Early on, I used my shop vacuum as a portable, multi-purpose vacuum. I would roll it around the garage as needed, carry it to the deck to clean out cabinets, and haul it downstairs to clean the basement. Then I learned about the value of a cyclone and added the Oneida Dust Deputy. It performed better but was inconvenient to move around. Then I built a cart to hold the vacuum and cyclone. I’ll say it was less inconvenient.
Later, I put the vacuum and cyclone into the workbench with my table saw. It made more sense because the table saw was my most frequent producer of sawdust. I basically gave up portability in exchange for convenience.
More recently, I started using my miter saw more frequently. As all woodworkers know, the standard dust collection on miter saws is mostly terrible. It wasn’t long before I decided I wanted another dedicated shop vacuum for the miter saw.
Why I bought another shop vacuum
My business hasn’t reached a stage where I can justify a full dust collection system. I had a dream about the Oneida Supercell system the other night but woke up to the same balance in my bank account. The trick would be to find a shop vacuum that fit into a smaller cabinet under the miter saw while sacrificing as little power as possible.
Props to Todd at Project Farm for turning me on to Craftsman shop vacs. I used his testing of six shop vacs to settle on the Craftsman brand. Craftsman has a lower profile model with a respectable 6 HP motor.
The Good Stuff
- The Project Farm test was incredibly thorough, so I’ll just confirm the vacuum performs well. Since the unit is dedicated to my miter saw, it never moves and never has to catch anything other than sawdust. The suction is sufficient for this purpose.
- The lower height of this shop vacuum – just 22.3 inches – means it fits comfortably in the cabinet underneath the miter saw. Keep in mind the cabinet is 3.75 inches lower than standard so that the top of the cutting surface is even with the countertops to either side of the miter saw station.
The Bad Stuff
- This 6 HP Craftsman is just as loud as my 6.5 HP ShopVac. It’s not an issue for me since the unit is inside a cabinet, but I thought I’d mention it in case you’re expecting this model to be quieter than a full-sized shop vacuum.
Conclusion
The Craftsman 12 Gallon 6 HP Wet/Dry Shop Vacuum performs well, is reasonably priced, and easily fits inside a miter saw station cabinet. It came with a dust collection bag but I’ve since replaced it with this bag designed to catch fine dust.
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Finally, I only recommend products that I use on a regular basis and have proved their worthiness over time. Check out the Product Recommendations page to see more.
