# Are there any objective Dust Extractor comaprisons/reviews you reccomend?



## Michael_JL (Apr 1, 2013)

My "shop" is a bit nebulous - sometimes in the garage, sometimes in the basement, sometimes in the project space, so a dedicated dust collection system just isnt feasible. Im currently running a Rigid wet/dry vac w/ HEPA bags & filter. It works, certainly better than nothing, but being so health conscious, im debating if the cost of a dedicated HEPA dust extractor is worth it. Everyone seems to be making one now - Milwaukee, Festool, Bosch, Dewalt, etc and all seem to have relatively similar specs as well as price. Are there any resources that explain the differentiators? Or any personal opinions?


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## djhardin (5 mo ago)

Sorry, this is one of the "can't help you, but I'll post anyway" posts.

Off hand I don't know of any articles which address your concerns. Both Fine Woodworking and Wood magazine have run numerous articles on dust collection. Easy enough to search their archives, bur searching through them for one specific to your topic would be time consuming. Probably a lot of other trade magazines have done the same. If nobody on the forum has any suggestions then I'd go a Google Search for "woodworking dust collection" and start down the rabbit hole.

Me, my basement shop doesn't lend itself to a centralized dust collection system either. I've got a pair of Ridged shop vacs with their "HEPA" filters (like you) and a centrifugal separator to pull out the big chunks off the table saw and the router table. Add in a ceiling mounted Wen 1mu dust collector and, while I'm not perfect, I'm much better than nothing at all. I also wear an Elipse P100 mask whenever I'm creating sawdust. 

From the limited amount I've read, I'm not convinced that spending $400 for a Festool extractor will protect me much more that my $99 Ridged. But, I've been known to be wrong.

If you come across a good article post a link.


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## DrRobert (Apr 27, 2015)

I could give a one word answer - yes, but of course I’ll elaborate 😁

A true HEPA dust extractor is a must for everyone using handheld tools. A shop vac is better than nothing, but an extractor is different animal altogether. Beyond efficiency and noise, they are designed to collect hand tools. My only experience is with Festool (CT36). At the time, it was a “splurge” purchase, but now having used it several years I would never go back to a shop vac to collect hand tools. It does an excellent job, but I can’t say any better than another brand. 

I would look for sales, or buy the cheapest one b/c I doubt there is much significant difference in performance b/t them. I recently saw an add for Fein that had a nice discount, I believe it was Acme Tools. I would skip Milwaukee simply b/c the other brands are known for high quality extractors. You can compare specs and base your choice on that. I would also check the cost of bags and filters.









Turbo II X AC HEPA Dust Extractor Wet/Dry Vacuum 92030060990 from FEIN - Acme Tools


Turbo II X AC HEPA Dust Extractor Wet/Dry Vacuum - 92030060990 from FEIN




www.acmetools.com


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## djhardin (5 mo ago)

You've got a +1 vote on the extractor.  If space and funds are no problem then, like any tool, use the best available - but I'm comfortable with my setup.

I Did a quick Google search and came across the following articles. 









Tool Test: HEPA-rated shop vacuums - FineWoodworking


We took a head-to-head look at shop vacuums with HEPA-rated filters. Learn more about these shop vacuums, here.




www.finewoodworking.com












Tool-Triggered Dust Extractors


These premium vacuums link up with tools to trap fine dust far better than an ordinary shop vacuum.




www.woodmagazine.com





Can't say that they adequately address your specific question - that's why I suggested you run your own searches. There are other articles out there also.

For connecting a hand tool to the inlet on your machine of choice, Rockler offers the following:








Dust Right FlexiPort Power Tool Hose Kit, 3' to 12' Expandable


Expanding dust hose with flexible, universal port system connects to nearly any handheld power tool!




www.rockler.com





Don't know if it's a poor second choice to one that comes with an extractor, but I use one and have no complaints - at least so far.

Regards


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## woodnthings (Jan 24, 2009)

Michael_JL said:


> My "shop" is a bit nebulous - sometimes in the garage, sometimes in the basement, sometimes in the project space, so a dedicated dust collection system just isnt feasible. Im currently running a Rigid wet/dry vac w/ HEPA bags & filter. It works, certainly better than nothing, but being so health conscious, im debating if the cost of a dedicated HEPA dust extractor is worth it. Everyone seems to be making one now - Milwaukee, Festool, Bosch, Dewalt, etc and all seem to have relatively similar specs as well as price. Are there any resources that explain the differentiators? Or any personal opinions?


Before you purchase anything, I highly recommend you fully understand what the differences are in fact and in principal between dust collection and dust extraction.
This guy, Bill Pentz has made a lifetime study of the subject and goes into the basic and the technical aspects of collecting woodshop dust.
I've been reading his works for several years now and I think I have a basic understanding of the principals.





Dust Collection Basics


A blog about small shop fine dust hazards, fine dust protection, cyclone separators, air cleaners, and filters.




billpentz.blogspot.com





If that isn't enough ....??? there's this site:
Dust Collection Research - Home *

I've come away with this:
Dust particle size varies greatly
Blower HP is often inadequate for proper air volumes and velocities.
The dust separator can be many different types from cyclonic to just a filter bag.
Bag filters don't have as much filtration surface as a pleated cannister.
Bag filters don't filter out as fine of particles as the cannister filters do, typically.
The fan, impeller and motor assembly on a dust collector, only "sucks" by displacement of the air inside the system.
It's actually a "blower" not a "sucker".
If your filter isn't capturing the finest particles they get blown into the shop.
An over head air filtration system is a must.
Wearing an "approved dust face" mask should be high on your list.
Confined spaces without air exchanges will be less healthy to work in.

The small home shop is more hazardous to work in than a commercial shop:
_The accumulated fine invisible dust is so built up in most small shops that just walking around without making any more dust stirs enough dust airborne to fail EPA air quality tests. Cal OSHA testing also shows a few hours in almost all shops that vent inside causes more fine dust exposure than full time large facility workers get in months._ *


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## DrRobert (Apr 27, 2015)

> _The accumulated fine invisible dust is so built up in most small shops that just walking around without making any more dust stirs enough dust airborne to fail EPA air quality tests. Cal OSHA testing also shows a few hours in almost all shops that vent inside causes more fine dust exposure than full time large facility workers get in months._ *


Over the years I’ve gone from viewing DC as a way to keep my shop clean, to seeing it as a mandatory health issue. This obviously depends on how much ww’ing you do. Even so, it’s something I think is greatly misunderstood. One of the advantages of a milder climate is the ability to have an open shop that allows for air circulation. For those with smaller climate controlled shops, or seasons of the years when closed up tight, a ww’ing shop can be a real life health hazard. Air filtration units (maybe multiple) seem like an absolute must to me. I leave one or two fans running 24/7 and have a 4000CFM exhaust fan. Dust still accumulates on any horizontal surface. 

If you’ve got the grey matter to read Pentz’s stuff, you soon realize most dust collectors are woefully undersized (guilty as charged!) and quite inadequate for fine dust collection. No wonder every Clear Vue blower is 5HP. We focus on efficient filters, as we should, but either neglect or give up on minimizing fine dust that get spewed in the air, I’m thinking the main culprit is the table saw, miter saw and hand tools.

Sanders and routers are the most dangerous, this is where I maintain spend the money on a dedicated dust extractor and buy sanders with excellent dc. Routers are another matter, even if I had a Festool, there is no practical way to collect when edge routing. 

Over arm collection is great, but in the normal course of use, more often than not the dust hood either can’t be used or gets in the way to make a cut more unsafe. I would say I use it for maybe 10% of the cuts I make, and mainly sheet goods, especially MDF.

Miter saw, radial arms require a hood and a lot of CFM’s to collect. I have a dedicated 1HP blower for my miter saw and I woukd say it works “ok” but not great. Mike Farrington just did a video on this using a 2HP blower most guys would collect a whole shop with!

I hate wearing a dust mask. When I do, I’m ripping it off my face as soon as the operation is done, but then I’m breathing in dust still suspended in the air. I still do it even though I know it’s wrong. So I’ve got 3 fans, an air filtration unit, and the exhaust fan running, figuring that is saving me, but I’m sure I’m only minimizing it.

I started a thread named “dust collection is no joke”, and it isn’t. But waiting till your 66 years old is no joke either.


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## woodnthings (Jan 24, 2009)

Very true Doc.
Picking up on your comment regarding "over arm dust collectors" for the table saw, I've experimented over many years with DIY versions like this:









That evolved into a "twin" port version like this:









Having the splitters makes it easy to attach the "PVC" with kerfs made on the table saw.
I do NOT advise making these on the table saw, since PVC is prone to shatter.
A router with a small but would be a better method.

The table saws each have their own bottom drop ports which have separate blast gates and are piped into the 4" PVC to the 1.5 HP Jet DC.










I know I've said this before but you need "air flow" to collect dust from the table saw. A sealed box will not flow any air.
On my saws there's enough gaps under the table between the cabinet to flow a lot of air and then there's the openings for the tilt and elevation controls, so it works OK.


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## DrRobert (Apr 27, 2015)

I've always viewed cabinet collection on a table saw as simply a clean out thing. I used to only open the gate when the box started getting full. Maybe b/c I didn't have enough CFM's but it seems to me not much of the dust that gets spun around and thrown off the top is going to be collected.

I wonder is a ZCI throat plate is going to cause more material to come off the top.

My SawStop has a unique DC set up under the table. There is a shroud and a duct that is routed internally so the box stays very clean. But I don't see any affect at all on what's coming off the top. That could be in part b/c my DC blower is underpowered.

The blade guard for the SS has dust hook up and it actually works quite well, but its designed for a shop vac, not a DC. I thought about a dedicated shop vac and use the SS, the guard is a PITA so I went with a DIY hood.

In a nutshell, I think you could get by with nothing but above the table collection, and just do the occasional clean out. If I had saws like yours I'd probably skip the ducts and collect them passively.


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## Rebelwork (Jan 15, 2012)

DC collection shoukd be on all the time on a cabinet saw..


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## woodnthings (Jan 24, 2009)

Ask 3 woodworkers about dust collection and you'll likely get 3 different answers ^^^.
The new Saw Stop saws have a blade shroud as Dr Robert mentioned, a great improvement in tablesaw dust collection. 
The older cabinet saws had "gravity" and a large cabinet with a dust port at the bottom, sometimes a sloped ramp to the port.
The worst were older contractor saws with open backs belts and motors hanging out and an open bottom for dust to fall down. Essentially NONE.
I have a 20 year old BOSCH 4000-09 job site saw with a shop vac dust port on a blade shroud! It works great. A shroud is the best of all worlds.


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## Rebelwork (Jan 15, 2012)

I prefer the Unisaw dust collection over the Sawstop


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## woodnthings (Jan 24, 2009)

Rebelwork said:


> I prefer the Unisaw dust collection over the Sawstop


Why?


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## Rebelwork (Jan 15, 2012)

Sawstop has a narrow opening and chokes easier..

You never want to run a Sawstop without DC


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## woodnthings (Jan 24, 2009)

Saw Stops have 2 separate dust collection systems:
The saw comes with a cast iron shroud that covers the blade under the table, in my opinion a great system.
Other saws, General, Unisaw, Powermatic have no such shroud according to this FWW article:





SawStop Dust Collection? - FineWoodworking


In a day or so I will take delivery of my new SawStop tablesaw. Having studied the material on Bill Pentz’s website, I would like to provide enough air movement […]




www.finewoodworking.com





Saw Stop also offer a "over the blade" guard and dust collection system which when combined, should get about 99% of all the dust generated when sawing.
I don't see how it can get any better than that.





sawstop dust collection system at DuckDuckGo


DuckDuckGo. Privacy, Simplified.




duckduckgo.com


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## Rebelwork (Jan 15, 2012)

??????


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## woodnthings (Jan 24, 2009)

Rebelwork said:


> ??????


You have some questions?


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## Rebelwork (Jan 15, 2012)

I used the saw for 7 years, why would I have questions ?

Post #13


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## Biotec (Mar 14, 2021)

@Michael_JL 

comparisons / reviews you would recommend? in a nut shell, no. you need to read many.

the question is that to you have three different spaces that you work in.

is there a single solution? I do not think so..

The first space the garage. might guess or assumption would be that you do the large wood breakdown, like table saw, jointer or planer, another words large chip sawdust being generated there. so I would choose a large dust collector multi horsepower.


the other space that you listed was a basement. to me that would be a confined space. this would your best system for your health needs........

very fine dust collection would be needed single point-of-use extraction. this use would be orbital Sanders or other fine sanding type tools. small / fine dust generating tools.


the other one that you listed project space. my guess is you're referring to the final installation of the work.

this will be a smaller portable dust extraction system.



ultimately you need different kinds just extraction and not a single type.


good info....
Tool-Triggered Dust Extractors 

The 7 Best Dust Collector For Small Shop Reviews and Guying Guide 

Reviews — Best Dust Extractor for a Small Workshop 

Best Dust Extractors 2022: Reviews & Buyers Guide - Contractor Advisorly 

systems for the garage....


https://www.sanderscore.com/best-dust-collector-reviews/



this is just my view. there has been other good comments above.


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