removal of lacquer/keytop and shop vac danger

[Jim Harvey]

Gee Ric, thank's so much for sharing!

Continue to follow your instincts on the ShopVac versus speed suck. The 
brush/commutator area on some ShopVac motors look like sparklers on the 
Fourth of July.

That's not a good reason not to buy one. In fact, you're way past due by a 
number of years. To move the focus away from old dogs and sheep parts and 
back to relevancy... ShopVac has discovered how to make their products CHEAPER!

If case someone missed the evolution (buy one, wear it out, buy another), 
you wouldn't realize how much cheaper and NOISY the current vacs are. Due 
to moves and having different requirements/shops, I've gone "through" 
several ShopVacs. As I see it, the choices are:

- lose the dog;
- put the sheep on preventative measures;
- skip the ShopVac and go straight to built-in dust control (that can also 
serve as central vac);
- buy a different brand of vac, preferably commercial instead of homeowner 
quality;
- pay extra for the noise abatement models available through ShopVac/Sears, 
etc.;
- and/or, invest in some shooter's type headphones to wear while using the 
device.

At least the last two items should be considered requisite.

Finally, a refinishing environment would be the LAST place I would consider 
using a ShopVac (hint: think exhaust). Conversely, practically any other 
area/use is fair game and worthwhile... (bench/floor cleaning, after hammer 
shaping (too noisy during), drill press, table saw, sander... the list goes 
on and on.

Regards,
Jim Harvey