Kapex Dust Collection

[ccarrolladams]

Ever since I opened my new shop I have discussed my approaches to dust collection on our primary Kapex.

That is my oldest Kapex, one I purchased the first day possible in the USA. It is bolted to a custom bench backed up to a wall. The Kapex is in the middle of a line of saws. A Hitachi C10FCM miter saw is 6' to the left of the Kapex. A General V-154 14" radial arm saw is 6' to the right of the Kapex. The benches under those saws are designed such that the bed height is uniform all along the line. The back rest of all is also in a line, That bench continues 8' past the Hitachi and the General, so dealing with long lengths of lumber is no problem. Behind all three saws there is a typical shop DC shroud. All three dust shrouds have dampers controlled by switches, so they can be opened when a saw is about to be used. The Hitachi and the General have flexible 50mm hoses connecting their dust collection ports to the main DC sustem.

The Kapex has a dedicated Festool dust extractor, attached to it with a 36mm AS hose. In early January we received our Dust Deputy. Because the working height of the bench limits vertical room, the Dust Deputy is on its own shelf between the CT22 and the Kapex. The CT22 connects to the Dust Deputy with a 50mm AS hose. The Kapex and the CT22 are connected to separate dedicated 20a 120v single ph circuits. I have never had a problem letting the CT22 run continuously while making a series of cuts on the Kapex.

On the other side of our shop, in the face frame area, a Kapex belonging to that cabinet maker is bolted to an MFT/3- Kapex stand. Just behind that is a DC shroud. Another of my CT22 is dedicated to that Kapex. Based on the success of the first Dust Deputy another Dust Deputy is on order for this Kapex.

My second Kapex is on a rolling bench we built since it is moved all over the shop. That also has a dedicated CT22, but no dust shroud. So far the amount of bags used by this Kapex is modest and adding a Dust Deputy would require a redesign of the rolling bench.

 

[Pdevore]

It sounds like you have a very nice setup. I am turning (Festool) Green with envy. Boy do I want a Kapex. That being said, did I miss a question in your post?

Pete

 

[ccarrolladams]

For my shop, the Kapex is absolutely vital. Making top quality face frames requires the same precision of joint as does fine furniture making. Because some joints are at eye level in bright light joints in face frames often get more attention from clients.

Of course in a large shop not every cut requires a Kapex. Sometimes we are dealing with very large raw planks, for which that 14" General RA saw is ideal. After the plank is reduced and milled, then the Kapex will make final cuts. There are also some cuts in smaller wood where the Hitachi is more than good enough.

I personally believe in a super clean and dust-reduced shop. My long experience is it is more efficient to spend extra on dust collection than to use extra labor doing manual cleaning up later. My thinking is I have no payroll cost of machines and they do not receive overtime or health insurance.

It was a marvelous bonus last fall when several CT22 in marvelous condition came on the market in Los Angeles at attractive prices. Back in 2006 I decided on the CT22 as a compromise between saving some space and cost of bags. For example it was easier to place a CT22 under a bench. Then later it made sense to me to only stock one size of bag.

Our most recent new CT is a CT36, which is working out very well. That is the one we take on location despite the size. Since the supply of lightly used CT22 seems to be drying up, I anticipate buying more CT36 as time goes on. With the large shop DC system dealing well with the fixed-location major tools, to me it makes sense to bring CT to tools within that capacity.

Besides a Felder tilting arbor shaper with power feed and a mid-size molder, we have two router tables with non-Festool routers. Those are attached to the shop DC system.