Small workshop vacuum for chip and sanding dust control

[IanR]

Looking to buy a vacuum with 4"/10cm input - to use on planer/thicknesser (occasional), band saw and for dust removal for lathe sanding. Would appreciate advice on whether to buy a cheaper Chinese sourced unit (Scheppach or similar) or to stretch the budget and buy the compact Record Power CamVac? Thanks.

 

[Lazurus]

Got a camvac which is pretty good and a little Henry for power-tools

 

[IanR]

Thanks Lazurus.

 

[Scarlet Lancer]

Looking to buy a vacuum with 4"/10cm input - to use on planer/thicknesser (occasional), band saw and for dust removal for lathe sanding. Would appreciate advice on whether to buy a cheaper Chinese sourced unit (Scheppach or similar) or to stretch the budget and buy the compact Record Power CamVac? Thanks.

I have bought the “Evolution“ vac. It is wet and dry has a socket to plug in whatever tool you are using and it starts when you start the tool, it runs on for a few seconds to clear the last dust. Works also as a vac cleaner and wet. Got it from Screwfix around £90. Highly recommend it.

 

[Sideways]

The quieter your vac is the more you'll use it.
P/T and lathe extraction both really need high airflow extractors, not high vacuum. But not everyone has space for these.
A twin motor camvac or twin numatic extractor - especially with pipes fitted on the air OUTLETS (look it up) - would be a decent quality and fairly quiet machine. They are fairly compact, fine for the bandsaw, not very good for the lathe but nothing is, and may keep up with your PT if it's a small one and you are not pushing a succession of 9" wide boards through it.
A single motor vac is a waste of time for a 10x7 P/T.

 

[IanR]

Thanks to Sideways and to Scarlet for your useful advice, I have a Trend T35 vac which is really good for coping with saw dust from hand tools and for general vacuuming but is completely overwhelmed by P/T output even when run without its bag. It looks increasingly as though only a more expensive high airflow (CamVac) machine would be up to the task.

 

[Jameshow]

Why not a proper DX?

Better than the canister DX tbh.

 

[recipio]

Are the Scheppach units available any more. ? I was always impressed at the shows to see the dust swirling around in the bag - something I don't see in other units. More importantly it had a cartridge top and that is essential to keep airborne dust down. I have two units with cartridge tops bought from Axminster one of which is dedicated to the P/T . That was a few years ago but alternatives should be available. ?

 

[TRITON]

I just bought an Axminster AC153E 2hp, which was reduced in their clearance rebranding sale.
This is it, and the exact same one is now called "Workshop" previously called 'Craft' but it is an identical extractor.
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/325285470808?hash=item4bbc866258:g:rUIAAOSwp-1i4nClCurrently on Axminster's ebay clearance outlet for £310, it's normal retail price is £430, so a fair saving all the same.

It certainly has got plenty of oomph. I'm using it for a P/T ,saw etc and eventually as part of an inbuilt 125mm system.- openings are twin 100mm or a single 125mm.
The saving I made on mine went toward the 1 micron fine filter drum.

 

[Pleb]

Ian,
There is currently a new Axminster AC82E on fleabay for £185 which may suit your needs.

 

[Inspector]

I just bought an Axminster AC153E 2hp, which was reduced in their clearance rebranding sale.
This is it, and the exact same one is now called "Workshop" previously called 'Craft' but it is an identical extractor.
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/325285470808?hash=item4bbc866258:g:rUIAAOSwp-1i4nClCurrently on Axminster's ebay clearance outlet for £310, it's normal retail price is £430, so a fair saving all the same.

It certainly has got plenty of oomph. I'm using it for a P/T ,saw etc and eventually as part of an inbuilt 125mm system.- openings are twin 100mm or a single 125mm.
The saving I made on mine went toward the 1 micron fine filter drum.

Those flow claims are greatly exaggerated to say the least. The most you can pull through a 100mm duct or hose is 765 cubic metres per hour. It is a limitation of inside surface area drag and the diameter of the duct/hose. A 125mm maxes out at about 1360 cubic metres per hour and 150mm is 2125 cubic metres per hour. The embellishment is to look better than the competition who is also exaggerating to suck (pun?) you into buying. It will probably perform better than a 100mm vacuum if the OP has the space.

Pete

 

[IanR]

What is a proper DX please?

 

[Jameshow]

I just bought an Axminster AC153E 2hp, which was reduced in their clearance rebranding sale.
This is it, and the exact same one is now called "Workshop" previously called 'Craft' but it is an identical extractor.
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/325285470808?hash=item4bbc866258:g:rUIAAOSwp-1i4nClCurrently on Axminster's ebay clearance outlet for £310, it's normal retail price is £430, so a fair saving all the same.

It certainly has got plenty of oomph. I'm using it for a P/T ,saw etc and eventually as part of an inbuilt 125mm system.- openings are twin 100mm or a single 125mm.
The saving I made on mine went toward the 1 micron fine filter drum.

Something like this....

 

[sams93]

I have a clone of the Record Power DX1000 ( actually its more like a clone of this Axminster one which is like £100). It is attached to a cyclone which takes the outlet down to 50mm, and the whole setup is enclosed in a small unit in my tiny 6x8' workshop.

It is wired in to come on when power is being drawn from certain outlets (that machines are plugged into). Honestly I could not be happier with it.

It is absolutely excellent and I use it for all of the following really effectively:
- Rotex and ETS sanders (actually the thing to bear in mind with the sanders is they dont like too much suction, so I have to use a small adapter with some relief holes to reduce the extraction power level)
- Track saw
- Band saw
- Table saw
- Router table
- Disc sander
- Mitre saw (my dewalt model does not have the best dust extracting design, I dream of a KS60, but it is 90% effective at removing the dust when I use this. There is a small amount of cleanup at the end of the day needed after using it)
- Planer + Thicknesser (The machine output is a 100mm one, but i had an adapter made to reduce it to 50mm by TheWoodElves ebay shop, and then I use a 50mm hose which I exclusively use for this machine direct to the cyclone from this. I did have some concerns that reducing the outlet size would affect the chip removal significantly, however from using it this has not been the case)

I am sure that you will have read already about the benefits of a cyclone set-up, but I found that even in a very small space it is feasible and it does make a HUGE difference to the general maintenance and emptying of the system.

I don't own a lathe so havent any idea how well it would work with one, but I should imagine with a dust shroud or similar it would be fine - I expect the chip sizes would be similar to the planer or slightly smaller?

I dont have any photos on me of the 50mm hose for the planer but I can get some if needed.

 

[TRITON]

Those flow claims are greatly exaggerated to say the least. The most you can pull through a 100mm duct or hose is 765 cubic metres per hour. It is a limitation of inside surface area drag and the diameter of the duct/hose. A 125mm maxes out at about 1360 cubic metres per hour and 150mm is 2125 cubic metres per hour. The embellishment is to look better than the competition who is also exaggerating to suck (pun?) you into buying. It will probably perform better than a 100mm vacuum if the OP has the space.

Pete

I'm used to the 1hp extractor, we'd a number around the old workshop, moulder, 15" thicknesser etc so i know what the airflow feels like. This was CONSIDERABLY higher, and while it might be exaggerated maybe, it is certainly and without a doubt far more airflow than is needed for any hobby or trade thicknesser, and therefore any machine in our workshops. Besides, even big trade machines are moving a similar amount. Just because its just over 400,and trade and pro machines a lot more doesn't mean that the airflow is that exaggerated really, its just that the trade stuff is designed with better motors and will be switched on for considerably longer and tun incessantly for a full weeks work, as opposed to on for a day or a couple of days at a time.

So the exactness of any argument is superfluous.

 

[IanR]

Thanks to everyone for their comments/experiences and advice. As I have a half decent workshop vac, a Trend T35, I was particularly interested in sams93's comments and have opted to couple my vac (with new cartidge filter) to a Dust Commander cyclone/steel drum combo (from Amazon at £101) and go for the 50mm piping option.

 

[Sideways]

Please let us know what PT you use, what sizes of wood and how it works with the 50mm hose / dust commander combo.
If I was using this type of extraction on my old kity 3636 10"x8" PT it would fail miserably - I tried it with and without the cyclone - and on the basis of that I generally argue against anything less than 100mm hose (125 better) and a high volume extractor.
I'm genuinely interested in how people make 50 and 63mm hoses and "shop vacs" work with PTs when it so clearly contradicts my own experience.

BTW - the cyclone and canister will be a useful purchase whether they work with the PT or not. No cause for regret there.

 

[IanR]

Hi Sideways, Dust Commander kit arrives tomorrow, will probably have to order couplers/reducers so will be a few days before I can report back.

 

[ian33a]

I'm in the process of setting up my new workshop and much of it is still a work in progress - so please forgive the mess.

The HVLP system is 4 inch (100mm) using an Axminster extractor which is the best part of 30 years old. I can attach the planer thicknesser to the unconnected outlet port with the blast gate stub. I have a flexible 4 inch hose which plugs into it - everything else being rigid piping as far as possible except the final connection into the various machines.

The planer/thicknesser chucks out a huge amount waste when it's running. I haven't tried running it on a 63mm system. I suspect it would be a pretty quick clog up!

For everything else I run a separate LVHP system using 63mm piping. There's an NV750 and a Dust Commander and then a couple of blast gated ducts which feed a couple of dust hubs. The one visible in the picture primarily feeds the Kapex via a straight through connection. The other one (on the back of the visible dust hub) feeds any tools that I use on the MFT bench.

I use blast gates throughout as it allows me to have different tools and hoses connected all of the time but the system attempts to minimise losses through the active port by blocking off all of the others. The short flexible sections around the commander smooth out any movement in the vertically suspended dust hubs and also saves the system if I accidentally close all of the gates and turn the NV750 on (I have a remote control for it so can switch it off pretty quickly).

 

[IanR]

Update - purchased a Dust Commander from Amazon, arrived fully assembled and of high quality throughout. Member Sams93 advised contacting Woodelves via e-bay. On Sam's advice I bought 5cm flexible hose from Charnwood and sent details of all the power tools to be connected to Woodelves. The latter were brilliant and were soon back with recommended adaptors, since ordered and received. All either fit perfectly or now do after judicious use of some insulating tape (the company will tailor make them at added cost) great service and good value. Couldn't be happier and thoroughly recommend Woodelves if anyone requires adaptors for a vacuum system, save endless trial and error purchases that often don't fit! Thank you again for all your advice on this subject.