# Looking for a good vacuum for portable tools



## herrwood (Apr 19, 2014)

Tried searching vacuum but way too many posts.
Looking for a good small vacuum that I can hook up to things like a hand held router, sander etc.


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## vzbingo (Mar 1, 2012)

I use a Fein vac with a 10-Foot Power Tool Vacuum Hose Assembly, 1-1/2" x 1" from Woodcraft. Works very well and it's quiet!


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## Stick486 (Jan 4, 2013)

vzbingo said:


> I use a Fein vac with a 10-Foot Power Tool Vacuum Hose Assembly, 1-1/2" x 1" from Woodcraft. Works very well and it's quiet!


second that Fein...


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## RainMan 2.0 (May 6, 2014)

I'm using Festool's vacuum but it's not cheap . I really like how there vacuum intergrates with there tools and has the auto power on/off feature


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## Nickp (Dec 4, 2012)

This has plenty of power and does not overpower the smaller tools...

RIDGID 4-gal. Wet/Dry Vacuum-WD4070 - The Home Depot

Get this along with it and you're good to go...I like the VAC005 as it doesn't kink and it's long enough to know how to get out of your way... 

Amazon.com: Bosch VAC005 5-Meter Vacuum Hose 35mm: Home Improvement

...you don't need to buy it from HD or Amazon...something in this size from anybody's vac...the VAC005 seems to fit just about anything...Bosch ROS, Bosch router, Fein Multimaster, etc...

The VAC005 ends in a 35mm rubber end with about an inch ID...

check the specs before buying...

If you have a Bosch 1617 router for handheld, check out the vac attachment...
.
.


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## herrwood (Apr 19, 2014)

Thanks the Fein sounds good but a little more then I want to spend and also looking for something more portable. The ridgid suggested by nick is closer to my needs but just need to see what filters they have do not want to seat too much dust


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## TwoSkies57 (Feb 23, 2009)

Picked up a craftsman vac a while back for my ROS and small power tools. 

Sears.com

Works very well, not exactly the quietest thing around, but not bad....

Hose is poor to fair at best but gets the job done...sometimes with a lil duck tape..*L*

Rolls nicely, plenty of power cord, stainless body is very nice, standard craftsman filters, components store well.


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## Mike (Nov 22, 2004)

Ed, most of the small shop vacuums will do the job. Be sure to buy the filter bags and the small bag that goes over the vacuums filter. Not all brands offer these but this is far less expensive than shelling out the money for a HEPA filter which will clog quickly. ShopVac and Ridgid both offer these. To make things better add a separator between the tool and vacuum. We tested Oneida's Dust Deputy Deluxe, Rockler's Dust Right and my favorite the Clear Vue Cyclones C-06 Mini and they all did a good job. You will find lots of photos on the forums of home built racks for mounting a separator on top of your vacuum.


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## herrwood (Apr 19, 2014)

Mike the outer dust bags sound good I did not think of them. I have a 16 gal rigid that is hooked up to a dust right but the hoses are a little to big and I usually wind up in my way. So I am thinking about a smaller portable that is easier to use with handheld tools ,that will just sit on the bench out of the way and would have a smaller hose. Should have said that in the beginning.


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## Stick486 (Jan 4, 2013)

herrwood said:


> Thanks the Fein sounds good but a little more then I want to spend and also looking for something more portable. The ridgid suggested by nick is closer to my needs but just need to see what filters they have do not want to seat too much dust


sorry for suggesting the Fein...
but you did ask about/for a ''good'' vac and not less than...


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## Ratbob (Apr 6, 2015)

Ed, I use the VAC005 hose Nick sited above in post number 5 with my Ridgid 16Gal blower vac. I use the 2.5" stock hose to connect to my TS, BS, DP, and router fence. For hand work with a sander or router I switch to the VAC005 hose with a rubber taper that fits my 1" Makita ROS port. I like using the big capacity vac because the bags hold a lot more. I also keep an automatic switch with the vac that works great with all my tools, including the ROS.

The VAC005 should work with your Dust Right.


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## tomp913 (Mar 7, 2014)

Mike said:


> Ed, most of the small shop vacuums will do the job. Be sure to buy the filter bags and the small bag that goes over the vacuums filter. Not all brands offer these but this is far less expensive than shelling out the money for a HEPA filter which will clog quickly. ShopVac and Ridgid both offer these. To make things better add a separator between the tool and vacuum. We tested Oneida's Dust Deputy Deluxe, Rockler's Dust Right and my favorite the Clear Vue Cyclones C-06 Mini and they all did a good job. You will find lots of photos on the forums of home built racks for mounting a separator on top of your vacuum.


Still a work in progress (if you can call it that), but I went the other direction and put the vac on top of the separator. Presently working on the hose connections to minimize the amount that the vac sits above the separator - 9" at the moment, but hoping to cut that by a couple of inches. It rolls well, and doesn't appear to be top heavy but shortening the overall height will help.


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## tomp913 (Mar 7, 2014)

Mike said:


> Ed, most of the small shop vacuums will do the job. Be sure to buy the filter bags and the small bag that goes over the vacuums filter. Not all brands offer these but this is far less expensive than shelling out the money for a HEPA filter which will clog quickly. ShopVac and Ridgid both offer these. To make things better add a separator between the tool and vacuum. We tested Oneida's Dust Deputy Deluxe, Rockler's Dust Right and my favorite the Clear Vue Cyclones C-06 Mini and they all did a good job. You will find lots of photos on the forums of home built racks for mounting a separator on top of your vacuum.


Still a work in progress (if you can call it that), but I went the other direction and put the vac on top of the separator. Presently working on the hose connections to minimize the amount that the vac sits above the separator - 9" at the moment, but hoping to cut that by a couple of inches. It rolls well, and doesn't appear to be top heavy but reducing the overall height will help.


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## herrwood (Apr 19, 2014)

Stick486 said:


> sorry for suggesting the Fein...
> but you did ask about/for a ''good'' vac and not less than...


Nothing to be sorry about,a good suggestion and would consider but more then I think I need for handheld work.


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## CharleyL (Feb 28, 2009)

You might want to consider an Oneida Dust Deputy. It is a small clear plastic version of the centrifugal cone shaped separators that are used in the larger whole wood shop vacuum systems, but it's designed to be used with a 1 1/4 - 1 1/2 diameter hose like smaller vacuums and Shop Vacs use. You install it in the hose just before the vacuum unit and mount it on the lid of a 5 gallon bucket. You still use your shop vac or other small vacuum system, but now the Dust Deputy removes 99 + % of the dust and wood chips, putting it all into the bucket instead of the vacuum system. Vacuum Filter replacement will no longer be necessary and the level of vacuum will remain constant.

I recently installed a Dust Deputy on a used home Central Vacuum system that I recently installed in my shop to handle sanding saw dust, scroll saw saw dust, router wood chips, and vacuuming the floor. It isn't big enough to handle a surface planer, drum sander, or table saw, but it sure does a fine job of collecting the saw dust from the smaller tools. I've collected almost 12 gallons of saw dust, wood chips, and floor sweepings with my system and I couldn't be happier, and after the 12 gallons was collected there's still nothing visible in the collection can on the bottom of the vacuum or in it's filter. It's all in the bucket under the Dust Deputy. If any micro fine dust manages to get past the Dust Deputy and the vacuum's filter, it gets blown outside, so it never gets back into in my shop air. My shop is too small for one of those big dust collectors at 14' X 26', so I do my board planing outdoors, and let my Unisaw collect it's saw dust in it's base cabinet. Not great, but it works. The Central Vacuum pipes are in the walls and ceiling of the shop, so none of it is in my shop space and the Central Vacuum unit and Dust Deputy are upstairs in the attic of my shop, so it doesn't take up any shop space either. Not a perfect solution, but I'm extremely happy with it.

Attached is a photo of my Central Vacuum Unit in the attic of my shop, with the Dust Deputy on the 5 gallon bucket next to it. I took the picture before I finished running the exhaust pipe on the right out through the wall, but it's there now. My son just brought me a steel 30 gallon barrel and I will be replacing the 5 gallon bucket with this steel barrel as soon as I can make a sealed lid for the 30 gallon barrel. I got the whole house Central Vacuum unit free when they did a whole house remodel in the house next to mine. I saw it headed for the dumpster and asked for it. They even brought me the hose, attachments, wall inlets, and pipe. 

Charley


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## Stick486 (Jan 4, 2013)

herrwood said:


> Nothing to be sorry about,a good suggestion and would consider but more then I think I need for handheld work.


you did ask for good...
good constitutes quiet, excellent swarf retention, auto on, quality filtration, simplicity of cleaning/emptying, pliable/quality hose, portability, nice array of attachments and adapters to mention a few......


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## tomp913 (Mar 7, 2014)

Here's a nice cheap method for cord/hose management


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## Mike (Nov 22, 2004)

Ed, another possible solution for you would be to locate your Dust Right at the end of your bench or in a corner and connect it to a small home built manifold box. This is something I have been considering doing for my bench tools. The box would be roughly 4"x4"x24" with 6 2-1/4" holes on each side. There would be partitions between each hole so in effect it would be like 6 4x4x4 boxes stacked up. I would run a hose to each of the tools and have one for general bench cleanup. These hoses would all be on the right side of the manifold. Then plug the vacuum hose into which ever hole on the left side as needed. A lot cheaper than buying blast gates and almost as easy to use. What do you think?


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## Nickp (Dec 4, 2012)

I forgot to mention that I use a Dust Deputy with the Rigid and the VAC005...works great and rarely need to deal with a dirty filter.

I used a rubber pipe coupler...tightened the clamp down sufficiently so as to make the Rigid vac hose fit the 90 elbow at the top of the dust deputy so the hose would flow more naturally...slips in and out nicely.

Oh...and nothing wrong with using duct tape to make ur own adapter... 

I'll take pictures later today...


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## Web Shepherd (Feb 8, 2012)

> I use a Fein vac with a 10-Foot Power Tool Vacuum Hose Assembly, 1-1/2" x 1" from Woodcraft. Works very well and it's quiet!


Doug and Stick, Fein has the Turbo I and Turbo II. Which model do you guys have?

Bob


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## Mike (Nov 22, 2004)

For those considering a purchase of a separator here is a look at both the Clear Vue Cyclones CV-06 Mini and the Dust Deputy Deluxe. The first photo shows the original CV-06 mounted on a Bosch L-Rack to attach to the top of my VAC140A HEPA vac and the current improved version which is much more efficient. The second photo shows the two brands side by side. Standard 2-1/4" hoses plug into the CV-06 while the Dust Deputy has a tapered inlet and outlet to fit different hose sizes. I prefer the CV-06 since it is more sturdy and there is no hose slippage like with the Dust Deputy. Oneida suggests putting an O-ring on their ports to help keep the hoses in place but clamps or tape work better.

Both brands come with foam blocks and hardware to attach them to the side of your shop vac but this requires drilling hoes in the shop vac and the footprint takes up too much floor space for me. Forum members have posted several neat solutions for stacking them to reduce the footprint. These brands perform better than Rockler's Dust Right but any one of these is a great addition. They all extend your filter life and make it easy to dispose of the dust.


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## herrwood (Apr 19, 2014)

Mike said:


> Ed, another possible solution for you would be to locate your Dust Right at the end of your bench or in a corner and connect it to a small home built manifold box. This is something I have been considering doing for my bench tools. The box would be roughly 4"x4"x24" with 6 2-1/4" holes on each side. There would be partitions between each hole so in effect it would be like 6 4x4x4 boxes stacked up. I would run a hose to each of the tools and have one for general bench cleanup. These hoses would all be on the right side of the manifold. Then plug the vacuum hose into which ever hole on the left side as needed. A lot cheaper than buying blast gates and almost as easy to use. What do you think?


Sound interesting I have seen something but I do not have a lot of available bench space


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## herrwood (Apr 19, 2014)

Nickp said:


> I forgot to mention that I use a Dust Deputy with the Rigid and the VAC005...works great and rarely need to deal with a dirty filter.
> 
> I used a rubber pipe coupler...tightened the clamp down sufficiently so as to make the Rigid vac hose fit the 90 elbow at the top of the dust deputy so the hose would flow more naturally...slips in and out nicely.
> 
> ...


Nick I did look at the ridge but the smaller one you suggested seemed to a oddball hose I think it was 1-7/8 so not sure about connections to different tools with that one


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## Nickp (Dec 4, 2012)

herrwood said:


> Nick I did look at the ridge but the smaller one you suggested seemed to a oddball hose I think it was 1-7/8 so not sure about connections to different tools with that one


It is an odd size but I installed the dust deputy so on the other side of the deputy the VAC005 fits nicely...

I will post pictures later but the Rigid hose will attach to the dust deputy with adapters or you can use an adapter to fit to the VAC005...if you go that way.

I had the same frustration with hose sizes...one would think it should not be a problem but a combination of PVC and rubber couplers will do the trick.

If you're just using the vac for small tools I would go for something even smaller than the one I posted...after all most connections on smaller tools reduce the ID and you wouldn't get the air flow anyway. The 3 gal might be a better choice. But if you want to use it for router table, band saw, etc... the bigger one will do the job for both. At least, that's what I'm using...mileage may vary...

My config will come to about $135 plus Dust Deputy with all the adapters and VAC005...for your consideration...

Even with this combination the Dust Deputy doesn't do as well with spackle sanding or dust as it does with sawdust and chips...it does real well with wood sanding with orbital sanders...
.


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## Knothead47 (Feb 10, 2010)

Not going to plow through all the posts but Shop Vac makes a small unit that might fit the bill for you. I have a 10 gallon size for my shop. Check out Lowe's or Ace Hardware.


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## Nickp (Dec 4, 2012)

Pictures...

The hose on the left is from the Rigid...the clamp is just tight enough so I can slip the hose in and out without unscrewing...the VAC005 plugs in nicely on the in port...

I put the 90 in so the hose sits more naturally...


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## hawkeye10 (Jul 28, 2015)

I use a Ridgid shop vac for my small tools and it does great but only after I bought the right stuff to hook all those small tools to the vac. I highly recommend the Dust Right from Rockler.

Dust Right® Universal Small Port Hose Kit | Rockler Woodworking & Hardware


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## roofner (Aug 1, 2010)

*Dust deputy*

Here is mine it is a rigid with dust deputy.


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## Knothead47 (Feb 10, 2010)

roofner, your picture is most timely! I am having to rearrange my shop. It's like putting 10 pounds in the proverbial 6 pound sack. One of the problems was what to do with the Shop Vac and Dust Deputy. Your setup should allow it to be placed in one spot and arrange power tools so an extra hose could reach all of them Again, thanks!


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## tomp913 (Mar 7, 2014)

Photo of my set-up showing the vac mounted on top of the separator. Waiting to hear from Rockler about fittings, hoping that I can mate the intake to the separator with the 45° elbow using a connector which would allow me to shorten the dowel stand-offs by a couple of inches. If this works, I can disconnect both hoses at the connector and lift everything of the separator as a unit. It rolls well, with no indication of being top heavy.


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## vzbingo (Mar 1, 2012)

Web Shepherd said:


> Doug and Stick, Fein has the Turbo I and Turbo II. Which model do you guys have?
> 
> Bob


Mine is the Turbo II connected to a Dust Deputy. It works great and is Quiet! If I used a standard shop vac I'd have to build some sort of muffler for it.


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## Mike (Nov 22, 2004)

Here is my Bosch VAC140A with the CV-06 Mini mounted on it. I wanted to make a similar set up for my Festool CT26 but they do not offer an open tray Systainer. I guess I have to fabricate something. I work with several different hoses depending on the job. The small diameter gray hose is the VAC-005 and the black hose wrapped around the vac is a shorter version that also locks onto several Bosch accessories.(standard with the VAC) The black hose hooked up to the Cutech jointer is a standard Craftsman 2-1/2" hose with 2-1/4" fittings. The Bosch hoses hook to most of their hand held tools like the 576 jig saws, routers, multitools, Sanders, etc..

The gray 2-1/2" hose with 2-1/4" soft rubber fittings is now on my Dust Deputy Deluxe; it grips better than other hoses and I discovered when working with this hose outside the soft rubber ends flex in the sun and slip. The "D3" now resides under the left wing of my table saw hooked to a Dayton industrial shop vac.


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## SteveMI (May 29, 2011)

I bought a Fein Turbo II non-HEPA when they were changing over and also have a Porter Cable tool-on. Both are used with Dust Deputies. If you are really going to use hand held ROS sanders or routers, then the smaller diameter hoses of the Fein and Festool are a huge improvement over the 2" variety. Also having a tool on feature, where starting the tool also starts the vac, is something you will learn to love. Having variable vacuum is helpful with ROS sanding to keep the paper clean (maximum vacuum doesn't let the paper float during higher grits).

Steve.


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## Stick486 (Jan 4, 2013)

Web Shepherd said:


> Doug and Stick, Fein has the Turbo I and Turbo II. Which model do you guys have?
> 
> Bob


Turbo II...


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## westevenssr (Apr 18, 2013)

I have two shop portable vacuums. The primary one is a large Sears shop vacuum that holds about 20 gallon capacity. This is the second Sears shop vacuum, as I wore the first one out. My second one is a very small Harbor Fright one that is a 9 gallon model. Both work fine, but are noisy.


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