Shopsmith Forums

Does anyone on the forum own or have had any experience with one of thoes small dust collectors that is supported on a small dolly and has a small horizontal bag. They all seem to have a 4" port.

I am in dire need of a collector but as a retired person with limited means and space, I just cannot afford the SS collector. I do not want to use a shop vacuum. Space is a major issue.

I am mainly intrested in the performance of one of the units and the amount of noise it makes along with any user experiences such as adaptability etc.

Thanks and I hope everyone has a great weekend.

Arno

Hi Arno! - Having no knowledge of a DC like you described, - did a little web search. Is this the machine your are wondering about? http://www.sears.com/shc/s/p_10153_1260 ... 921x00003a

Sounds like it runs quietly. (no pun intended) Looks like the filter and collection are the same bag. You'll want to read all of the reviews of this machine. Number 9 disagrees with the rest. Fine dust comes through the bag - especially on startup.

Edit- - - Here's a better site that'll give you several choices for the same machine. (Delta AP300) Different prices too! http://www.google.com/products?hl=en&rl ... 1&ct=title

Chuck:

Thank you so much for your input. You did a much better job on finding them than I did. I originally saw one in the Grizzly catalog. Basically, they all look to be by the same manufacturer with of course different names (probably Chinese). The reviews you pointed out are basically affirmative but of course nothing is ideal to everyone. I had hoped to find a SS owner that actually used one with SS and its accessories. I think I will wait a bit longer and see if someone pops up but I certainly appreciate your input.

Arno

The bag looks small, so keep that in mind.

You might also try Craig's list for the DC3300 used.

And a shopvac does a very good job. A 4" hose is good for some things, but a lot of tools have ports that the shopvac hoses fit. And they are easier to work with on portables tools and cleanup than the 4" that needs a reducer.

When I bought my Jet 2hp I was originally was going to sell my DC3300, but after one hour trying to use the 4" hose to try to sweep and clean up, I decided to keep both.

For money and space, I would recommend a shopvac type until you can save money for a better one. It comes with tools and hoses and is easy to maneuver and store. And a bigger one can hold a lot of dust.

Hawk

Weelildaddy,

I purchased a 1 hp dust collector similar to what you describe a few years ago as my first attempt for improvement over a shop vac. It does work sort of, but you get what you pay for. I still am using it with my non-Shopsmith table saw on the occasions when I need that and it does work, however the filter bag is very small and it plugs up quickly reducing the air flow. The bag has a 4" inlet with no zipper for clean out. What a pain. I tried it on my SS and other accessories, but gave up quickly on that use. (I guess it could work as a cooling fan for the shop when it gets too hot out).

My issue was solved when I got lucky and found a Shopsmith DC 3300 for a great price on Craigslist, so that takes care of everything else I need to do. Good luck, John McCrossen

Hawk & John:

Thanks for your response. From your experiencce, I'm convinced that despite my space constrictions and budget, perhaps in the long run it would be better to wait for a SS collector. After all, its engineered to work with SS equipment. I hate having to use adaptors just to make something work and then in the long run, may be more trouble than it's worth.

I'm hoping that Rick will present himself in the Atlanta area in a few months and that will give me a chance to have a better look and talk with him about it. Usually on the TA, the reduced prices sometimes make it worth while.

Thanks again for your input.

Arno

If you don't have either, you might consider getting an inexpensive ShopVac until you can afford a Dust Collector.
I didn't have enough space to bring my Dust Collector with me, so I'm using a small (2 HP, 5 Gallon) Shop Vac that I think costs less than $50 at Wal-Mart. It does a great job of vacuuming the shop. For less than $20 at Sears I bought a 2" hose that comes with several different types of fittings, to connect my SS tools to the ShopVac.
I miss my Dust Collector, but this will work for the summer.

Hi Everyone,

I use a 2-hp Delta dust collector with a canister/cartridge filter and attached both a 4-inch hose and a 2-1/2 in. hose. I also have a 2-1/2 in. adapter that fits on the 4-in. that I use to hook it up to my Shopsmith tools. The 4-in. hose increases the airflow and picks up more dust than the smaller hose and my Shopsmith runs virtually dust free with it.

I also run the hoses to the tools from dedicated dust lines of PVC that I placed on both sides of my shop so I am always in reach of one without having to run it all across the shop floor. The dedicated lines are attached to the two inputs on the Delta dust collector.

I also placed blast guards on the lines so I can close one or the other. This helps increase the airflow to the line I'm using at the time.

I have used the SS dust collector in the past and found it lacks the power needed for a dedicated system like I wanted. I did find it is great for single-tool use if the runs are no longer than 10-feet. I wanted to have some lines attached permanantly to some of my tools so that is why I upgraded to a more powerful system. I got tired of always attaching the hose to each machine everytime I wanted to use it.

And I hate to say it, but my Delta system with hoses and attachments still costed about $100.00 less than a new SS dust collector. For the low power it has, the SS collector is pretty high priced.

Hi Woodburner! Interesting review! According to my search, the only Delta DCs with a canister cost around $500 to $550, and I can't find a 2 HP model. What is the model number of your machine? Found one model that costs about $350, but it is 1 HP and didn't find it's CFM.

Charlese,

I don't have the model number handy right now. As for the canister filter, I purchased that as an add-on at a woodworking show for $100. I don't know if it was at a special price or not. It is called a "Dust-Dog".

The dust collector itself cost me $285.00 when I bought it about 4-5 years ago. Prices might have gone up since then and maybe they don't make the 2-hp model anymore.

When I get the chance I'll get the model number out for ya' and send it your way.