# My solution for benchtop tool dust collection



## ADHDan (Aug 17, 2012)

My shop is tiny - 11'x17' - but I still manage to pack in a 2hp HF dust collector and a 12 gallon wet/dry vac, both hooked up to separators. Unfortunately, my setup does not lend itself well to collecting dust from handheld/workbench tools - such as sanders, routers, Kreg Jig, etc. Choking the vac down to 1.25" makes it difficult to control a handheld tool because the suction tugs it pretty hard, and choking a 4" DC line down to 1.25" just seems nonsensical.

So, I picked up this little guy from Target: http://www.target.com/p/vacmaster-1-5-gallon-wet-dry-vac/-/A-14550787. It's small enough that I can literally hang it on a French cleat next to my pegboard tool wall right over my workbench (mounting hook included), strong enough to capture pretty much all of the dust from my ROS, not so powerful that it makes me fight it for control of the tool, and the hose fit my sander without any adapter.

I was looking at slightly bigger models (2-3 gallon) but since I already have both a DC and a big wet/dry vac I wanted to get the smallest option short of a dustbuster, so that I could wall mount it right next to my workbench. When it gets full I can just pop the bottom off and dump it in the trash can (or clean it out with the bigger vac). I haven't used it for my other tools yet but based on last night's sanding results I'm optimistic. I can't speak to longevity, but for out of the box convenience and suction quality I'd give it a 10/10.


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## agallant (Jul 1, 2010)

I just got an extension hose for my shop vac and an adapter to shrunk it down to the 1 inch port side on most of my hand held tools. Works great.


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## intelligen (Dec 28, 2009)

I have one of those little Vacmaster shop vacs and it has good suction for its size but the small hose clogs easily and I swear it's even louder than my big Shop-Vac! For the price though, if you need something just for dust and no chips, you can't beat it.


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## ADHDan (Aug 17, 2012)

My experiences have been very different from both of yours! When I shrink my 2.5" shop-vac hose to 1.25" it's like driving a car without power steering. And that little vac definitely seems quiter than my shop-vac, although I wear earmuffs whenever any dust collector is running.

Plus I have a single dedicated circuit with four outlets for DC, and now that I have this and a fan filter I have exactly four DC devices plugged into it - three are even controlled with the same three-switch remote (the 2hp is on a Long Ranger).


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