Harbor Freight - 2 hp dust collector (Rating: 4)

Over the past six months, I modified my 22' x 22' British-style backyard conservatory to serve not only as my gym, as it has since 1997, but also as my workshop (see, photo 1)

Property Window Building Door Plant


[If interested in this conversion, including heroic saga of my fighting off tens of thousands of carpenter ants and rebuilding after they ravaged the structure, see my video on VIMEO ]
In sharing exercising and woodworking in a closed space, I decided that it was imperative to my good health that, while exercising, I should not suck in a lot of fine wood dust that could not be reasonably swept up or even sucked up in a small shop vac. So I researched the dust collection market and settled on a Harbor Freight (HF) #97969 imported from China, knowing from reading reviews by others that I would spend a fair amount of time and money on modifications and accessories before I had the problem solved to my satisfaction.

My experience confirmed that the Chinese wheels shipped with the dust collector are terrible, as are the overall mechanics of trying to move the assembled dust collector around my workshop. The sheet metal base to which the wheels are to be attached is 22" x 33," and mobility is allegedly achieved by tugging on a handle screwed to a metal part amidships. It does NOT move easily that way, however!

To enhance mobility that I needed, I ordered from HF the 24" x 36" platform truck that they also import from China, known as "Haul-Master - #68894 (see, photo 2).

Tire Wheel Sports equipment Rolling Rectangle


I wanted stronger supports for the lower bag of the Dust Collector so I substituted larger and stronger bolts (I selected Hillman Grade 5 bolts ½" x 4"). I enlarged the three pairs of holes in the Dust Collector's metal base plate (see, photo 3) including drilling through the wood frame I made (discussed below) for the two outside supports. I later drilled through the platform steel base, too, and secured the 4" bolts through both base plates and with locking washers both below the bolt head and above the nut.

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While the blue platform bed is far more tacky in person than it appears in the photos, the wheels are as I expected, larger than the wheels that had been shipped with the Dust Collector and should perform better, too. (see, photo 4)

Plant Wood Shelving Building Flowerpot


Unlike the Dust Collector wheels, the platform wheels are divided between two "fixed" wheels and two "swivel" wheels, although users who wrote reviews differed as to which to put on the front vs. the rear on the platform.
To attach the wheels, I followed the advice of one reviewer and substituted for the Chinese bolts some larger and stronger Grade 5 American bolts with properly matched nuts and locking-washers. (The Chinese seem to ship products with very thin, flat washers that do little to offset the often-inadequate fit between their bolts and nuts.)

I read one review of this platform truck stating that the wheels "wiggled" so much that the user replaced the bolts to solve the problem; so I, too, replaced the bolts - as I did with the bolts on the Chinese Dust Collector. I discarded the Chinese bolts and nuts (and washers) that shipped with the Platform to secure its wheels and employed instead high quality Hillman Grade 5 bolts ½" x 3 ½" to secure the wheels. This substitution required my buying two good ½" drill bits for drilling into metal (one broke!). I redrilled the holes in the four wheels (see, photo 5) as well as the holes pre-drilled into the lower side of the platform (see, photo 6).

Wood Camera lens Hardwood Wood stain Flooring


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The Dust Collector sheet metal base has a 1" lip on the underside it so I made a 1" wood frame and secured it beneath three sides of the sheet metal frame, excluding the side where the motor is in the way (see, photo 7)

Wood Rectangle Gas Hardwood Wood stain


I then replaced the Chinese bolts and nuts and spaces with Hillman Grade 5 bolts ½" x 1 ½" and ½" x 4" (see, photo 8).

Rectangle Wood Packing materials Box Plastic


Aside from the greater size of the replacement bolts and nuts, it was critical, in my view, to discard the Chinese nuts and bolts that often failed to fit together. (How can the Chinese build an aircraft carrier or engage in a space program when some of their export firms can't even handle the quality control needed to match their nuts to their bolts? And the washers that they supplied should have been lock-down washers to facilitate tightening. I replaced them all with good lock-down washers.

The Chinese Haul Master deck measurements are 22.5" wide and accommodated the 22" wide Chinese Dust Collector's sheet metal plate. The Haul Master deck is only 30.5" long, however, net of the folding handle (see, photo 9).

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There is insufficient room at either end of the 33" long Dust Collector sheet metal plate, which is secured atop the platform, to attach the platform handle. What to do? I relocated the handle to the side opposite the two vacuum hoses (i.e., the only side among the four where there was room for it)! (see, photo 10).

Wood Fixture Brickwork Material property Gas


The power cord and switch, as others have mentioned, are also good candidates for upgrades. I also have a replacement power cord (14 AWG 15 A) and replacement power switch (en route).

Power Source. I ran a 12/3 dedicated line with a 20A breaker for the Dust Collector and possibly other large equipment.

Wynn Filter. Finally, since my prime motivation was not breathing fine wood dust deep into my lungs while exercising in the combined gym/workshop, I could not resist upgrading from 5.0 microns to 0.5 microns - or so the promises suggest - and buy the Wynn Environmental (see, photo 11). With this filter unit, the coverage area is alleged to increase from 35 square feet to 274 square feet with an alleged 99.990% efficiency at 0.5 microns!

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