Thanks. Those flex models look great for the price. Gonna look more into them tonight
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If budget is a strong consideration, you can still purchase a Rigid (if your are happy with their performance) and get a speed control for $18 at Harbor Freight. You can modulate the power of the vacuum for the job at hand thus reducing the sound and probably extending the life. I use a similar one on my Rigid Vacuum and it works well.
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Size and noise considerations are important but your health is more important. If you get a HEPA type filter with the smaller vacs like the Festool then ok but I think you should look at the Onieda Mini Gorilla. You will get more performance, cyclonic separation and a more robust cleaning of your debris and air. The mini gorilla has specs for the noise but you get real dust extraction. The Festool, Fein, Makita and the Flex are designed for single tool applications. A router makes a lot more dust than a sander or similar tool.
Just think about widening your search for excellent dust extraction and performance. Cubic Feet per Minute (CFM) is what counts when collecting dust and then after it is collected the filter.
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I completely agree with you, Guy! In my limited experience, there is no substitute for high cfm air flow when trying to collect the finest dust. But isn’t the mini gorilla like $1,500? and runs off 220v? I would love to have one (hopefully soon), but at the time I was putting together my shop I could not afford one. I settled for this:
https://www.harborfreight.com/2-hp-industrial-5-micron-dust-collector-97869.html
with one of these:
https://wynnenv.com/products-page/woodworking-filter-pricing/35b222nano-cartridge-kit/
and a metal trash can with this:
https://www.amazon.com/WOODRIVER-Trash-Can-Cyclone-Lid/dp/B0035YD23K/ref=asc_df_B0035YD23K/?tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=309851663455&hvpos=1o1&hvnetw=g&hvrand=8735787890123745440&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9013453&hvtargid=pla-570239323625&psc=1
and a “rednecked” version of a Thien baffle. Works well and kept the total price under $600 with coupons and have plenty of 4" hose and couplings to reach all around my (small) shop. if you can stretch the budget some, skip the metal trash can and get one of these for even better chip separation:
https://www.amazon.com/Oneida-Air-Systems-Deputy-Deluxe/dp/B06Y37FF9D/ref=pd_cp_469_4?pd_rd_w=O3Tic&pf_rd_p=ef4dc990-a9ca-4945-ae0b-f8d549198ed6&pf_rd_r=1E6NHTDK0K9KSW7K04EF&pd_rd_r=d0a8aa43-9b7f-469f-b7fa-9b9b8f7a4073&pd_rd_wg=ZksL7&pd_rd_i=B06Y37FF9D&psc=1&refRID=1E6NHTDK0K9KSW7K04EF
The only drawback I have found in my cobbled together system is that it is every bit as loud as a shopvac, if not more. And if you are dumb like me, you will mount the dust collector motor onto your shop wall and inadvertently turn the whole wall into one big vibrating “speaker”
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A 3 HP router or spindle can produce about 35 X 3 = 105 / 12 / 12 / 12 = 0.06 CFM of MDF dust. Why wouldn’t a vacuum with 100 CFM suffice? 
not trying to ignore the physical blocking of dust. Simply saying, with the exact same dust boot, one with a 2" opening with a shopvac pulling 150 cfm and the other with a 4" opening with a dust collector pulling 1000 cfm, (both fully surrounded by brushes) I imagine the larger air volume being pulled by the dc would do a better job at containing and extracting chips and dust?
and i think the 1000 cfm setup would give you better protection from the little bit of small dust that does get past the brushes with the fact it is pulling around 16 cubic feet of air per second (or whatever it is limited to by the 4" ducting) in through the boot. Maybe that is too simplified and i should revisit educating myself on the topic
But the shop VAC probably has more than 10 times the static pressure (suction) than the dust collector at the flow (CFM) rates possible thru a properly designed and employed dust shoe (like a Suckit).
Not trying to say the shop vac and its high pressure suction wont do the job, but any fine dust that makes it past the brushes is more likely to float away freely than if you had a DC setup sucking massive amounts of air though your enclosure and dust boot.
My logic may be highly flawed as i am not an educated man.
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The dust boot will restrict the dust collector’s airflow much like connecting a smaller diameter adapter inline with the boot.
I understand that. Thats why I would use the appropriate dust boot with 4" opening so you could actually benefit from the extra air flow. I see how a shop vac connected to an appropriate sized dust shoe would work better than a dc with 4" tubing being choked down to a 2" opening on a dust shoe designed for a shop vac…
I may have tricked myself into thinking it is better because I have one for my table saw and bench planer, which a shop vac couldn’t hope to keep up with.
4" ID tubing has an opening of 2" X 2" X 3.14 = 12.6 square inches. Will your dust shoe have that much opening to its exterior?
call me crazy, but wouldnt a 4" opening on the dust boot be the same as the 4" opening of the tubing? i think i am misunderstanding your question
The air needs to flow from the outside to the inside of the dust shoe.
uh, yeah… it does. I guess I am missing the point your making. Im not sure of the size of the opening taking into account obstruction by the brush and changing z height.
If there is no gap under the dust shoe’s brushes, no gap between its upper opening and the shank of the endmill, and no leakage through its brushes, there will be no airflow (i.e. 0 CFM). Just like if you block the hose with your hand. If the dust shoe’s gaps add to 12.6 square inches you should either adjust it or get another one.
block the tube to your shop vac set up and see what it does… again i am missing your point. My point is a properly designed high cfm dust collection system doesnt hurt. That is all.
If I am wrong, it leaves me wondering why so many large scale cnc routers have an appropriate sized 4" dust boot running to a true dust collection system… something about finding that balance between static pressure and air flow which there are hundreds of charts on if you google it and has been discussed on internet forums for years.
My point about the high CFM is that you also need a good filter. I did not check the specs of a Makita, Flex or the Festool but it cannot be as high as a larger DC. Some of the folks on this forum have found out the hard way that ineffective dust collection can serious consequences. If you are going to pursue this hobby you should be serious about dust collection. The smaller units have HEPA filters and that is good but they do not have the CFM that a 4" DC has. You have to make an evaluation of your budget and goals and buy what you think is the best. But do not fall prey to false economy. Yes a larger system has better dust collection and costs more but what is your and your family’s health worth?
I do woodworking almost full time and I take dust collection seriously. You should take it seriously as well especially if you are dealing with tropical hardwoods or exotics. Some are even allergic to domestic hardwoods and pine. Just be kind to your lungs they have to last a lifetime. So don’t make a judgement on the price, make a judgement on the effectiveness.
If your only dust collection is a shop vac then you are spraying fine dust all over your workshop and you are breathing it in.
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If you worry about fine dust in the air then you really should invest in a shop air filter unit along with a dust collector even a good dust collector can allow fine dust to escape at times I run a duct collector plus a shop air filter and when a job is done I have no fine dust at all in the air, and if you are really going to be safe you should also wear a respirator or at least a dust mask.
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