Hi all,
I recently read the Apr. 2013 FWW article that showed an internal Thien baffle in a Jet DC1100 dust collector. I'd like to get something like this for myself and wondered what would be the best dust collector to start with if you didn't already have one. I read online where Phil mentioned that the Jet wasn't the ideal candidate because of the way the bag attached. BTW, I'm an instrument maker and my only power tools are a bandsaw, drill press, and spindle sander. Thanks.
I don't know if there is a "best," but there are certainly "not greats," and anything with that Jet/Powermatic snap ring is sub-optimum.
Provided the bag attachment is to the outside of the ring, you've pretty much met the requirements of the baffle. Beyond that the factors are typically quality of filtration (fine bags or cart. filters), size of motor, and price.
Oh and I suppose the non-conventional units like the Delta 760 (which incorporates the ring and the blower into a single housing) are tricky if you plan on installing the baffle INSIDE the unit, also.
Thanks Phil! That helps narrow it down a bit.
I recently purchased the Jet DC-1100VX and am very pleased with it's performance. However, I am not using it with the bag. I am using just the DC with a large Thien Baffle, and vented to the outside. Bill does mention in his site that only two 1.5 hp systems get close to his minimum requirements. I chose the Jet since I only use one machine at a time and have a small shop. So far, the system I installed seems to work very well.
In all respect, might I suggest an alternative approach. Your power tools are limited to band saw, drill press, and spindle sander, so the volume of dust and shavings is pretty low, compared to table saw, planer, and jointer.
I'd think that a shop vac with an attached cyclone would be sufficient for these tools (assuming you use one tool at a time). It would cost a lot less than a big dust collector, and you could use the savings to buy a shop air filtration system (air cleaner).
I don't have a spindle sander myself, so can't speak to built in dust collection capabilities, but in my experience, FWIW, it's pretty hard to get efficient dust collection in most band saws and drill presses, anyway. So "uncollected" dust produced, which could be airborne and picked up by an ir cleaner. Just my .02 :)