# Shop Vac for dust collection and small adapters...



## Kelemvor (Dec 28, 2012)

Howdy,

I have a Craftsman shop vac (4.25 HP) that is my only source of dust collection. It uses a standard 2" hose and I have it connected to a Dust Deputy to filter out everything before it gets to the actual vac. I have to move it around and dis/reconnect hoses and all that fun stuff. I'm debating two things.

1) Is this shop vac powerful enough to put it in one place and run PVC to the various areas I need to collect dust from? This would primary be 3 things. Table Saw, Miter Saw, and an aux port that I can use for a sander or something like that.

2) My random orbital sander is a Makita and it has a very small 5/8" ID (7/8" OD) port for the little bag thing to push onto. It doesn't do a very good job so I want to be able to connect this to the shop vac. Assuming I can find or make some adapter to go from 2" down to 5/8", do I need to be concerned since it will be trying to pull so much air through such a tiny opening? I don't want to burn out the shop vac motor or anything like that. Would it be best to drill some small holes on the end near the sander so it can pull air in from multiple ports so it has an easier time? Looking for any recommendations on the best way to do that.

Thanks!


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## Steve Neul (Sep 2, 2011)

I think you would be better off either getting more shop vacuums for the different applications or get an dust collector. If you are wanting to run ductwork throughout your shop you would be better off buying an actual dust collector. The longer you run pipe the larger the dust control system you need. You loose so much vacuum pressure when you start ducting it you would have a hard time doing that with a shop vacuum.


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## Jim Frye (Aug 24, 2016)

I have a small shop (12x22) and use a 15 year old 12 gal. industrial ShopVac for all dust collection. One of the most used accessories I have for this is a Bosch 16 foot 1" hose. It is super flexible and I use it with all of my sanders as it stays out of the way very well. The hose I have has been replaced by a newer model. Mine is rather old. For adapting a tool to vac hoses I use ShopVac's universal adapter. It can be cut to fit a lot of openings. My new Makita 1/4 sheet sander has a really small port and I used a piece of this adapter to connect the sander to the Bosch hose. I agree that normally, you won't be happy hooking a shop vac to ductwork. Sears used to sell 2 1/2" PVC duct work for that purpose, but most did not find it a viable solution. Steve's explanation is why. 

https://www.boschtools.com/us/en/boschtools-ocs/hoses-and-adapters-vac005-27305-p/
https://www.shopvacstore.com/shop-vac-universal-tool-adaptor-details.aspx


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## Kelemvor (Dec 28, 2012)

Yeah, that is what I was wondering about.

Any thoughts on being able to connect my shop vac to the tiny port on my sander and if I need to worry about putting stress on the shop vac motor?


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## Jim Frye (Aug 24, 2016)

Kelemvor said:


> Yeah, that is what I was wondering about.
> 
> Any thoughts on being able to connect my shop vac to the tiny port on my sander and if I need to worry about putting stress on the shop vac motor?


As I mentioned, the port on my new Makita sander is small (5/8" OD) I used the small end piece of the ShopVac adapter to fit it into the Bosch hose (1" ID). No issues with my vac. If you look at the web page for the adapter, one of the selectable images shows the IDs and ODs for the various segments.


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## Pineknot_86 (Feb 19, 2016)

If you have room, get a decent dust collector. I use a Shop Vac on my power tools that have a DC outlet but leaves a bit to be desired. Don't have room for a DC.


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## Chris Curl (Jan 1, 2013)

Dust collection woes were the main reason why I went to hand tools. Just saying. I didn't want to spent alot for a DC, and running all that tubing felt like that would constrain me in my ability to move things around or re-arrange when it suited me. So I got a "Dust Deputy" and some extra tubing from estate sales, about 20 feet all told. I use my shopvac/dust deputy for whatever DC I need. it does great.

Mine is one of those 5HP shop vacs from Home Depot.

I have about 20 feet of tubing, and the suction is perfectly fine. So I would think that is the shop vac is centrally located, and you have done a good job of making your tubing leak-free, you should see acceptable results. If not, add another port and another shop vac.

That is what I would do, at least.


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## gj13us (Apr 19, 2016)

I taped one end of a long length of 1 1/2" corrugated tubing to the dust port on a Ryobi ROS and taped the other end into the shop vac's hose. It worked pretty well in terms of reducing dust. I was working in up in our house where I didn't want a lot of dust. However, moving the sander with the hose attached was a bit of a headache. 

Verdict: worked pretty well, but maybe not for long term, regular use. Perhaps a softer, more flexible tube would work better. (The tubing I used was leftover from when we had had our heat pump replaced.)


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## Rebelwork (Jan 15, 2012)

I use a Shopvac at work for a Domino and a 3M pneumatic sander, You need a good buy on a long hose. I got a 100ft and cut about 8' for each tool and run it from a distance.. Because each tool requires different sizes I only need change the hose at eight feet. Works really well....


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