Simple, dedicated dust solution for DEWALT planer?

[impecunious]

Hi guys,

It's getting to the point with my hobby that I think I need to add a power planer.  I have my eye on the popular DEWALT 735 planer, and so based on this unit in particular I have a question.

Because this planer has a powered fan that apparently really blows out the chunks & dust with significant force, my assumption is that hooking this up to a vac of any kind may be unnecessary, especially one that's right beside it.  I definitely have no intention of using my CT 26 for this job, either.  I've also heard a lot about the Dust Deputy approach (which I know next to nothing about), but given the planer fan's force, I've also heard stories of it being difficult to keep the lid of these things on.

Coming full circle, I guess my question is this... would a clean, simple solution be to hook up this DEWALT planer to a Dust Deputy, rigged solidly somehow to handle this fan force, and then put some kind of a very fine micron (1?) filter & bag on the exhaust end of the Deputy?  In other words, do I really have to spring for one of those traditional dust collector setups by Jet or whoever in order to effectively control the chips AND dust of this planer, or can I take this different approach if I have no other use for a collector?  I'm able to get by just fine with my CT 26 vac for all my other tasks for now, and I'm very reluctant to take up any more floor space than I have to.  But at the same time, I'd like to be able to control the chips & dust as much as I possibly can similar to what I enjoy with Festool.

If what I'm describing would work, can you suggest any specific parts or kit that I can use for this?

Thanks for steering me right, guys!

 

[copcarcollector]

[member=28483]iamnothim[/member] Has a collection bag attached to his Dewalt planer, see the picture. Maybe he can chime in on its effectiveness or any tweaks he has made to this set up since this photo was taken:

[attachimg=1]

 

[toadjeep]

Are you going to have the planer stationary or mobile?

I roll mine out into the driveway and use the dewalt trash can accessory. It's a 4" hose with an cloth material that wraps around the top of a trash can. I use a 30 gal can and line it with a trash bag then place the cover over the top. I use spring clamps to hold it down cause the force of the fan can blow it off along with a bunch of saw dust.  I milled a bunch of cedar last summer and it worked perfectly.

 

[jbasen]

You are correct that the Dewalt has a fan and does blow out particles with a decent amount of force.  The thing to remember is that when you hook it up to a simple cloth bag that all that air being blown has to go somewhere so your bag needs to be porous.  As the air moves thorough the pores in the bag it will carry with it the small dust particles that are very damaging to your lungs.  [eek]

So, yes you can hook the 735 up to a simple cloth bag to collect the the dust but I don't believe it is really a good idea.  I hook my 735 up to a Jet dust collector with a canister filter.

 

[impecunious]

[member=49031]toadjeep[/member], I guess I could plane my lumber outside.  I like being self-sufficient inside my garage, of course, but as a simple alternative your idea might do the job for now.  The only downside I can see is that those DEWALT trashcan-top hose bags seem to be unavailable these days, so I'd have to do some digging to find one.

[member=18233]jbasen[/member], thanks for the comment about the fine dust.  My understanding is that planers in general spit out more chunks of wood than fine dust, but I guess your point is that it's still enough dust to worry about.

I know that Dust Deputy makes a Festool-mounted, 9-gallon Systainer-shaped option that slides onto the top of Festool vacs for convenience.  It's a little pricey (probably because they know how much Festool guys spend!), but could I hook this up between the planer and my CT 26, and just not turn the CT 26 on at all?  Most of the wood volume should fill up the Dust Deputy container first (so the theory goes), and because of the planer's fan I shouldn't have to turn on the CT vac.  My sense from browsing the FOG is that this is a relatively newer setup, so many people may not be familiar with it, but I'd love to know if this would work instead and eliminate the dust concern.

My garage circuit can only handle 2400 watts, so if for some reason the CT 26 vac also has to be on at the same time as the planer (again, other reviews suggest it doesn't have to be), I'd have to do some electrical work.  Not the end of the world, and in fact maybe necessary in the future, but for now I'd like to avoid it.

The only downside to this approach that I can see is that the Festool-specific Dust Deputy container is only 9 gallons.  My guess is that I'd fill that up after planing only a few boards, but for the volume I do on weekends, that's probably manageable.  The upside here is that I'd have a convenient solution to also use for Festool sanding operations and I wouldn't have to take up any more floor space.

 

[Bohdan]

If you don't turn on the CT you will get better performance by removing it and just aiming the exhaust of the DD out a door or window with a length of PVC pipe.

 

[Nestor]

You can use the standard Dust Deputy with the CT26. It performs the same function, just not as elegantly.
I bought the non-Festool DD for my CT26 and it works fine.

 

[c_dwyer]

For my older version of the DeWalt, I used some scraps to build a basic mobile cart that holds a spare vacuum and a large bucket (10 gal?) that has a screw cap.  Added a cyclone that I picked up on sale and a hose, and it seems to do just fine with the bonus of having another platform that I can use to pile even more miscellaneous stuff on.

As the planer chips are large, the filter I have in the spare vacuum does the job, and all I need is something that provides suction. I only have a midi, and like to keep that under the bench and available for other stuff.

 

[c_dwyer]

Oh yeah, sorry.  The top has a slot that allows me to slide the bucket and cyclone out when it gets up there.

 

[semenza]

I am probably going to be getting a DW735 soon. I have a question related to DC on the 735. I was looking at the port in a store. It appears that even with a 4" hose attached the actual port opening is still only a 2 1/2"  shop vac size. What I could see looked like a smaller port with a 4" outer ring but no openings between the smaller and larger rings for the hose attachment. Is that piece removable? Or is the port always limited to a 2 1/2" actual opening regardless of what size hose is attached?

Seth

 

[jbasen]

Yes the holes are only within the 2 1/2" port opening.  Otherwise, if you hooked a 2 1/2" hose up then chips would be blown out around the hose.  That being said the internal fan is pretty powerful and pushes the chips/dust out at a pretty amazing rate.  Personally I think hooking up a 4" hose is the best solution. 

 

[semenza]

Yes the holes are only within the 2 1/2" port opening.  Otherwise, if you hooked a 2 1/2" hose up then chips would be blown out around the hose.  That being said the internal fan is pretty powerful and pushes the chips/dust out at a pretty amazing rate.  Personally I think hooking up a 4" hose is the best solution.

Yes, I currently have a 4" on an older, in need of repair DW planer. That port seems like an odd solution to the normal reducer that would go on a 4" port. But maybe with the fan in the 735 the large opening just isn't needed.

Seth

 

[Cheese]

This discussion got me thinking so I went downstairs and took some photos.

The first photo shows the size of the dust particles in side the bag of a Jet DC with a filter cartridge. There's always been lots of discussion about the chips from a planer being large, however, this is a bag full of the smaller sized variety.

The second photo:
The Dewalt puts out a ton of air pressure...if I fire up the DW735 before I start the Jet DC, the 735 will blow off the 4" port cover on the DC. So it's usually turn on the DC first and then turn on the 735.

[attachimg=1]

[attachimg=2]

 

[Jamestoolie]

Also depends on how often you're going to use the planer.  As in are you going to purchase rough lumber and mill it yourself or are you planning on purchasing already dimensioned lumber?  Whatever option you go with make sure emptying the chips is convenient because you will be surprised how often the contain fills with chips and sawdust. 

 

[JBag09]

I have had this planer for a few years now. Amongst all the money I've spent on Festool, I'd have to say this is probably the worst money I've spent. I liked my old Delta 12 1/2" planer better just because you could adjust it enough to get rid of snipes. But since it was no longer made and I needed parts for it, I figured I couldn't go wrong with the Dewalt. It has the 2 speeds which I like. The fan (which is plastic, and I've replaced it once, as well as the housing) is very powerful. I have mine go through 6"&4" pipe into the plastic dust deputy. (I forget the exact name, same size as the metal one) It goes into a 30 gallon garbage can. You'd definitely be surprised how fast I fill that up. But it does work great. Have only emptied the bag twice in 2 yrs on my DC. You could hook your CT26 to the other end of the DD if you can get fittings to work, very little dust comes out, until you fill the garbage can.
  I wish I could recommend another planer to you. My main problem, besides the plastic parts, is I'm so used to the industrial machines at work, this just seems so slow since I always buy rough lumber. Other than the snipes and the time, it does get the job done.

 

[impecunious]

Update:  I called Oneida this morning to explain my potential setup (the DEWALT planer, some kind of Dust Deputy, and no vacuum given the planer's blower) and to ask for advice.  The Oneida girl asked a good question:  what kind of CFM does the DEWALT planer put out?

I had no idea, and neither the DEWALT manual nor Google clearly answer this either.  The reason she asked, of course, is because the "normal" Dust Deputy models as well as the Ultimate version for Festool are best for a range of 50 to 150 CFM, tops.  So I called DEWALT, and according to them, the planer puts out "approximately 400" CFM... quite a step up in CFM.

Oneida does make a line of Super Dust Deputy models that can handle from 350 to (I think) 850 CFM or so, and Oneida seems to think that this size of Deputy would be best for the planer.  But I also seem to recall several photos & videos of guys who have the 735 planer and who've only used one of the "normal", smaller Dust Deputy mentioned above.

For those of you with the DEWALT 735 planer and one of these Dust Deputies, does the "normal" version do the job or would the bigger version be better?  I'd kind of hate to have one size Dust Deputy for just my planer and then down the line pick up a smaller one to run with my Festool vac & gear... but I may not have a choice if I want this planer dust collection to work well.

 

[jeh]

Yes the holes are only within the 2 1/2" port opening.  Otherwise, if you hooked a 2 1/2" hose up then chips would be blown out around the hose.  That being said the internal fan is pretty powerful and pushes the chips/dust out at a pretty amazing rate.  Personally I think hooking up a 4" hose is the best solution.

Yes, I currently have a 4" on an older, in need of repair DW planer. That port seems like an odd solution to the normal reducer that would go on a 4" port. But maybe with the fan in the 735 the large opening just isn't needed.

Seth

Not to hijack the thread, but I must say that the 735 is a top-notch portable (barely) planer. You will need the infeed and outfeed tables. I have a full-size planer, but often use this on smaller pieces. It works great on larger lumber and I used it on lumber of all sizes until I bought a full-sized one. Whatever you do don't buy the DW734. It's not near as good.

 

[ear3]

Other than the spec-ed features, is there a big difference in performance between the 734 and 735?  I got the 734 a number of years ago when I first starting working with rough lumber, and it has basically suited my needs up to this point, but it's annoying as heck when the boards sometimes don't automatically feed through and I have to push/pull them through the planer.

Yes the holes are only within the 2 1/2" port opening.  Otherwise, if you hooked a 2 1/2" hose up then chips would be blown out around the hose.  That being said the internal fan is pretty powerful and pushes the chips/dust out at a pretty amazing rate.  Personally I think hooking up a 4" hose is the best solution.

Yes, I currently have a 4" on an older, in need of repair DW planer. That port seems like an odd solution to the normal reducer that would go on a 4" port. But maybe with the fan in the 735 the large opening just isn't needed.

Seth

Not to hijack the thread, but I must say that the 735 is a top-notch portable (barely) planer. You will need the infeed and outfeed tables. I have a full-size planer, but often use this on smaller pieces. It works great on larger lumber and I used it on lumber of all sizes until I bought a full-sized one. Whatever you do don't buy the DW734. It's not near as good.

 

[rvieceli]

You have probably done so but try a good cleaning of the rollers. If they really worn you might want to consider replacing them. I think they all have some problems with feeding from time to time

If yours is meeting your needs I don't see a compelling need to upgrade unless you just have a compelling need to spend $600-700.  [wink]

 

[mark60]

I use a 30 gallon fiber drum that I put the Rockler dust component fittings on. I do hook up a Rigid shop vac but it really isn't necessary. A filter bag on the vac side of the drum fittings to catch what little blows through would be adequate. The fan on the 735 blows the chips out without addition suction in my experience.