On Steve Cole's recommendation I bought a Fein dust extractor. It's the smallest one, right-sized for my small shop. I wanted to make it two-stage and have the lowest overall footprint and height possible.
I bought a Ridgid Dustopper a few years ago but never got around to making a cart to use it with my Ridgid shop vac.
Here's the finished product. Nice and compact, much smaller than the Ridgid and waaay quieter.
It's just two pieces of 1/2" plywood glued together. I traced around the top of the machine and cut it on the band saw, then hit it with a roundover bit. The "ears" serve as handles.
There is an inner lip formed by the second piece of plywood. It's a nice fit, but still seemed too "tippy" when pushed, so I also added dowels that fit into the three screw access holes by the handle for further stability. The adapter and bucket unit lifts out easily. Thanks to the close fit of the top and the extra support from the dowels, I can push the whole unit around the shop by the top of the bucket—I don't have to bend down and push the extractor itself which is only knee-high.
The bucket is held down by a single T-track bolt and a wing nut. The round piece of 1/2" ply acts as a giant washer.
It's very easy to empty. I put a small trash bag over the bucket, hold onto the bag and the ears simultaneously, flip, and voila. Done.
I'm shopping for a stronger bucket. The dust extractor collapses the Home Depot bucket if anything blocks the nozzle for a second.
I bought a Ridgid Dustopper a few years ago but never got around to making a cart to use it with my Ridgid shop vac.
Here's the finished product. Nice and compact, much smaller than the Ridgid and waaay quieter.
It's just two pieces of 1/2" plywood glued together. I traced around the top of the machine and cut it on the band saw, then hit it with a roundover bit. The "ears" serve as handles.
There is an inner lip formed by the second piece of plywood. It's a nice fit, but still seemed too "tippy" when pushed, so I also added dowels that fit into the three screw access holes by the handle for further stability. The adapter and bucket unit lifts out easily. Thanks to the close fit of the top and the extra support from the dowels, I can push the whole unit around the shop by the top of the bucket—I don't have to bend down and push the extractor itself which is only knee-high.
The bucket is held down by a single T-track bolt and a wing nut. The round piece of 1/2" ply acts as a giant washer.
It's very easy to empty. I put a small trash bag over the bucket, hold onto the bag and the ears simultaneously, flip, and voila. Done.
I'm shopping for a stronger bucket. The dust extractor collapses the Home Depot bucket if anything blocks the nozzle for a second.
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