setting up a small wood workshop and as i’ll be working indoors for the first time in 4 years thinking some sawdust extraction for my tools may be a good thing (a mix of handhelds and router table). can anyone point me in the right direction as to what to look for or give advice? i will probably be looking to buy used kit.

Have a look at the Axminster tools site or catalogue – there’s some good advice and kit there.

I’ve got a Festool portable dust extractor / vacuum, fits to all my power tools:

Worx mini circular saw by brf, on Flickr

It’s the one on the left. Built in take-off power socket which auto-starts the vacuum. Hose and tools fit in the top. 8m power lead. Really nice design.

I also have one of these on the ceiling for catching all the small stuff which lingers in the air:

i have a titan wet dry vacumn that sucks up all the crap i need it to.

doubt the filter does fine fine dust but it does what i need it too inc when i was sanding plaster.

the power take off is a godsend.

I’ve got a Numatic workshop vac, basically Henry’s bigger, tougher brother. It’s easy to make it fit most tools although it can involve a bit of sticky tape and off cuts of tube as there doesn’t seem to be a standard fitting. Picked it up used and abused for £20 and it is still going strong. It would be better with a power take off and a flat top for putting the tool down but for the money I’m very happy with it.

Edit: the older version of this,

I’ve got a Trend one – picked it up in an industrial auction for £10! Anything with a power take off really will do a good job. The trend one’s benefit (if you consider it a benefit) is it doesn’t require dust bags so there are no consumables to worry about.

A bog standard henry would work fine (although they don’t have a PTO) but they fill up really quickly.

In general – Wheels are good, a long lead is good, and long hose is good, other than that a hoover is a hoover really.

Festool portable dust extractor / vacuum. this.

If you can’t stretch to the Festool then I picked up a karcher 3.540P from the karcher outlet earlier in the year fro £38 delivered (for some reason they put the price down for a couple of days just as I looked). Never seen so many attachments with a vacuum and has an extension hose and power take off. Remember though that the power of the vacuum and power tool cannot exceed the plug so on mine for example it’s limited to an 1800W power tool.

My only problem has been the bag entrance blocking with sawdust when using it with bags (optional) due to also using it to suck up plaster dust. Nothing a quick poke with a finger couldn’t sort.

the filters are easy to clean as you just put the hose into the blow port, remove the filter and use the blow function to blast out the filter outdoors. The filter is also waterproof so no need to remove it to suck up water.

Similar to the model here for £60 http://www.karcheroutlet.co.uk/products/subcat.asp?mID=DIY-Multi-Purpose-Vacuums&sID=Wet-Canister-Vacuums

for workshop based stuff get an extractor with poly collection bag – something like this –
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Workshop-dust-extractor-/281200369987

as advised by waswas

wont clog up and once bags are full – replace and tape up full bag – saves transferring waste – also if clean/pine shavings bags can be sold for pet bedding

Ive got a record large type extractor for sale, bit battered but works well large capacity and paper bag filter and filter on motor.

Also have a Macallister from Band Q , with a power take off, so switch power plane on and it starts up, abnout 55 quid new,from B and Q.It also sucksup water which is quite handy, but nouiisy in use.

Also have an old aqua vac, works well but noisy.

Axminster power tools now have showroom depots where you can see and play with tools in action.Details on web site.

The big workshop extractors are good for some stuff but they’re not very good with fine dust – they’re chip/shaving collectors really and fine stuff goes straight through the bag and back into the workshop. Stepping down from 100mm to something more power-tool friendly is a faff too (you can spend a fortune on adaptors and pipes and lot of the stuff is pretty poorly made or designed more for cheap postage rather practical application so comes is short lengths with lots of joints) and you loose a lot of suck when you step down.

I just gaffer tape the hover to the dust socket…. there are probably many reasons why this is a bad idea tho!

Cheers guys, I’ve got a couple of old vacs or vax and I did wonder but they are noisy.

Project… How large is the one you are selling and how far from Cornwall?