust collector.
I own this vaccuum for my shop:
http://www.ridgid.com/Tools/WD1950-S...-Vac/index.htm
and love it by the way. It is 6.5HP and can suck the stipes off a zebra thru the 7' hose no probs. The hose is 2.5" dia.
So far the only tool I own with a 4" dust port is my Dewalt 635 planer. (I will soon own more). I noticed on the planer that the port that the dust comes thru is only 2.5" anyway, the rest of the 4" is blocked off by the attachment that comes with the planer. So I just hook my Ridgid vac up to that and voila, sucks the shaving up like a bugger!
So my question is, do I even need a Dust collector? Or can I just use my shop vac? Will I see any real benefit from a 4" hose and dedicated unit, other than not having to empty the 16 gallon vac as often?
TIA.
edit*... the vac is rated at 203CFM.