A third of one car stall? Wow. Is that your working space or "when not working, everything must squeeze into 1/3rd of a garage?"
Rockler has a wall-hanging dust collector. It's not the most powerful thing out there but I doubt you'll be running dedicated dust collection piping for such a shop... you'll probably be moving the vacuum/dust collector hose from tool to tool as you work. That unit, retrofitted with an aftermarket bag (something that filters down to 1 micron or less is what your lungs will appreciate most) won't gobble floor space. Most dust collectors consume a fair bit of floor space - about 3 feet by 1.5 feet. You might consider a good shopvac or the Fein woodworking shop vac (more expensive but quiet) and the Oneida Dust Deputy (on sale at Rockler right now I believe) which will make a shop vac much more effective.
I picked up the mid-size Delta dust collector recently clearanced at Lowes; it has the typical footprint but works pretty well. I connect it to one tool at a time; I don't have dedicated ducting in my garage either. One thing to consider too: how much electricity do you have in your shop/garage? A dust collector gobbles up as much amperage as a table saw; you don't want them on the same circuit breaker.
Dust collectors are pretty basic machines until you get to the really pricey ones. The HF unit is virtually indistinguishable from others (save the paint colors). The older HF unit was known to have a weak power switch; that seems fixed on the newer unit (the one that comes with 5 micron bags). It's still a good idea to retrofit the HF to 1 micron (or smaller) bags (or a canister setup); even after the retrofit it can still end up cheaper than a name brand unit.
For the BT3xxx saws, a 6 inch dado stack is recommended. 8 inch stacks don't fit inside some BT3s though a little filing of the aluminum inside the saw fixes that. An 8 inch stack is pretty heavy, and when cutting makes a lot of drag... the 6 inch setup is easier on the saw's motor. The Freud set has a good reputation; mine works well.
Saw blade: I use Freud blades most of the time. I've been satisfied with their "Diablo" line; some folks thought the Freud Avanti blades were decent... just be careful; there is now a "Avanti" blade brand for sale (Home Depot) that is totally different. I have an 80 tooth blade for fine cuts and a 25 tooth rip blade that do the majority of my work.
Zero clearance throat plate (ZCTP): Ryobi sold some plastic ZCTPs as accessories though those were sometimes warped a bit. Many folks have some left over from the BT3 accessory kit; check the Member Classified forums. It's easy to fit a piece of cabinet grade or Baltic Birch plywood (not the raddy construction grade stuff at home centers) to the BT3xxx saws since they have a rectangular throat plate compared to the oval shape of most other saws. A little chisel work in the corners to fit the mounting screw ears on the BT3xxx is all it takes to make your own. That's what I've done.
mpc
Rockler has a wall-hanging dust collector. It's not the most powerful thing out there but I doubt you'll be running dedicated dust collection piping for such a shop... you'll probably be moving the vacuum/dust collector hose from tool to tool as you work. That unit, retrofitted with an aftermarket bag (something that filters down to 1 micron or less is what your lungs will appreciate most) won't gobble floor space. Most dust collectors consume a fair bit of floor space - about 3 feet by 1.5 feet. You might consider a good shopvac or the Fein woodworking shop vac (more expensive but quiet) and the Oneida Dust Deputy (on sale at Rockler right now I believe) which will make a shop vac much more effective.
I picked up the mid-size Delta dust collector recently clearanced at Lowes; it has the typical footprint but works pretty well. I connect it to one tool at a time; I don't have dedicated ducting in my garage either. One thing to consider too: how much electricity do you have in your shop/garage? A dust collector gobbles up as much amperage as a table saw; you don't want them on the same circuit breaker.
Dust collectors are pretty basic machines until you get to the really pricey ones. The HF unit is virtually indistinguishable from others (save the paint colors). The older HF unit was known to have a weak power switch; that seems fixed on the newer unit (the one that comes with 5 micron bags). It's still a good idea to retrofit the HF to 1 micron (or smaller) bags (or a canister setup); even after the retrofit it can still end up cheaper than a name brand unit.
For the BT3xxx saws, a 6 inch dado stack is recommended. 8 inch stacks don't fit inside some BT3s though a little filing of the aluminum inside the saw fixes that. An 8 inch stack is pretty heavy, and when cutting makes a lot of drag... the 6 inch setup is easier on the saw's motor. The Freud set has a good reputation; mine works well.
Saw blade: I use Freud blades most of the time. I've been satisfied with their "Diablo" line; some folks thought the Freud Avanti blades were decent... just be careful; there is now a "Avanti" blade brand for sale (Home Depot) that is totally different. I have an 80 tooth blade for fine cuts and a 25 tooth rip blade that do the majority of my work.
Zero clearance throat plate (ZCTP): Ryobi sold some plastic ZCTPs as accessories though those were sometimes warped a bit. Many folks have some left over from the BT3 accessory kit; check the Member Classified forums. It's easy to fit a piece of cabinet grade or Baltic Birch plywood (not the raddy construction grade stuff at home centers) to the BT3xxx saws since they have a rectangular throat plate compared to the oval shape of most other saws. A little chisel work in the corners to fit the mounting screw ears on the BT3xxx is all it takes to make your own. That's what I've done.
mpc
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