Skil has previously come out with the Dust Collector, a tool for capturing the mess of drilling into drywall.
The Dust Collector sticks to the wall with its own internal vacuum mount. When you flip the switch, the vacuum pump sticks it to the wall and then turns off. Then as you drill, dust and debris falls into the collection box instead of the floor. There are also internal brushes that clean the drill bit and prevent any dust from escaping when backing out of the hole.
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The Dust Collector is powered by two AA batteries and, according to Amazon’s listing, you should get 2 hours of runtime. This runtime expectation is somewhat confusing, given the way Dust Collector operates in the Rockler video below. The pump only runs for seconds each time you stick it on the wall and then shuts off.
The clear cover allows you to see when the dust hopper is full. To empty the Dust Collector, simply pop off the cover, over a trash can of course, and dump the contents.
The Dust Collector comes with 2 AA batteries, 20 drywall anchors, 2 drill bits for the included anchors, and 20 screws.
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Skil set a suggested retail price of $25, but you can find it over at Rockler on sale for $15 plus $4 shipping (unless you have a free shipping coupon code). When the sale ends, Amazon has the next lowest price of $21 with free Prime Shipping, or free shipping over $35 orders for non-Prime customers.
Buy Now (via Rockler)
Buy Now (via Amazon)
Note: Some vendors are touting this is a new product, but Amazon’s listing says that it was first available in the summer of 2012. If you’ve used this before, what do you think of it?
fred
A few mixed reviews on Amazon – IMO this looks like a tool promoted as a Father’s Day gift
J.J.
As another user commented a couple of years ago on the milwaukee hammer vac post http://www.karcher.com/int/Products/Home__Garden/Vacuums/Drilldust_catcher/16791000.htm
jkrl
Good memory!
I’ve been using the Karcher device for years, and it is really useful. While limited to ~10mm holes (3/8″), I find that almost all of the holes in home use are within this range. For me, it is a real time saver, as I don’t need to cover or move furniture for drilling.
Some dust sometimes falls, but it is not a lot and is easy to clean.
fred
The Karcher seems to be a bit pricier – at least this side of the Pond:
http://www.amazon.com/Coca-Cola-1-679-100-KAERCHER-DDC-BOHRSTAUBFAENGER/dp/B000ETXBFI/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1430497297&sr=8-1&keywords=k%C3%A4rcher+ddc
julian Tracy
I apply a 5-6″ strip of 2″ painter’s tape directly under my anchor hole, only sticking the leading edge to the wall, which leaves a 1 1/2″ “ledge” under the drill spot for catching debris.
Drill your hole, fold up the mess into the tape as you remove it from the wall = mess-free anchor drilling.
JT
John Sullivan
I usually take a piece of paper and tape it into a crude bowl/bin underneath my drill hole. Catches at least 95% of the dust, so long as my drill bit doesn’t carry a full flute of debris. I’ll credit Skil for thinking of that problem by adding a brush to their gadget.
Travis C.
I have found a damp paper towel folded up and held with my non drilling hand to catch 99% of the debris for household drilling. Works great with drywall dust/debris.
Tom
I’m a fan of the painter’s tape shelf method. It is simple and gets most of the debris.
Benjamen
Here’s the press release:
http://skiltoolsnews.com/toolstories/DustCollector/index.html
The PDF version is dated May 1st, 2012. For some reason I couldn’t find an actual product page on the website. So it’s been out three years.
Sergey
This is hardly news, I bought this Skil dust collector almost 2 years ago.
The unit is perfect for its intended purpose – to collect drywall dust from small holes.
This thing is not a gimmick, it generates enough suction to stick tightly to the wall and stays attached until you depress the air release button.
The pump doesn’t turn off by itself, it keeps running until you manually shut it off. Battery life is pretty good, I’m yet to change the batteries that came with the unit. However, I didn’t use it extensively. All in all, I probably used it close to 50 times.
It is more convenient than a “tape shelf” or taping a coffee filter below the drilling spot (method I used to employ prior to purchasing the Skil collector), especially if you are hanging a lot of shelves and drilling a lot of holes. This collector is extremely easy to re-position.
The only downside is that it catches ~95% of dust, a tiny bit always escapes. A coffee filter taped to the wall catches all of it.
JT
Why not integrate a stud sensor forcing people to use this as a stud sensor and dust catcher?
I typically use tape w/ a lip to catch the dust.
If they replaced my current set up (stud sensor and tape), then I’d buy this, otherwise its a nice gift for someone that they would rarely use.
Matt
That will end up in my drawer right next to my Black & Decker CYRO hand drill collecting dust.
john
I just use a envelope taped just under the hole with low tack tape. One envelope lasts all day. I am often tempted to seal the envelope and post it to someone I don’t like!
Nathan
why are you collecting the dust – that’s for the home owner to deal with.
(sorry had to)
looks like a neat idea – I might try one. however most of the time I find I just vac up the floor anyway. IE when I have to do something like this – (mount a something, etc) then I often am doing other things – and end up wanting to vac the whole floor in that room.
fred
I just saw this Festool item:
https://www.festoolproducts.com/Festool-500483-Drill-Dust-Collection-Nozzle-p/500483.htm?utm_source=New+at+the+Nut+-+Festool+May&utm_campaign=Festool+May+-+New+at+the+Nut&utm_medium=email
Benjamen
Been gone, I just saw your comment fred.
1) Your link is broken for me ..here’s one that works:
https://www.festoolproducts.com/Festool-500483-Drill-Dust-Collection-Nozzle-p/500483.htm
2) This looks to be a way better product than the Skil at about the same price, especially if you have a little jobsite or toolbox vacuum.
The page says: “Compatible with all standard industrial and domestic vacuum cleaners” but it doesn’t list the size. I don’t see how that could be true, if it fit my Dyson vac, it probably wouldn’t fit my 1-1/4″ shop vac, or a RIDGID Vac. Are they talking about some European standard?