Converting a Cen-Tec hose to a D36 Festool hose

[venom.jacqueline]

I needed another D36 hose for my Kapex, and I really didn't want to buy a $180 Festool hose, just to cut it down for better dust extraction. So, since I already had a Cen-Tec hose, I tried to see if I could use the Festool D36 bayonet end sleeve on it, and it does work! It's obviously not as nice as the real hose, but for miter saw duty it will work fine.

With this, you can make a 10ft D36 hose for about $80.

The parts you'll need are:

• Cen-Tec hose:https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07P8WBRM2/
• D36 Bayonet Coupling sleeve (part number 500670):https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B079S5F2RL
• Optionally, 1.5" braided sleeving:https://www.amazon.com/100ft-Expandable-Braided-Sleeving-braided/dp/B075QD7RP6

I tried to post images but it didn't seem to work, so I'll try to describe it. The Cen-Tec hose with its end is wrapped in the sleeving, and the sleeving is taped to the Cen-Tec end to keep it in place. Then, both sides of the Festool coupling sleeve capture the Cen-Tec end, with the sleeving going under the sleeve end ring. This results in a look almost identical to the real D36 hose.

 

[venom.jacqueline]

Here is a photo album of it:https://imgur.com/a/L8M2WV0

 

[venom.jacqueline]

Also, I tried this with the coupling sleeve of my D27 hose, and it does not work, the hose is too big. However, they do sell an adapter that converts D36 to D27 if you want to use this with a Domino, sander, etc.https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00EZ0GS7U

 

[NiteWalkerGR]

Nice job. That adapter end works with the bosch vac005 hose as well. I already had the bosch hose in my shop and wanted to adapt it to use with my ts55 and ct midi. Works great.

 

[smorgasbord]

I just recently purchased a Cen-Tec kit and found that the adapters that come with it were a pretty nice match with most of my tools.

I am, however, looking for something to fit by Domino XL 700.

Would this Festool end (https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B079S5F2RL ) be something I could put a Cen-Tec adapter on (maybe with a hose clamp) and then I'd have an easy to way to connect that up as well? It's $28, which is more than an assortment of Cen-Tech adapters would be....

View attachment 1

 

[TinyShop]

Let's dispel a myth. There is no such thing as a 36mm hose. The standard is 35mm. Festool calls their hose 36mm in an brazen attempt (largely successful given that a sucker is born every minute) to hoodwink consumers into the false notion that only their hose(s) and fitting(s) can be used with Festool machines. Anyone needing fittings for a Festool "36mm" hose need look no further than 35mm fittings. All the Bosch, Starmix (so Metabo, earlier Bosch, etc.) hoses and fittings work with the small Festool dust ports and the large Festool dust ports and are interchangeable with Festool-branded fittings (they should be - they're identical!). The beauty of sticking with the 35mm standard is that fittings are available that supply either the small tool end (for the small ports) or the large tool end (for the large dust ports) - meaning you don't need two hoses - and the non-Festool branded gear is half the price of Festool (and, in the case of Nilfisk, Metabo, early-Bosch, etc.) are made in the same factory. Of course, in all of this, I'm referring to ribbed hoses. I've no experience with the new braided hose

 

[woodbutcherbower]

Of course, in all of this, I'm referring to ribbed hoses. I've no experience with the new braided hoses. Snip.

They're in a different league to anything else out there. Smooth, non-snagging, super-flexible, easy to coil up, completely antistatic, and they enable everything to get done without feeling like you're wrestling with a boa constrictor which has early-onset rigor mortis kicking in. I similarly once perceived the price as being outrageous, but having bit the bullet, IMO they're worth every cent.

 

[Crazyraceguy]

I can add that the new (black) hose that comes with the CT-15 is far better than the older ribbed ones. It's nowhere near the braided A/S ones as far as snag resistance, but it is also a lot less of an angry snake in the flexibility aspect.
I have one of the silver/gray Cen-tec units "permanently" mounted under the router table though. It was a cheap spare for a specific purpose and has served me well.