Shopsmith Forums

All,

I have the Harbor Freight dust collector, and it has worked very well for me for the past couple of years. It has a 4" hose and port, which I have successfully used with many of my 4" port woodworking tools -- my Craftsman saw, Rigid planer, and Jet jointer.

Now I have a Shopsmith, which I am loving, but it has 2 1-2" ports on the lower saw guard and bandsaw. So far, I've just been hooking up my Shopvac to these ports. It works ok. It has been suggested in this forum that a true dust collector would work much better on the Shopsmith. So, does it make sense to find some kind of adapter to adapt my Harbor Freight 4" to a 2 1-2"? I've read on certain other forums that doing this will greatly reduce the airflow. Or should I just spend the money on a DC3300? Or should I just continue with the Shopvac setup?

Thanks.

chuckk2333 wrote:All,

I have the Harbor Freight dust collector, and it has worked very well for me for the past couple of years. It has a 4" hose and port, which I have successfully used with many of my 4" port woodworking tools -- my Craftsman saw, Rigid planer, and Jet jointer.

Now I have a Shopsmith, which I am loving, but it has 2 1-2" ports on the lower saw guard and bandsaw. So far, I've just been hooking up my Shopvac to these ports. It works ok. It has been suggested in this forum that a true dust collector would work much better on the Shopsmith. So, does it make sense to find some kind of adapter to adapt my Harbor Freight 4" to a 2 1-2"? I've read on certain other forums that doing this will greatly reduce the airflow. Or should I just spend the money on a DC3300? Or should I just continue with the Shopvac setup?

Thanks.

Much as I would like to see you spend money that helps shopsmith survive, I have to say: 'If it ain't broke, do not fix it'.

I have a DC3300 and have had no complaints,nice unit. I will have to agree with JPG. Get the adapters and use the one you already have. I doubt the airflow will be reduced enough to effect the dust collection from a SS. When Harbor Freight one dies, get the DC3300.

since you already have a working dust collector, buy the adapters and use the money you saved to buy a strip or belt sander or other SPT.

check the 4" hose after you use the DC on the SS. if there is sawdust collecting in the hose, then the 2.5" adapter is throttling the intake too much. if so, get a Y-adapter and let some extra air in on the 2nd port until the sawdust stops settling out. it is a trade off between maximizing the air intake through the SS port and keeping enough air velocity in the pipe. you can also put a hose on that 2nd port and suck in sawdust from additional angles while you are cutting.

When I got my SS I had the option of a free DC3300 or bandsaw. I took the DC, but should of got the bandsaw. Don't get me wrong, I like my vacum. I probally could of got more use from the bandsaw. I got a shopvac that can probally get as much sawdust as I use my SS for. I am just a weekend or couple hrs a day guy..

I would agree with the others on spending your money on other equipment. I have each of the diffferent systems you're talking of. (We live in two houses, so I have a shop in both places resulting in lots of equipment and duplication). The Shopsmith dust collector is a great tool but I don't think it is any better than what you're already using.

There are lots of other tools I would suggest before I would suggest the purchase of a duplicate. If you have all of the basics I can give you a suggestion- I bit the bullet and bought a Kreg Power Pocket hole maker. It was very costly but it is Ohhhh so nice.

Just an idea.

I've virtually given up describing the DC3300 on the Lumberjocks forum. The other members simply cannot understand how a dust collector with a 1/2 HP motor and 2 1/2" hoses can do the job.

Magazines, with their reviews, that often seem to support their advertisers, give home shop woodworkers the impression that we must have at least a 2 HP unit with cumbersome 6" and 4" ductwork on the walls and ceiling. They fail to mention the electrical requirements, which are lacking in most home shops, and also neglect the very important issue of the high noise level of practically all of these higher HP dust collectors on the market.

Perhaps the most "popular" mis-conceptin is the air flow issue. After all, wouldn't your dust collector serve you better with a 4" hose rather than 2 1/2". Perhaps many woodworkers cannot grasp the fact that the velocity of the air flow DECREASES as to the square of the increase in pipe diameter. Tests have shown that a velocity of 3500 fpm is necessary in order to keep the dust particles suspended in the tuburlence of the air stream. Thus, if dust is accumulating in your 4" piping system, going to 6" will make things much worse, whereas a 3" system would work much better. This concept seems to be impossible for many to grasp.

In a nutshell, the DC3300 works because it satisfies the two real requirements for a dust collector. It provides the necessary velocity as described above, and has enough cfm capacity to take the chips away as fast as the machine creates them. The real test is on my Pro-Planer. The DC3300 sucks up almost all the dust and chips even when I'm planing wide boards.

Now the higher HP units also work because they produce enough cfm to keep the velocity a 3500 fpm in larger diameter pipes. However, for a small home shop this is "overkill", not to mention the extra electrical requirements and a noise level that the rest of the family in the house will hate.

It is unfortunate that many home shop woodworker/hobbiests are installing dust collection systems that are more appropriate for larger shops with more than one machine working at a time. The DC3300 deserves more attention and consideration.

I will have to agree with the others. Save your money, and buy the adapter.

8iowa wrote:I've virtually given up describing the DC3300 on the Lumberjocks forum. The other members simply cannot understand how a dust collector with a 1/2 HP motor and 2 1/2" hoses can do the job.

Magazines, with their reviews, that often seem to support their advertisers, give home shop woodworkers the impression that we must have at least a 2 HP unit with cumbersome 6" and 4" ductwork on the walls and ceiling. They fail to mention the electrical requirements, which are lacking in most home shops, and also neglect the very important issue of the high noise level of practically all of these higher HP dust collectors on the market.

Perhaps the most "popular" mis-conceptin is the air flow issue. After all, wouldn't your dust collector serve you better with a 4" hose rather than 2 1/2". Perhaps many woodworkers cannot grasp the fact that the velocity of the air flow DECREASES as to the square of the increase in pipe diameter. Tests have shown that a velocity of 3500 fpm is necessary in order to keep the dust particles suspended in the tuburlence of the air stream. Thus, if dust is accumulating in your 4" piping system, going to 6" will make things much worse, whereas a 3" system would work much better. This concept seems to be impossible for many to grasp.

In a nutshell, the DC3300 works because it satisfies the two real requirements for a dust collector. It provides the necessary velocity as described above, and has enough cfm capacity to take the chips away as fast as the machine creates them. The real test is on my Pro-Planer. The DC3300 sucks up almost all the dust and chips even when I'm planing wide boards.

Now the higher HP units also work because they produce enough cfm to keep the velocity a 3500 fpm in larger diameter pipes. However, for a small home shop this is "overkill", not to mention the extra electrical requirements and a noise level that the rest of the family in the house will hate.

It is unfortunate that many home shop woodworker/hobbiests are installing dust collection systems that are more appropriate for larger shops with more than one machine working at a time. The DC3300 deserves more attention and consideration.

I agree. I do not have a DC3300 but would not mind having one. I really like quiet... I "possibly" need the 4 inch lines for my 5 HP Foley/Belsaw planer if I was hogging down a bunch of rough cut lumber on the first pass since it throws a huge flow of large chips. I can not feature an other job where the size and sheer bulk of chips would require a full 4" hose. I don't know for sure on the planer because any time I was doing that kind of planning I had the planer either outside or aimed toward the door and not collecting the chips. I would have had to empty the bag every few ninutes. As it was I was clearing them with a scoop shovel.
I have the 2 HP HF collector and a 1 1/2 HP collector the is about the same. A brother-in-law bought a 1 HP collector that was like the HF but scaled down a little and while it moves a lot of air and dust it only makes about half of the noise.

I picked up a DC3300 last summer in a divorce sale if you know what I mean. He left she sold. Best deal I have picked up. Made all the difference in my shop works great on two tools at once and makes very little noise. I do not regret picking it up or it's size for the work it does.