Used my CT 26 with my sander today

[bigarm]

Tried my CT 26 with my Makita 5" random orbital sander today.  The connection wasn't perfect, but it certainly made a difference in the amount of dust around the shop.  I am pleasantly pleased.  One of these days I will invest in a Festool sander, but first I want to get an MFT 3 and a 1400 router.  Until then, at least I have a better system than what I was using which was the little bag that came with the sander.  While the bag would fill up, there still seemed to be a ton of dust escaping.

 

[#Tee]

invest in a dust deputy

 

[sae]

[member=57407]bigarm[/member]

Use a copper 3/4" to 1" NPT pipe connector, fits all the Makita sanders perfectly.

 

[Holmz]

invest in a dust deputy

For a 5" RO sander?
I am sure not a belt sander would need a dust deputy.

I thought they were more for a router & saw debris.

 

[#Tee]

invest in a dust deputy

For a 5" RO sander?
I am sure not a belt sander would need a dust deputy.

I thought they were more for a router & saw debris.

i didnt think it was tool/debris dependant but it catches basically everything the ct sucks in. my ct is buried so changing bags + cost isnt my thing to do lol.

 

[Neal W]

I can second the dust deputy.  I have used mine all summer with the track saw, of1400 router, domino, and ETS 150/3 and dTS 400 sanders.  I have dumped more than 15 gallons of sawdust and wood chips and haven't even come close to trying to fill my CT's bag.  (Have a cT Midi, so count how many bags that might have been and the cost of those bags, and the dust deputy has paid for itself in less than 1 year's time). 

I have the $100 version (nested 5 gallon buckets).  Worth every penny.

 

[Holmz]

Back to the topic...
Is the vacuum on full?

I doubt you are going to fill up the bags too quickly. Even talking a mm off of a 1 m^2 surface is only 1 litre of wood, so in dust maybe it is a couple of litres.
A saw makes a 2-mm slot 50-mm deep so you get 100 ml per meter of cut. Maybe that is 1/4 litre in chips.

In any case I can make saw dust (chips) a lot faster than I can make dust with a sander.

The Dust Deputy seem good and I want to get one, just not sure if someone with only a sander would see it helping.

Routers are absolute beasts for chip creation, so the 1400 would quickly warrant a Dust Deputy.

 

[Acrobat]

Tried my CT 26 with my Makita 5" random orbital sander today.  The connection wasn't perfect, but it certainly made a difference in the amount of dust around the shop.  I am pleasantly pleased.  One of these days I will invest in a Festool sander, but first I want to get an MFT 3 and a 1400 router.  Until then, at least I have a better system than what I was using which was the little bag that came with the sander.  While the bag would fill up, there still seemed to be a ton of dust escaping.

Once you get the hose connection sorted you"ll never go back to sanding without it hooked up. I've got so bad that now I even contemplate getting one of the hand sanding blocks that can take a hose. Can't stand the dust even from a little hand sanding now. Welcome to the slippery but clear path to all festool goodies, it never ends. Once you get the Mft3 you may consider a boom arm...and so it goes.

 

[grbmds]

The Dust Deputy might be a good investment for you, but there are mixed reviews concerning its value for hobby woodworkers. I'd try it without for awhile. If you feel you're changing bags too often, then maybe the money for a Dust Deputy is well spent. I use my CT mainly for the Domino, sanders, and routers. I don't feel it fills up quickly enough to warrant the Dust Deputy (any version of it). It's just easier to replace the bags when they are full. Others seem to feel that they fill their CT bags up too quickly and easily get their money's worth by installation of the Dust Deputy. Again, give it a try for awhile without and see.

 

[bigarm]

Thanks fir all the replies.  At some point in time I may invest in a Dust Deputy, but for now just the addition of the CT has been a remarkable improvement.  These Festool tools are like an addicting drug.

 

[Steve-Rice]

You might consider trying Rockler's Dust Right® Universal Small Port Hose Kit, to connect your sander to your CT:
http://www.rockler.com/dust-right-universal-small-port-hose-kit
It works great for me...

 

[JimD]

I don't know anything really about Festool vacuums but I use a dust deputy on my Rigid sander with HEPA filter for two reasons.  Avoidance of emptying the shop vacuum is one but it has no bags so there is no cost for that in my case.  The other reason is I do not cleaning the HEPA filter.  I assume the festool sanders also have a filter so that should apply to them too.  I've emptied at least 15 gallons from the 4.5 gallon mud bucket under the dd and the filter is still clean.  Big advantage.  Sanders may not make a lot of dust but they clog up filters badly.  Sander dust is also fine and thus more likely to lodge in your lungs.  Good to get rid of as much of it as possible. 

 

[Steve-Rice]

I also have a Shop vac with a dust deputy and a HEPA filter, which I've used for years, until I found out that  a shop vac with a HEPA filter is not as good as a full unit HEPA certified dust extractor.  Once I became aware that I could improve dust collection with a full unit HEPA certified dust extractor, I purchased a Festool CT 26.

My health is my highest priority, so I feel the money was well spent.

 

[bkharman]

I run my cat 26 with a $40 investment in bags for 1year of work. The dust deputy and other things are beyond what I run.

I use:
-ts55
-ts75 (in CMS)
-1400 (generally in CMS)
-ets 150
-ro 90

I have no desire for a DD or other "saver"

YMMV

Cheers. Bryan.