Tools that work & Etc.

[Ariel 109]

My two cents.

I don't miss my Fein detail sander at all. I think it caused me more work than it saved. But that being said I'm in the pneumatic sander camp. Lighter weight, don't heat up, way more control, last forever and do a much better job. Fein makes a pneumatic version of their sander which will allow you to instantly control the speed of the action, that's really important to me on a sander. I'm sure you could run it off a 20 gal compressor. Summer humidity can mess up pneumatics which is a drawback. In my shop I run a refrigerated air dryer. But if you keep your sanders well oiled they should be alright.



Ben

[ebb]

Was born with a metal can Shop Vac. Hated it. Hated it for YEARS. Nothing stayed together.
Pulled on the hose the plug would pull out of the wall. Try vacuuming with hose extensions and everything would pull out of everything else. Use just the hose and it would drop out of the vac.

Worked recently with a giant Rigid for years on the boat. It ate a lot of glass. Kept sucking until you had to empty the enormous bucket. Most of the stuff was impacted in the pleated filter. Couldn't replace the filter because a new one cost too much - so it got a lot banging and whacking to clean it. When I did, the vac acted new for awhile.
I ran a hose from the exhaust side out of the boat. Didn't phase it.
But it was too big any more and had to go.

Now I have a smaller 'cannister' type Rigid, the type with two cart wheels that you pull around with the hose. It does not have enough power to have hose attached to the exhaust side. Can't lock the wheels so the damn thing moves all the time like grease.
It was fairly cheap but it really is a PITA.
And it's loud. The on/off switch works OK in one direction but not the other. Halfass.


Looking forward
I really wanted a vac that would do well with an oscillating 5" 8hole sander for seasonal bottom work - but also anything else around the boat requiring dustless - which is absolutely everything around the boat. I have used the Festool right angle 5" oscillating sander with the matched vac. ( I don't like working with palm or vertical sanders.)
That's about $1200 right there, before the special hook and loop deutsch disks you have to buy to fit the import platen..

So far here in this thread the Porter Cable 5"RO gets good marks.
I don't know if I can just jump back to a ShopVac I guess the PC Vac is axed by a poster here....... I'm at a loss for a good small vac.

So what is a good combo?
Need a well designed, light, easy to hold oscillator with an inexpensive source for 60grit.
Would be great if common 5" 8-hole papers could be used.
Need a small, powerful, QUIET, easy to maintain, light weight vac (washable cloth filters rather than paper) maybe wetvac feature as well. One that likes the sander it is attached to.

When I get hauled for a DIY bottom job I want to at least appear to know what I'm doing -
and I don't want to switch on a loud vac and an annoying whining sander. Do I want to attract that kind of attention? And want to avoid draping the boat with blue plastic to keep dust contained. Ideas?
Seriously.

[Commander 147]

ebb

You say "I guess the PC Vac is axed". Does that mean you don't want to consider the Porter Cable vac for some reason? I like mine and it works well with my Bosch sander.

[ebb]

Hey Jerry, I thought I read here a post that didn't give it 5 stars.

And I just went back 3 pages to scan it all (this guy ebb sure talks too much!!!)
Didn't find it.

Anyway, I'll look into the PorterCable vac - which I don't know.

[Commander227]

I have had many years of great service from my Fein dust collector/vacuum. It uses a washable pre filter and a disposable HEPA filter. It also has a socket to plug in your electric sander, table saw, etc. so the vac turns on and off with your tool. It has logged hundreds of hours often running 8 hours a day and still works like the day I opened the box. It is also pretty quiet.
Mike

[Commander227]

9-55-13 Fein Turbo II Vac features an automatic on-off switch
Plug your sander into the panel mounted outlet. When you turn your sander on, the vac starts automatically. When you shut your sander off, the vac continues to run for 3 seconds to clean the hose.

The Fein Turbo II is designed for heavy, continuous, industrial use. The Turbo II can handle power tools with inputs of 40 to 2000 watts (.3 to 19 amps). The powerful two-stage motor offers bypass cooling. This means that if the hose or filter become blocked, air will still cool the motor.

Producing a mere 57.8 dB(A) noise level at 3.5 feet, the Fein Turbo II is one of the quietest vacs available on the market today.

Depending on your requirements and the nature of materials you are working with, available filtering capabilities include:

standard 5 micron
optional 1 micron
optional .3 micron HEPA filters
The vac can be used wet or dry. There is a large selection of available accessories.

Includes
16' hose (1 1/4"dia.)
Adapter (hose to tool)
5 micron Filter Cloth
Model: 9-55-13
Auto Start: Yes
Watts: 1050
Static water lift: 90 inches
Air flow: 116 cfm
Net Weight: 28.6 lbs
Power Cord Length: 16 ft.
Hose length: 16 ft.
Capacity dry: 9 gallons
Capacity wet: 6.8 gallons
Dimensions: 24 7/8" * 16 1/2"

[Stephan]

I was wondering if any of you uses 110V power tools through an inverter off their 12V system. I'm living on a can, and would like to use my little trim router and a Fein Multimaster knockoff from Harbor Freight without having to find a dock sometimes. The starting current on those babies is likely way higher than their continuous draw, so I know I have to get some serious device.

Also, the Admiral would LOVE to be able to run a hair dryer (even if only for 5 minutes on 'low'). I got three batteries so I think I ought to be able to handle that on the supply side. Any advice?

[Ariel 109]

I've run a Porter-Cable trim saw off a 12V inverted and a power planer. You should be able to run a small router or detail sander. How long you can run them is the question. Hair Dryer? It all depends on the wattage of your inverter and batteries.