Making Your Own Lifetime/Self-Cleaning Bag for CT22

[TheSergeant]

Hi guys, new the to world of Festool and the forum.  I have several friends who have been trying to get my on board with Festool so when a 'package' came up for sale recently on craigslist I had to jump on it.  Picked up a ATF55, ETS 150/3, PSB300, CT22E and some other accessory kits.  Needless to say, I'm impressed.

Anyway, I was cleaning out my CT22 figured it was probably a good time to change the filter/bag since I didn't know how much use it had seen in it's prior life.  I went in search of one of the self cleaning bags and none are available.  Next up was the "Lifetime Bag" for the CT22 but there is no way I can justify $200+ for a cloth bag.  IMO that's insanity given the actual material cost.  It's literally a fabric bag. 

So....I wanted to see if anyone has considered or done this before before I go down this road.....

My plan is to use the fabric from my Jet DC12000's filter and sew together a "self cleaning", washable, lifetime bag.  I plan on  contact cementing and then sewing the fabric directly onto the plastic port from the paper filter (I have an industrial machine capable of sewing directly through heavy gauge plastic),and then sewing the bag together with flat felled seams and a roll top/zipper bottom enclosure for easy emptying.  The seams basically overlap and then fold under each other so it's impossible to get dust leakage  through them. 

Has anyone attempted this? This is probably 30 minutes of work for me and if it means saving $200+ I'm happy to invest it.  Thoughts on the concept?

 

[MGB]

Sounds like it would work to me.

With my fein vac I just cut the end off of single use paper filter bags. Fold the end over and slide a piece of 1" pvc with a slit cut in it.

I'll get half a dozen uses out of a bag this way. But a cloth bag would be alot better.

 

[#Tee]

get a dust deputy and basically never worry about replacing bags forever until youre ultimately dead

 

[jbasen]

The oneida ultimate dust deputy (UDD) works great and is designed to specifically work with Festool vacuums.

You can also look at cloth vacuum bags from matmax.co.uk. They have inexpensive reusable bags for Festool vacuums and will ship to the US

 

[canadamike]

Hi guys, new the to world of Festool and the forum.  I have several friends who have been trying to get my on board with Festool so when a 'package' came up for sale recently on craigslist I had to jump on it.  Picked up a ATF55, ETS 150/3, PSB300, CT22E and some other accessory kits.  Needless to say, I'm impressed.

Anyway, I was cleaning out my CT22 figured it was probably a good time to change the filter/bag since I didn't know how much use it had seen in it's prior life.  I went in search of one of the self cleaning bags and none are available.  Next up was the "Lifetime Bag" for the CT22 but there is no way I can justify $200+ for a cloth bag.  IMO that's insanity given the actual material cost.  It's literally a fabric bag. 

So....I wanted to see if anyone has considered or done this before before I go down this road.....

My plan is to use the fabric from my Jet DC12000's filter and sew together a "self cleaning", washable, lifetime bag.  I plan on  contact cementing and then sewing the fabric directly onto the plastic port from the paper filter (I have an industrial machine capable of sewing directly through heavy gauge plastic),and then sewing the bag together with flat felled seams and a roll top/zipper bottom enclosure for easy emptying.  The seams basically overlap and then fold under each other so it's impossible to get dust leakage  through them. 

Has anyone attempted this? This is probably 30 minutes of work for me and if it means saving $200+ I'm happy to invest it.  Thoughts on the concept?

This is a great idea. I work on site with a CT33 (old model) and the guys are using the vac all the time. Last week I had 2 guys sanding about 3000 ft of cedar with an RO150, attached to the CT. We are emptying the bags, but I think we'll get 3-4 uses before the seal falls apart. Just to clarify, I am on a jobsite, not a hobby shop. The needs will be different depending on your application...

 

[OttawaP]

I've cut a section of the standard bag out at the end, about 4" . Wrapped the fabric around a piece of pex piping,  then wrapped a slit piece of pex around the two as a clamp. Works great. Easily dumps around and makes a standard bag reuseable many times.

 

[Stonesfan64]

The pex piping sounds like a great solution to get more uses out of a paper bag.  Do you have any pictures you can share?

 

[TheSergeant]

I ended up making the bag several months ago but just realized I never posted photos.  Here are a few.  The new bag works wonderfully and is quick and easy to empty.

 

[Stonesfan64]

Thanks for sharing the pics!  Looks like high quality to match your dust extractor.  Have you considered making any of these to sell?  I have a CT26 and have been considering buy the long life bag but finding it hard to spend over $200+ for a bag.