Sticker shock

[erikfsn]

I'm aware that Festool prices are high, but I have bought a number of their tools because I think they are fairly priced for what they do. After hooking my CT22 up to my Makita thickness planer and seeing how quickly the bags filled up, I was getting ready to buy a reusable vacuum bag. I thought one might cost $100 and was ready to shell out for one. Well I was wrong, try $200. For a vacuum bag. Christ.

 

[sw1211]

I would go for a mini-cyclone instead.  Did you see the new one Oneida is coming out with, specifically for Festool?

 

[Neill]

I'm aware that Festool prices are high, but I have bought a number of their tools because I think they are fairly priced for what they do. After hooking my CT22 up to my Makita thickness planer and seeing how quickly the bags filled up, I was getting ready to buy a reusable vacuum bag. I thought one might cost $100 and was ready to shell out for one. Well I was wrong, try $200. For a vacuum bag. Christ.

Erik,

I am not avoiding your issue about Festool prices, but I would suggest that a regular dust collector would be more useful.  I have a DeWalt planer and it produces a large amount of dust.  I cannot imagine that a vac hose would not jam with all that dust, so you have been fortunate from that point of view.

I bought a Delta 1hp (not sure about any of the other details) about 10 years ago for something like $250 back then.  It works well.  I use a Y with blast gates and reducers so I can use 4" or 2 1/2" hoses.  I use it with my planer, drum sander and jointer.  I used to use it with my table saw before I moved things around in my workshop.

So I am thinking that for maybe $100 or so more than a reuseable bag, you could have a real dust collector.

Neill

Neill

 

[Jesus Aleman]

A year ago I was trying to decide whether buying a dust deputy or the long life bag.  I went for the DD. No regrets.  I even use this setup with my planer and it works great.  I have replaced the bag only once after a year of heavy planing and power tooling.

JGA.

 

[jonny round boy]

As some have said already, the Festool vacs are designed for hand-held power tools, not stationary machines like thicknessers.

You'd be better off with a regular DC with 4" hose.

 

[erikfsn]

Thanks for the replies, I'll look into that. I'd forgotten how much dust  planers make. Or maybe I never knew. The planer I remember using most was at a boat yard I worked at, a big old 24" one which was of course hooked up to a dust collection system so I never saw the dust.
I remember the sound that thing made though, very impressive.

 

[sw1211]

If you need a dust collector that is on the smaller side check out one that Rockler came out with.  They have a number of very useful attachments too.  They also have a 4" hose that expands and coils back up when not in use.

 

[Wood_Junkie]

A thickness planer but portable CT vacuum is just asking for trouble.

A planer is basically the main reason I wound up getting a full sized dust collector, as I had subsisted for a long time using a 6hp shop vac.  It did fine with all the other tools (well, it struggled a bit with the jointer), but the planer absolutely clogged it up in no time.

A thickness planer produces an amazing amount of chips and dust.  Consider that a 10" wide piece, that 12" long, and taking off 1/16" per pass produces 7.5" *cubic inches* of waste, in just a few seconds.

I got a portable (from HF) like that Rockler one.  Worked great for a planer (and jointer!), and costs far less than that bag you researched.  GL!

 

[Brice Burrell]

Erik, I hear you on the price of the reusable bag. I think the cyclone is a good option but it has its downside too, they are a bit cumbersome to move around. The Festool reusable bag gives you to keep the freedom of easy transport. I've not purchased one because they really aren't intended to be used for fine dust like that from sanders. 

 

[AlexThePalex]

Sticker shock ....... welcome to a huge part of my whole Festool experience.

But for your application the Festool vacs aren't really the best and like people said, you need a big dust collector.

Btw, I think the long life bag is just fine for use with sanders. I was very lucky to get one with my used CTL22 for a total of 250 euro. I am so incredibly pleased with the fact that I don't need to shell out 8 euro for each normal dust bag. But if I had to buy the long life bag myself, anew, I would have never bought it.

 

[Dan Clermont]

You have to look at the Long Life Filter bag as a long term purchase. Up here in Canada a box of 5 disposable bags for the CT 22 are around $38 ($7.60 each).

The Long Life bag is about $240 and good for 500 fills. Works out to about 50 cents a fill or 1/15th the cost over the long run.

Dan Clermont

 

[WarnerConstCo.]

But you have to take it out and empty it.

Kind of defeats the purpose of dust collection at the tool.

Hack, hack, cough, cough, just dumping my bag.

 

[Tezzer]

No cough cough in emptying the long life bag. It takes two minutes and is 100% dust free to empty.

 

[AlexThePalex]

But you have to take it out and empty it.

Kind of defeats the purpose of dust collection at the tool.

Hack, hack, cough, cough, just dumping my bag.

It is not at all as you make it sound. I wouldn't say it's 100% dust free emptying the bag but there's not a big cloud coming of it. And why would you say that defeats the purpose of dust collection at the tool? That's not true at all. Emptying the bag gives you a 1 minute exposure to dust while working with a tool will expose you all day. That's quite a difference, don't you think?

Further more, you can wear a dust mask when you empty the bag, like I do. But still, there's nothing wrong about being exposed to dust once in a while, incidentally. What is far worse is being exposed to dust for a long time, constantly. You'll get more dust in your lungs sitting an evening at home than in the one minute you empty the bag.

 

[tDot]

But you have to take it out and empty it.

Kind of defeats the purpose of dust collection at the tool.

Hack, hack, cough, cough, just dumping my bag.

Just dont empty the bag in the middle of your clients home, then it isnt anywhere near as irritating as not having dust collection at the tool.  Ha... just kidding.

I'll agree that it is mildly irritating to empty the bags, but I think overall, it is still a better experience then stocking replacement bags, driving to buy new bags, cursing when I dont have replacement bags on-hand, trying to empty the paper bags for re-use, etc.

I have one vac with a replaceable bag and one with a long-life.  I try to only use the replaceable bag vac for sanding.  Everything else goes in the long-life vac.  If I only had one vac, it would have the long life.

 

[woodwreck]

Don't mean to pile on, but having "been there, done that," right down the road from you here in CC County. NO vacuum cleaner will hand the volume - don't need a big cyclone either - a 1 H.P. DC will do the job, and a separator with it (aka garbage can) will leave the bags lasting for 8 mos.

 

[butzla]

Howz about this in lieu of a reusable bag:

Dust Deputy for Festool Vacs

 

[waynelang2001]

Has anyone ever thought of making there own dust bag?? maybe not a material bag but a box of some kind, you just that the fitting off the paper bag and fit it somehow. Just a thought. [scratch chin]

 

[Alex2]

Howz about this in lieu of a reusable bag:

Dust Deputy for Festool Vacs

do you have to buy the 5' hose or is it included in the 229$ price ?

Alex

 

[Corwin]

do you have to buy the 5' hose or is it included in the 229$ price ?
Alex

It's included in the $229 price.