Oh, shoot! I need that. I always assumed they would be about the same if not louder. If you don’t mind which did you get? I have my CNC running at least an hour a day and sometimes a lot more. I saw modded harbor freight versions and a grizzly I think that were similar in price / performance.
The reason I like MDF is it is pretty consistent around the globe vs real wood, and it it much more difficult than something like pine. Here is my last speed run, https://youtu.be/qNdod5hKfhs, but I think I can do even better now and the test is so fast I think we need to update to two cuts so we are not trying to compare milliseconds. Just to reiterate, I am not trying to directly compare machines or builds, like I am not going to use the numbers as a site comparison or anything. I just like to roughly know where we stand in terms of material removal rates, and a little competition makes pushing and learning more fun.
@vicious1 I got the HF 2hp (70 gallon) dust collector a few months back. aside form the initial start up, it is more of a low industrial hum vice the high pitched wine of a shop vac. Say what you will a bout safety and hearing pro, but I have rarely needed it when I am running my Bob’s CNC (Makita router) and the dust collector. I couldn’t even fathom not wearing ear pro when using the shop vac. Makes a world of difference!!
I can’t give you the exact db rating as I have never measured it, but I can run the Makita on the machine and the DC at the same time and still hold a conversation in the garage or hear my music on the portable speaker I have in the shop.
I got the grizzly. As @c00nphrog mentioned, it’s like a low industrial rumble/hum versus the raging scream of my shopvac. Kind of similar to having a clothes dryer running in the room.
True, I meant ‘relatable’ as in: it wouldn’t tell me anything about how the machine would actually perform for the work I wanted to do with it. I could see detailed benchmarks about how fast 5 different machines could move through meringue, but at the end of the day, it wouldn’t tell me much about how any of them were going to work for me pocketing in ash wood. I like seeing BB plywood numbers to get a general baseline capability of any machine that can relate to my work, but that’s just my preference.
Regardless, yes when I have some spare cycles I’d be happy to run the logo at varying speeds in MDF and report back just for fun. It would have to be different gcode so the toolpaths wouldn’t match up 1:1.
I am seriously considering this expense. I like a clean shop, cleaner breathing, and with less noise I could be a little more free with the hours I run the machines at. Space and cost is my downsides now, HF with coupons though…
I’d highly recommend springing for a 1-micron or better canister filter to go with whatever you get. If you’re doing MDF or anything producing fine dust, those filter bag systems that come with the cheaper ones just become redistributors. Most canister filters have a cleaning crank that makes quick work of basic dust buildup that occurs. I ditched all my awkward cyclone separators in favor of this setup and it’s been working well.
I was looking at that, I am pretty sure there is a Grizzly that comes “decked” out with the 1 micron and an aluminum impeller (not sure why that is important). Seems like that might be the mark to save for.
Also my dad had a shopvac one when i was a kid. If a large piece got sucked in, you could tell that fan was plastic. Couple times i thought it was going to break, it would hit hard.
@vicious1 as @jgunnar states, I would go with one of these canisters too. You can still go with a cheaper DC and then get a canister to replace the bag (depending on the model you get). Here is a link to a recommended canister: Donaldson P181038 Filter or Donaldson P182038 Filter.
I’ve seen many reviews on saving some coinage by going with the HF 2hp DC and using one of these 2 filters dropped into place (with a few additions like hold down clamps and possibly a donut to have it sit on) but most say it even increased air flow for them. Just some more ideas if you wanted something sooner. I am waiting until we close on our new house to see what else I will need to set up my new shop/garage, and then go from there, but both of those are saved in my Amazon cart.
My big vac can’t suck up the chips from the MPCNC that well because it does not have as much velocity but does WAAAAAY better with the planer than the little one, because it has got a higher flow volume but less velocity.
Yeah, that is not working too well, tried that before and was pretty disappointed, so I switched to my small vac again for the mpcnc and other small appliances like sanders.
How small are we talking about reducing? My HF has 4" inlets. I was able to get this reduced using some PVC down to 2.5" and I still get pretty good collection out of it. I think if you go any smaller than that is where you lose the “suction.” IIRC from what I’ve read, if you have to reduce it, then keep that reduction to the very end and shortest length to help with not losing the “suction.” Example: 4in hose @ 6ft length, and a reducer to 2.5in that is only 6in in length (total hose length is 6.5ft). That is IIRC…and I mis-remember things sometimes.
Well don’t tell the little lady, but I plumbed in the central vac for a quick test. Tons of power, nearly silent, overall not all that different. The Router chewing through MDF is just loud. I am not sure a big vac is worth it in terms of sound for me. I might rout the vac exhaust outside for safety but I need to check the sound levels on that first.
