Dust Extractors Vs Domestic Vacuum Cleaners

[biliousfrog]

I'm on a very low budget but would like some form of dust extraction for use on a router & pillar drill (with & without a drum sander)....that's about all, just to keep the work area clean (not to mention my girlfriends classic car & scooter).

is there much difference between something like this

& something like this

....apart from about £80 & dedicated hoses?

[Prostheta]

Huge difference. I bought the white Axminster extractor (same shape and size as that one) and it's awesome. Huge capacity, strong vacuum and far superior filtration. It's not the chunks and coarse dust you want to worry about, it's the fine dust that normal vacuums just churn back out.

[biliousfrog]

so what about a cyclone cleaner (like a Dyson) with a HEPA filter?...I've seen some for as low as £40. If they can filter dust & pollen surely they can filter wood particles?

I was more concerned that a standard vac might compact the wood dust in a potentially dangerous way or something?...if it's down to capacity then it doesn't really bother me as I clean my work area after every session anyway & rarely fill half a plastic bag. Suction & filtration, I can't see how a cyclone cleaner would be any less efficient as they would benefit from no loss of suction & better filtration...no?

[Prostheta]

I would just go for a dedicated extractor because you have a guarantee it will meet it's purpose.

[erikbojerik]

Both of those are glorified vacuum cleaners; if you don't need so many liters per minute, and don't intend to expand your dust-making capacity, they should work fine (I'd opt for the larger one). But you will go through the HEPA cartidges like candy.

After 3 years with a pretty good Shop Vac, I finally went with a Delta 50-760 (1200 cfm), it was like night & day.