djonesax

I just picked this up on Friday. It turned out my local wood craft store is a corp owned store so that honored the online price. The guy two weeks ago said they didn’t carry that model and if they ordered it, it would be $399. I would have bought it two weeks ago, if the guy on the phone knew what he was talking about when I called.

Thanks for all the suggestions and advice. After assembly, for $299, this unit is pretty good deal. Much better construction than some others I have seen in the same price range. I was a little disappointed that in some places, greater efficiency could have been achieved with some properly placed gaskets. Also I don’t know if it was for vibration reasons but they only spot welded the motor assembly to the motor mounts when a bead seams more appropriate to me.

Also, an improvement would be a handle somewhere. It is on casters so it can be moved around but there doesn’t seem to be a good place to grab it.

All in all it seems like a good deal and I’m glad I spent the extra 120 bucks to get this one versus the harbor freight DC.

I do have a question. If I were to also use it as a vacuum, will little pieces of trash other that wood chips like nuts and bolts damage the impeller?

Or should I make a 5 gallon debris separator to use then I want to use it as a shop vac?

David

dbhost

Yes, nuts, bolts, and other hardware will wreak havok on the impeller of your DC. I would suggest you look into a 30 gallon cyclone separator for a myriad of reasons, not just preventing metals from smashing into the impeller... Phil Thien's design works really well and is quite scaleable...

AS far as sealing the DC goes, the Wood Magazine writeup a few months ago about dust collectors complained about this too. THey mentioned using the foam tape insulation to seal assembly to assembly in order to gain efficiency seemed to work well on almost all units tested. The only one they tested that was spot on right out of the box is the Delta 50-760. There was a glut of them in the just barely second place category, and that Steel City was in there. Air leakage was a complaint.

I think if you gasket up the air leaks, and equip it with a separator, you will have one kick butt DC setup there for not a lot of bucks...

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-- Trying to follow the example of the master...

mmtools

The impeller fan on this unit is steel, so it won't "wreak havoc" on the blade. Maybe puncture plastic bag below. You can add a separator for less money than a cyclone. it is a trash can with cover intake and outflow holes. Add it in line before the DC. Makes it a two stage unit.

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Mike O
Vegetarians, and their Hezbollah-like splinter faction, the vegans ... are the enemy of everything good and decent in the human spirit. - Anthony Bourdain
Toolsandmachinery.com

dbhost

So hitting a fast moving steel object with another steel object doesn't harm it? I'll tell my BIL to close his body shop right away!

__________________
-- Trying to follow the example of the master...

Herschel

I am considering a dc system for a 450 sqft shop, what do you think of the steel city $299.00 deal, or should I look else where?

nblumert

Thats a fantastic line.

firehawkmph

I have a jet 1 1/2hp dc, and I have sucked some stuff through there that I did not intend to. Once in a while a bottle stopper size piece of wood goes through. You here a loud boom,clank, ptoooie, and it keeps on going. Once I sucked a large aerosol can in. I watched as everything happened in slow motion. It rattled it's way through the hose and then BANG!!! It blew off the plastic cap that is on the front of the impeller housing and hit me right in the kneecap. My knee was sore for a few days. I took the cover off and found a couple of fins that were slightly bent. Some careful tapping with my little body shop hammers and dollies (good idea to have these around when your kids start driving, along with some spray guns) and it was good to go. I use mine for a shop vac all the time. You just have to keep a look out for things you don't want to suck up.
Mike Hawkins