Vacuums and Dust Collectors Reviews

I purchased a "D" handle PC 691 to use with the PC 24" Omnijig. Because I have a small shop dust collection is a major objective. This dust collection system works, at best, marginally when using the Omnijig. The lower collection enclosure cannot be used. The side port collects minimal shavings. I still use the system and from time to time turn off the vacumm to gauge if it is worth the setup. Yes, it does collect some of the chips, but probably not worth the price if the dust collection system is exclusively used with an Omnijig application. The PC 691 is exclusively used for dove tail work in my shop. If I'm missing something here I'd welcome correction.

I hooked it up to my vacuum and it eliminated virtually all mess! That's so pleasant given the tremendous whirlwind of debris generated by routing.

You have to think ahead and determine just how the cuts are going to be made and where you need to look. This hood can get in the way of your cut, either hitting some other piece of material, the blade, blocking your vision etc. It takes a little time to get used to but as long as you think ahead it can make a difference.

I've been doing a lot of MDF work lately and using my flush trim bit A LOT. The dust MDF creates is incredible and I got tired of being covered in it and having it cover everything in my garage. Hooked up to my Ridgid shop vac, not one speck of MDF dust escaped this PC dust collection system. WOW! On a side note, I do recommend getting a softer, less rigid hose as the stiffer ones typically provided with shop vacs can interfere with smooth handling of the router. I am comfortable with the price.

Basically this really is a good product. However there are a couple of things you might be interested to know about it. Firstly, the aluminum "case" which holds the gate does not supply a friction hold on the gate, if you position the device as it is shown in the above picture and open the gate, it will slam down of its own accord. The Gate screw lock which you might want to tighten a little bit to give some tension here to hold the gate open however,has too coarse a thread and often will turn back just enough to lose its grip, this in just a few operations of the gate. I suggest you remove the screw and install a locking nut on it and reinstall the screw to cure this problem. Secondly I wish there were a little more length to the 4 inch extrusions on either side to allow for a quick disconnect for the hose. As it is you must use a hose clamp here or the hose will fall off the end. These complaints aside the device is beefy and should hold up.

I have about 6 of these in my shop attached to permanent ductwork that goes to each of my stationary tools. What I like about them is that the design allows them to be securely mounted to the bench or wall. The assembly consists of 2 cast aluminum plates that are bolted together like a sandwich around the sliding gate. The bolts are standard 10-24, and can be replaced with longer bolts that can be used to bolt the whole assembly to something solid. I also like that the aluminum is thick enough that you can drill a hole in it, and drive a self tapping machine screw into it for a secure connection. I used this technique for securing the ductwork to the gate...the gate can slide shut, and that a lock nut solves the problem.

These gates still leak a little, which is why I do not give them 5 stars, but in my opinion, they're far better than the plastic ones.

Good price, reasonable shipping, shipped right away. Short couplings mean you really need to tighten the hose clamp. Installed them with rivets and calking to 4" S&D piping (S&D piping is about 1/16" bigger inner diameter then the outside of the blastgate couplings).

Grizzly is a great compny, responsive customer service. Will continue to do business with them. Nobody should expect any company to allow dozens of consumers to take advantage of them because of a price misprint. Get over it already.

This adapts a 4" hose to a 2.5" hose. It does not allow you to connect a 4" hose to a common 2.5" machine outlet. Woodcraft and Rockler have a 4" to 2.25" adapter which allows a direct connection.

If your worried about this thing fitting STOP !! This fitting fits inside the standard 4" collection hose no problem.As for the reduction end it's also true and mated with my shop vac hose just fine. Here's a little helpful hint.If your having problems with fittings or your dust collection hose has a weird tweek in it and wont fit up under your machine like you want.Use a heat gun or a hair drier to slowely heat up the hose and then position it however you need to. Now get out there and collect some dust.

I had been using my screaming, ear-killing ShopVac for dust collection on my router table until I bought this adapter. Now I use my quiet, absolutely wonderful JET 1100 cfm dust collector (see that review), connected to the hose from my ShopVac through this adapter. I can actually hear my router now!

This will adapt your 2 1/2" vacuum hose to your 4" dust collection hose. I can even vacuum the floor without going deaf now! Such a cheap improvement; your ears will thank you!

I have a Pro Tech 10" table saw and this Dust hood does not fit. Works great once you make a board to fit your table saw and then attach dust hood to board.

This 14'' table saw dust hood is not the best fit on my platinum edition contractor saw.To fit properly you will need to either make a frame out of sheet metal or plywood to fit under the saw. Then attach the hood to that. Delta does offer adaptor plates (for a charge) that ties it all in very cleanly.That's what I bought.This hood is well made and will accept any 4'' hose no problem. Amazons price on this item is awesome. I've seen it elsewhere for 3 times as much so, buy it here.I do recommend this item it's a real must for anyone concerned about collecting dust and keeping a tidy shop.It can also be fitted to fit almost any shop vac. Now get out there and collect some dust.

If the machine does not have a DC port, then this is the thing you want. It's about 5" x 9" with a 4" hose connection, best of all, it has bolt holes so it can be connected to your work bench or a mount.

I have two collection intakes in use, one on the lathe and the other by the drill press. I plan on adding a third to the end of the workbench, just sweep the debris to the end of the table to be sucked up.

I bought this bag as an improvement over the 30 micron, upper bag that is included with the Delta AP400. It's somewhat misleading that Amazon lists this bag as an accessory for that dust collector... although it can be made to work.

The opening at the bottom of this bag is roughly the same size as the 30 micron bag that is standard equipment on the AP400. So the belt that you clamp around the bag to hold it in place will work just fine with this 5 micron bag.

The height of this bag is several inches shorter than the standard, 30 micron bag. Because this bag is made of much thicker material, it can sort of stay standing up on its own... especially when the machine is running. So it's not much of a problem. But to ensure that the bag stays in place, you will need to use the metal hook that was included with the AP400. Use a hacksaw to cut the upper half of the hook (the non-threaded half) down to the correct length, and then you are good to go. It's not as strange as it may sound -- once you see that the AP400 hook is in two pieces, this will make more sense.

Besides the slight installation hassle, I rated this item only 4 stars because it's kind of expensive for being just a bag.

I purchased this sander locally. Took it home and had it up and operational within 10 minutes. You don't need a mount or special base for this. I set it up on a sheet of plywood without securing it and it's pleanty heavy to stay put. The only issue I see is that you have to pretty much disassemble it to change the disk paper (hence the one star off). I can live with it. Well worth your $$$$$.

I've owned a model G1030 since 1991 and have used it hundreds of times in my home workshop. I never use the Unisaw, planer, radial arm saw, belt/disk sander, or band saw, without the vac on.

There is a fixed 6" steel duct with numerous 90 degree angles from the G1030 to the far end of the shop, with � dozen blast gates (3 or 4 inch diameter) along the way, for the various tools. Only the blast gate for the tool being used is opened. The 6" duct feeds into a pre-collector (a modified trash can) prior to entering the vac, just in case a large wood chunk gets into the system. This two-stage set-up protects the vac's cast-iron impeller from breaking or otherwise damaging the machine. Prior to this set-up, a small wood-chunk got through once, and dented the impeller's sheet-metal housing from the inside. I'd hate to think what a large chunk would do.

As with any 3 HP (or larger) machine, you'll need a 220 volt outlet.

Many things affect the suction (air-flow) of any shop dust collector:

- high-efficiency (low micron) bags. The 30 micron bags that come with the G1030 allow for great suction because they are so "open" - however, they result in lots of air-borne dust. Conversely, sub-micron rated bags clog sooner (if they are the ONLY bags used), and decrease suction somewhat, but results in less air-borne dust -- although escaping dust particles are smaller.
- dirty bags. As bags or filters clog with dust, suction is reduced. You can shake the upper bags to release some of the build-up, so it falls into the lower bags.
- long pipe runs, angle fittings in those runs, smaller pipes, non-smooth pipes, leaks in the system.
- converting to a 2-stage collection system (e.g., first running the air into and out of, a trash can, to trap big chunks).
- concurrently using the dust collector for more than one tool.

Summary of G1030 negatives:

- one bottom bag fills up twice as fast as the other one, which means the machine's diverter is not balanced;
- it's really loud (as all the big vacuums probably are);
- had to reinforce the upper bag holders with pipe straps (minor);
- had to caulk some of the metal seams of the G1030, as dust was coming out.
- after-market high-efficiency bags are a necessity. With only the Grizzly-supplied canvas bags, there was a choking sawdust-cloud surrounding the system (while on or just afterward), and much saw-dust on surrounding surfaces. Very unhealthy for lungs, so I had to wear a respirator at all times. Soon as they came on the market, 1 micron bags were installed OVER each canvas bag. The canvas bags catch the big stuff, and the outer bags catch most of the invisible particles. This made for a HUGE reduction in air-borne dust.
- Emptying the bags is a real chore (wear a respirator), but in my case, only necessary about once a year. Although it's on wheels, my vac stays put, until the bags have to be emptied.
- The on/off switch is inconvenient, about a foot off the floor, next to the motor. That doesn't affect me, since I leave that switch on and control the G1030 on/off via a circuit breaker.

Positives:

- 13 years in operation with no problems;
- excellent air-volume/suction when used for one tool, even though I converted to a 2-stage system, have four high-efficiency bags over the four canvas bags, have 60' of main (6") pipe, and have the equivalent of a dozen 90 degree angles in that run.
- The G1030 traps almost all wood dust my big tools produce. However, for health reasons, I still run the shop's exhaust fan for 30 minutes or more to rid the shop of residual air-borne dust and dust smell. It's doubtful that any shop vac would catch ALL dust.
- can be used for multiple tools simultaneously, but of course, suction per tool is reduced.
- Glad I didn't buy a system with a lower air suction capacity.

If you buy a G1030, I'd recommend installing four Grizzly G5556 0.3 Micron dust bags OVER the 30 micron bags that come with the unit. Your lungs are worth the extra hundred bucks.

Warning: If you don't use grounded steel collection pipes, run a grounded copper wire through the ducts. Otherwise, an errant spark could ignite the wood dust, possibly resulting in an explosion/fire.

Amazingly, I ordered this Saturday and got it Tuesday afternoon. Cleaning off my workbench to get room for it was my biggest chore to try it using large Cutzall burs in a 1/4" flex shaft tool cutting basswood. At a comfortable work distance, it collected all of the fine dust and practically all of the larger "chips". I had to add some of my own hook Velcro to help position the clear plastic shields, but no problem. Fairly quiet in operation. I like it - a quick cure for the stuffy nose without a mask.

I just hooked this up to my 4" collector and it's great, very easy to connect with the enclosed clamps. I use it mainly for my miter saw and the hood captures most of the dust. The hood also works to clean up after I've used my table saw.