Reducing the suction power from my Shop Vac

[austinmark]

My 125 ETS shows up at the end of the week, and I'd like to be ready to use it this weekend. With my budget being stretched to get the 125, there was no way to convince the wife to let me also get the Festool dust extractor. I'll have to make due for the while with my 4.5hp Shop Vac -- or is it 5hp? (I'm at work, not standing in front of it.)

The Festool rep said to be careful of using a standard Shop Vac because of its tendency to suck the sander onto the wood more than the Festool dust extractor. Does anyone have a good tip for reducing the suction from the Shop Vac to a level more appropriate for the sander?

Your tips are greatly appreciated.

Mark

 

[Mattywhit]

Fit a tee into the suction hose and alter size of opening in the tee.

 

[woodie]

You should be able to connect the vac to a router speed controller. Harbor Freight has one for $20.00.

http://www.harborfreight.com/router-speed-control-43060.html

woodie

 

[austinmark]

Those are great tips. Has anyone else tried the router controller method?

Also, regarding the T -- do you mean to cover the opening of the T with tape or something?

 

[Jerry White]

Take a look at this adaptation of a Fein vac to reduce suction.  Pretty much what Matty said.

http://festoolownersgroup.com/festool-tools-accessories/fein-vs-festool/msg21184/#msg21184

 

[rjwz28]

Mark, I got the same sander and what I did was to drill holes in the inlet of my Ridgid vac and then I put a wide rubber band to covert the holes when I want full suction and moved it away when I wanted less.

Rob

 

[Mattywhit]

Those are great tips. Has anyone else tried the router controller method?

Also, regarding the T -- do you mean to cover the opening of the T with tape or something?

Yes or as mentioned in post above, your just making a less resistive route,

 

[austinmark]

Thanks, everyone. Y'all are fast!!!

I think that I'll shoot for an adapter to go on the end of the Shop Vac hose that fits the 125, and poke a hole in that. That way, I can leave that adapter with the sander and not have to damage my hose.

If this works, I'll post pics.

Thanks for the help.

 

[tbellemare]

What part of Austin?

Tom

 

[semenza]

Thanks, everyone. Y'all are fast!!!
I think that I'll shoot for an adapter to go on the end of the Shop Vac hose that fits the 125, and poke a hole in that. That way, I can leave that adapter with the sander and not have to damage my hose.

If this works, I'll post pics.

Thanks for the help.

Hi Mark,

Welcome to the FOG!  [smile]

We're known for that  [thumbs up]

Seth

 

[austinmark]

Oh, I know. I've been a long-time lurker.

And Tom, I live in Rosedale. You sold me my 12V drill a year or two back. I come up with so many things to use it for, it's approaching comical. In fact, I used it once in reverse with an old bit to open an old bottle of Shiner. Turns out, that's an effective, yet wasteful, manner in which to open a beer.

 

[UncleJoe]

I had a similar issue with my craftsman shop vac. I found this at Lowes, other places carry similar items.

The cost is $10 and change. The red band rotates and there is an opening underneath. You can rotate the band and it exposes the opening. You can use as much or as little as you need to fine tune the suction. I placed mine on the intake to my rockler vortex but you could as easily place it right at the vacuum.

This is simple, easy, cheap, and can be removed in seconds. What more could you ask.

 

[austinmark]

I tried to find something at Lowe's -- thinking their Shop Vac accessories aisle might give me the best shot -- but no dice. I ended up with two stretches of clear vinyl tubing that should connect the Shop Vac to the sander while also not inhibiting my range of motion. I'll try this week to drill some tiny holes and see how it works.

Pics and summary to follow, of course.

 

[BitingTheDust]

http://www.rockler.com/product.cfm?page=22079