Reusable Self-Cleaning Filter Bag for CTL Midi

[Svar]

The big question is this. Why doesn’t Festool make cyclone an integral part of the vacuum itself the way it’s done in many household vacuums these days (Dyson comes to mind)? Seems like such an obvious solution in place of bulky mountain of boxes and houses and considering large volume of debris that woodworking generates. Many of these household vacuums have multistage cyclones (far more efficient than Dust Deputy), small washable filters, and suction that will leave CTs green with envy. The truth is cyclone separation comes at a price (pressure loss); on the other hand, it’s not much comparing to a cloged bag.

 

[kcarrig]

Clips and Dowels were a great idea, just finished the modification. Dust deputy is on my list of things to get, but I like to use my MIDI as portable as well so this comes in handy.  I bought some bags a while ago so this will allow me to get allot out of that investment. I am always amazed how the festool vacs do such a great job of filling the bag or container right up to the brim and I don't notice the suction loss until the very end. 

FYI this is my first post. I am thankful to the many great ideas from this forum. I am getting a great collection of festools now and recently completely re-did my shop using many ideas from these forums. I also built mitre stands with extensions one for "on the go" (thx to R. Paulk) and another version similar for the workshop. I built mft feed tables and portable table for cutting large sheets of plywood and panels (thx to Overanalyze). I built systainer carts and cabinets (ideas from the chaos wall, "Guido wall" and sysport discussion forums). These work tables and stands never cease to amaze people when I am setting them up at a worksite. It's fun seeing people crowding around the work tables with the festools and vacuums on them trying to figure out what they are for and how they work.

My wife borrowed my vehicle to go to an estate sale here in Vermont, and pick up some antiques she purchased a few weeks ago. She said some of the people there were very impressed with her "festool fan" sticker on the truck. In fact they were so impressed they helped her load the vehicle with her "finds" which made her very happy. She didn't mention that it wasn't her "festool fan" sticker.

 

[Jason Kehl]

I think that a cylcone would be step backward for Festool. The convenience of just tossing the full bag, putting in a new one and continuing on is tough to beat. No filters or bins to wash and no dust in the air from the process.

The clip and dowel idea is appealing if a person is using a planer extensively. In that case the bag fills up very quckly and with a planer it's mostly large shavings and very little fine dust so emptying and reusing a bag could be beneficial.