This came to me out of the blue when thinking of what our 13YO grandson as my wife last week. He had been running his digital router on the bench space between little drill press and little lathe and mill. The resulting dust is ****** awful (MDF) and he asked if he could have a little portable vac like Grandma's Dyson. My immediate reply was he would have to use the existing wet/dry shop vac, but in reflection that is a big, clumsy POS to move around in our incredibly packed little shop. So: why not an extremely good central vac system with manifolds along each wall/workbench and for me along bottom of crane runways that cut shop into two outer bays full of "stuff" and one central bay that remains open for vehicles and fab work? I already have power outlets in those places and air drops to some.
Central Vac Anyone?
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dcg9381
Well-known member
A few of the woodworkers I know have these systems (dust collector), but they're made specifically for woodworking. Many power tools have the pickups for them. They do take up some room, but I've seen them thrown outside the building also...
I would love to have one arranged to be convenient to use.
jblnut
ALLIANCE MEMBER
It’s absolutely possible. Approach it like large air lines or really large wire conduits and it’ll get easier mentally.
I’m in the middle of installing a dust/smoke/debris extraction system in my welding/fab area as well as running air lines all over. It’s a lot of work but will be very nice when it’s all done.
I’m in the middle of installing a dust/smoke/debris extraction system in my welding/fab area as well as running air lines all over. It’s a lot of work but will be very nice when it’s all done.
Think you are looking for something like this (shown) . Sold by many. I wouldn't put much hope into a central vac.
www.busybeetools.com
Buy Portable Dust Collector 3/4hp at Busy Bee Tools
CT226 CRAFTEX MINI PORTABLE DUST COLLECTOR 3/4 HP This mini portable dust collector is mounted on a set of swivel castors for easy movement between machines. Although it may be miniature it's air flow of 590 CFM which is equivalent to our CT053 (570 CFM) but with a much smaller footprint...
www.busybeetools.com
My garage shop is also pretty crammed. We have a central vac for the house. The power head is located in a closet in the garage. It pulls way better than my decent stainless shop vac, and exhausts fine dust to the outside. I haven't gotten around to installing a port in the garage because I don't know how I could handle hose storage conveniently and cheaply.
I have a delta dust collector on wheels, it's one of the fabric bag types. The fabric bag ones aren't the best as the super small particles can pass through the bag and just so happen to be the really bad stuff for your lungs. My solution is place it outside when using it. Now, I don't have a wood shop set up but rather a bunch of tools that get moved around for using. It works for me. I think I got it used for $150 on Kijiji.
andyvh1959
Well-known member
My house has central vac, installed back in the 70s, the KitchenAid system from Sears. I used for years when living alone. Now using a Shark or Dyson upright. Might use the central vac for my garage projects as there is an outlet to connect in the garage.
whateg01
Well-known member
Be aware that MDF creates extremely fine dust. The kind that gets into your lungs and over time causes health problems, or so I'm told. You should probably run some sort of air filtration too.
At my last job I ran a length of 2.5" pipe down the back of a couple of benches that had wood working tools on them with tees at each tool. I put rubber caps at each tee so you could pop the cap off and plug in the tool you were using. I had a shop vac under the end bench connected to automatically turn on when you ran any tool. Worked really well, we used it for years that way. Only thing I thought of maybe doing better was just putting valves at each tool you could just open or shut.
Hilltopmasonry
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We just had a central vacuum system installed in our house that is being completely renovated, and we have four different retractable hose systems throughout the house. two on the main floor, one in the basement, and one for the garage
The retractable hoses in my opinion are a total game changer for a central vac system, we have the newer chameleon style retractable hose, but a hose is supposed to be a good system as well
It takes all of the misery out of acentral vac system
The retractable hoses in my opinion are a total game changer for a central vac system, we have the newer chameleon style retractable hose, but a hose is supposed to be a good system as well
It takes all of the misery out of acentral vac system
Hilltopmasonry
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PopcornSutton
Well-known member
I have a central vac in the house, mainly because it exhausts outside, because my wife has allergies. Filters only do so much, and replacements can be pricey. The downfall is it doesn't have a beater head for the rugs, although we only have short/thin rugs. I do mostly metal work in the basement, and dusty wood work goes outside.
larry4406
Well-known member
A house I managed construction on about 10 years ago had this. Wish I paid more attention to the device and install. I did see it **** the hose back into the wall one time and it was rather impressive.
aquinob
Well-known member
What you are really describing a need for is a dust collection system. Both a DC and central vac work on the same principle, a centralized suction machine with piping going out to where its needed for pickup. But the big difference is that a Vac is a high suction lower volume machine where a DC is a high volume lower suction version. If you think about it this way, at the end of a vac you have a relatively small opening to collect dust, so to compensate you need a fairly high level of ****. On a woodworking tool you have a fairly large area to contend with so you need to move much more air in order to capture that dust before it falls out of suspension. A small DC port is 2.5 inches, that is pretty large for a vac.
Way too much has been written on dust collection in a woodshop, it's a science all to itself. It can be as simple as a stand alone collector with a big bag that fills up with chips and dust or a plumbed in Cyclone system with automatic switching. Mine started out simple and is now a permanent fixture in my garage shop. The reason is pretty simple as others have stated. Wood dust is a known carcinogen and if you dont do something to protect yourself by collecting it when its first made, you will never get ahead of it. And even with all that, you also need to protect your lungs with a good respirator when you operate a machine that makes lots of sawdust.
You can see the ductwork which is a combination of 4 and 6 inch pvc along with blast gates up on the ceiling. Most of the gates have a little microswitch that opens up with the gate and turns on the collector via a low voltage controlled switch. The more convenient a system is, the more you will probably use it.
Innovate1
Well-known member
We have a central vac for the house. Works well but used mostly for the house and occasionally to vacuum out a car and not the garage/shop. Have to deal with the hoses (have one downstairs and one upstairs) - not a huge deal but they have to be coiled up so they sometimes just get left laying out. For the shop it's best to deal with dust at the source. Is it possible to fit the router with a way to attach a vacuum hose so it pulls most of the dust away before it gets out into the shop? Woodworking shops often have dust collection systems - just large pipe typically something like 4" with inlets for major equipment and "gates" to shut off the airflow at the machines not being used at the time. Gates are a thin sheet that slides across the pipe blocking airflow. Cyclonic separators are often used to separate out the big stuff before it hits the filters. Our shop vac has airflow going up through the filter and the bucket below so when it's off most of the junk falls off the filter into the bucket and helps keep the filter from getting plugged. Others have rigged up boxes made of filters with a box fan to pull air through to filter out stuff floating in the shop air but that's not nearly as effective as stopping it at the source. Then there are filter masks to keep from breathing the stuff in the air.
I have made a huge amount of MDF dust with a router. Any vacuum will do, it just depends on how often you want to clean the filter. The single best thing you can do is get a good dust shroud for the router creating the dust. Collecting it at the source is 99% of the battle.
Black300zx
Well-known member
Awesome to hear your 13 year old son is into fabrication/building stuff, but MDF dust is nasty stuff. I'd strongly encourage you to make sure he's taking care of his lungs.
A dust collector with blast gates is what you need
A dust collector with blast gates is what you need
RegeSullivan
Well-known member
My shop "central vac" isn't fancy. I use a Ridgid shop vac mounted near the ceiling with exhaust piped outside using a dryer vent. A 25" clear 2.5" hose allows me to reach most of the shop.
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For your shop use the leading manufacturer is Oneida. I had a Grizzly cyclone in my bigger shop. Now downsized in a really tight space and in a neighborhood I purchased a Harvey G-700. I did not have central ducting in either place so I’m a hose dragger. I like the 700 a lot as it is much quieter. The cyclone, which worked well, you couldn’t hear yourself think. I also have a JDS (Jet makes them now) ambient air filter box and a Festool dust processor which does a really good job on the track saw, routers etc. Dust collection is not a one stop shop.
If you know where your machinery is going to stay then central ducting is great. If like me your shop has to have mobile tools it is more of an issue.
If you know where your machinery is going to stay then central ducting is great. If like me your shop has to have mobile tools it is more of an issue.
Hilltopmasonry
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a retractable hose system would take care of all that frustration
Every time I get a Rockler email about dust collection or one of their catalogs, I gaze at the reel similar to yours. Just can't find a good spot in my garage due to all the cabinets on the wall.Or you could do this…
scooby074
Well-known member
You really need volume of air flow not so much static pressure. Thats where a proper dust collector comes in. Luckily they are dirt cheap, even new. Used on Kijiji they can be had for next to nothing, even FREE!! as a basic model. Better ones will add a cyclone etc.
Miss the Pontiacs
Well-known member
Here is my set up, a King with 2 ports that I ran one permanently ran to my slider saw. The other port was split into 2 hoses with gates. Then ran some hose to my bandsaw and table saw or can be used wherever. I made a tray for above my garage door track so everything is nice and neat when in use or in storage. 
Get a bigger garage…er…play pen.Every time I get a Rockler email about dust collection or one of their catalogs, I gaze at the reel similar to yours. Just can't find a good spot in my garage due to all the cabinets on the wall.
dave*99
Well-known member
Look for 1 micron filtration. A pleated filter or a HEPA filter. The cloth bag type won't do **** for MDF dust. Shop vac will filter will plug up. Whole house vac filter will plug up. I've worked with all of these systems in the past.
I have a central dust collector with a 1 micron filter, but I also have a dust extractor that works great for fine dust. It self cleans the HEPA filter by reversing airflow while in use. I can sand drywall and it does not plug up. Harbor freight has a cheap version, but I have no experience with that unit.
This is not a shop vac, it is a dust extractor. Huge difference. Worth every penny. Buy once cry once.
I also have this. Filter is cleaned with handle that rubs the filter pleats internally.
I have a central dust collector with a 1 micron filter, but I also have a dust extractor that works great for fine dust. It self cleans the HEPA filter by reversing airflow while in use. I can sand drywall and it does not plug up. Harbor freight has a cheap version, but I have no experience with that unit.
This is not a shop vac, it is a dust extractor. Huge difference. Worth every penny. Buy once cry once.
I also have this. Filter is cleaned with handle that rubs the filter pleats internally.
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I sell and install Central Vacs at carwashes all the time. This customer years ago was low on money and requested a creative way to add drops, so I did this small low voltage 3 ph setup for a Lube Center garage and thought maybe it's time to do one at my shop. 
