Dust Collection / Extraction
In woodworking there is one thing you can be absolutely sure of. If you are doing it right, you will be creating dust. And in a lot of cases, wood chips too. There are far more details needed to full y make your choices but if you keep it simple it can often at least get you started in the right direction.
In my experience most workshops will need 2 types of dust extraction / collection. One for larger producers of chips such as planers / thicknessers and one for everything that will produce finer dust such as sanders and the smaller table saws. (larger table saws may benefit from the first style of extractor.)
But this is not all, you will also probably need something to clean the particles in the air that are not collected at source and even then, I recommend a dust mask.
So I have 3 main machines. The Vacuum, for the finer dust, the chip collector for the larger producers and my hanging filter.
I will link these below but there will soon be a video explaining my choices which I will link once it is ready.
Oh, yes and it doesnt hurt to have a smaller vacuum for cleanups either away from your workshop or just around it as needed.
The Festool Midi CTM was chosen simply because I wanted one of the best. And it helps that it is reasonably small. I dont mind the smaller capacity as I run it through a cyclone collector. This is a serious bit of kit.
Check the size of machine you need to clean the volume of air that your workshop has. This is more than enough for me and not too loud too. Easy to hang and operate.
A well priced workhorse. Nothing special and loud as they come but it can move chips just fine. A great starter tool. One I plan to upgrade soon, if nothing more than to get a wall hanging one. For that reason the links are to different brands.
All UK links are for products that I have used. US links are the closest I can find. They are recommendations made from my experience, yours may differ.
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Save your vacuum filters and empty your dust less frequently. That is the purpose of a cyclone. Check the size is right and the hoses will fit. You may need to get connectors and adapters. Luckily there are people 3-D printing them these days. Then all you need is a barrel or box to collect the debris beneath the cyclone.
I bought this for dust extraction. It’s not ideal. But for cleaning on the go it works. Leave the dust extraction to specialist tools.