Very impressed, after trying to survive- and nearly choking- with just a shopvac!
This unit is weighty, goes together well, and doesn't feel, or look, cheaply-made. The filter bag is pretty fine (2.5 micron, IIRC), and I've certainly not noticed ANYTHING (except clean air and a woody smell!) coming out of it. It has a fairly compact footprint too, which is great in my small shop. While not quiet, the noise it emits is nothing like as wearing as a shopvac, and amounts to a nice reassuring roar, not a whine- and certainly no rattles- until it whisks away a woodchip in a satisfying way. Shop Fox have a real website, with real technical support and PDF manuals online- altogether a proper and reliable-feeling company.
I'd strongly recommend it to anyone who was choking in dust like me...! SHOP FOX W1727 1 HP Dust Collector
I have a small shop, however, I make one heck of a lot of sawdust. Therefore I began my search for a dust control system that was affordable and would suit my needs. The Shop Fox 1727 seemed to be the perfect fit for my application. The box arrived a day before the indicated date which was nice. The assembly was easy and the parts self-explanatory. I had read about the difficulties people had with the installation of the bags so I gave that a bit of thought. Then the answer was obvious: use clear shipping tape to hole the bag in place until you can install the clamps. The idea worked great and assembly came to a successful close.
Its small footprint is a plus in my limited space. Using the Fox was a surprise. It is rated at one horsepower but boy, can that motor move some air! I use if for my table saw, my router table, my 12 inch disc sander and I have a floor sweep tray. All I need do is close off the ports that are not being used. I am happy with my machine and recommend it to others
The ShopFox w1727 dust collector does a fine job on dust and small and large shavings from my lathe. What surprised me is the sound - much quieter than expected. No terrible whine, just a soft roar that lets me hear the radio in the shop. A great piece for a good price. I purchased a 4" 10 foot hose and a floor cleaner attachment at a retail store.
I have a shop limited only by the fact that it is in my basement. Overhead is just bare joists with wood planks on top; no insulation or extra barrier of any kind to keep excess dust from infiltrating my house if I can't keep it under control.
I had always thought I needed something bigger than the standard 650CFM units to run any real tools, so I had been looking at the 1200-1300 CFM units. I usually prefer overkill rather than risk not loving my product fully, but the bigger units had one limiting factor to me: the fact that they are usually more than 6.5' tall, and I would have to place it between the joists in my basement.
Because this unit claims 800 CFM (a nice middle ground), and is much shorter than all the other units in both categories that I've seen, I thought it might be the way to go. Also, I realized I'd lose a bit of CFM by running a permanent duct system on one of the bigger units, and this unit is meant to be moved around to one machine at a time, so I thought (and mostly still think) that it was the right choice for such conditions.
But I only gave it four stars...
For one thing, there is a very similar Grizzly unit that claims to be 800 CMF if you remove the 90° bend, but only 650 CFM if you keep it on. Removing it makes everything slightly more annoying to use and change hoses on, so that is a drawback and kind of misleading. I can say this because I am 99% sure these are badge swap brands (i.e., the ShopFox is the same as the Grizzly).
The unit came in one surprisingly small, easy to manage box, and I put it together in a few minutes. The base and the wheels are too cheap, though, and you have to kind of force it along the floor (mine is smooth concrete) to make it gowhere you want it to go, kind of like a rusty old shopping cart. That is also annoying.
Using reducers to collect from my miter saw and 2.25 HP router leaves some dust behind, but I think that's mostly because the reducers limit what it can do, but it seems to get the fine dust, which is what is more dangerous and more likely to get into the rest of the house. But I think I will be comfortable running some real tools down there, such as a planer and table saw, which is the final goal of getting this machine in the first place. There will be cleanup afterward, but I think it's manageable. You see, I really want a real workshop, but I'm not about to put the poor cars outside at the mercy of the idiot neighbors just so I can use that smaller space for the tools.
One thing to note is that, yes, this thing is much smaller than most, but a 4" flex duct is still semi-rigid and ends up taking more room to make a sweeping 90° bend than you might think.
So, in the end, this does what I wanted it to do. It's not thought-shatteringly loud, it's not so hard to drag around (plus it runs on a 120V circuit, allowing its mobility), and I can't imagine a better price. It gets four stars because it has not made me 100% certain that I did the right thing by not going overkill on a larger unit. But I am 90% certain, especially for the price to quality ratio.
Dust production and its subsequent collection is the bane of every woodworker's existence. Knowing that my Big-Box-Store Shop Vac wasn't going to handle the addition of any more new tools I decided to look into upgrading. As a result I spent many a month mulling over my options and reading as many reviews as I could on the topic. I used 4 criteria to narrow down my search:
(a) Good dust control (duh!)
(b) An alternative to the 4" web-like flexi hoses that adorn the walls/ceiling of so many shops.
(c) A competitive price.
(d) Use on a standard 110 circuit
After months of careful consideration I opted for the Shop Fox W1727. First off, it's portability makes those unsightly 4" pipes obsolete. Sure, for industrial shops a permanent system is a must, but for the average Weekend warrior, wheeling a W1727 over to the source of the dust is more than adequate. Oh, here's a tip: Make you life infinitely easier by purchasing some quick release circular spring clamps. These babies make moving, removing, and attaching the 4" hose to any tool's dust port a breeze. I think the price is competitive, and the 110 circuitry allows me to dedicate my only 220 circuit to my table saw.
Overall I am thrilled with this purchase, it removes dust admirably, and the solid casters make moving this puppy around the shop effortless. - Delta - Woodworking - Air Cleaners - Dust Collection'
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