The Big Gulp Dust Hood is exactly what it looks and sounds like – a big-mouthed dust collection attachment. It measures 13″ x 16″ and has a 4″ dust collection port.
It’s said to be perfect for miter saws, lathes, radial arm saws, carving applications, sanding applications, and for use with planers that lack built-in hoods. The Big Gulp is made from ABS plastic, and is fairly durable. It’s also lightweight and portable.
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I bought one about a year and a half ago, and while I haven’t used it a lot yet, it has come in handy. It’s basically a chip catcher that helps to minimize the spread of dust and debris from tools that don’t have their own built-in dust collection ports.
There are other dust collection attachments and accessories on the market, but none that are quite like this one.
Price: $16-19
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I bought mine from Amazon, and would buy it again without hesitation.
One thing to be mindful of is that the big gulp needs to be supported somehow. For use with a miter saw, for example, you can rest it on a workbench or other surface behind the tool. But if your miter saw is on a stand, fixing the Big Gulp at the right height behind the saw can require a bit of trial and error, not to mention extra equipment.
fred
Long before these were available – I used a ductwork transition fitting in my shop for a similar purpose – with my central dust collection system:
https://www.amazon.com/DGT34-Galvanized-Round-Transition-4/dp/B00009W3GE/
David
I use one of these on my lathe, and it really helps grab the fine dust. I wanted a bit more space to work in than the Rockler Dust Right scoop provided, but I suspect if you knew that you’d always work on things that fit that scoop, it would be more efficient.
A lathe mounted metal arm with independent joints really helps with adjustment, although you could shop build one if you wanted to as well. I bought the Big Gulp ultimate setup to get the arm – it costs a good deal more, but it’s really quite handy.
Ryan Jacob
I ordered two of these from Rockler a few months ago and they were much bigger than I expected! I ended up taking one of them and cutting a hole in the back of my miter saw station and laid it flat. When I turn on the dust collector most of the dust that doesn’t go through the normal miter saw dust collection port gets sucked into the big gulp. It worked much better than I expected.
Robert
I bought one of these from Rockler last year. Mostly use it to lay on workbench when planing, sawing, sanding. It can be cumbersome and want to fall off the table.
I also use it on the floor to collect sweepings from trim routing and such. Does what it is designed to do.
David
I bought one, also not realizing how large they are. The thing I really didn’t account for was that you need a lot of space for it behind the tool ( a lathe in my case) PLUS the vacuum hose sticking out the back of that. My lathe is on a stationary workbench, so just rolling it out when in use isn’t an option.
I’m thinking of cutting a hole in the bottom to attach the hose there. Anyone have any thoughts on that before I destroy it?
Thanks!
Charles
Cutting a hole won’t destroy it! I get sheets of abs from i-80 truck stop (semi truck mud flaps…) and always have a chunk big enough to pop rivet over a hole. Go for it.
JoeM
Forgive my ignorance and lack of experience with dust collection systems… but.. please tell me this is not a “New” invention for the field? This seems like a common sense item that would have been available for decades… or at least as long as there have been Dust Collection systems in shops.
If I had a dedicated workshop, I think I would have gone looking for one of these immediately upon planning the dust collection system. I think I would have gone looking for it even way back at 9 years old, when I started getting serious about tools and making stuff.
Can someone explain why THIS one is special, or unique, or… Yeah… “New” to anyone? This is not a criticism, this is honestly my own lack of experience on the subject. This seems like something that would have existed for decades… Didn’t it?
fred
Amazon’s page says that it was first available in 2004 – but it may have been listed by Rockler in their catalog earlier than that.
My use of a tin-nocker’s duct transition piece (sheet metal rather than plastic) dates from the 1960’s – but I did not come up with the idea – probably having seen it in some woodworking magazine or book.
I don’t think that Stuart was purporting that it was a new item – rather he was just posting that he’s found it to be useful.
Stuart
This is one of those things that one might first learn about when they’re looking for it, other times, it’s one of those things that invokes a “that’s just what I need!” sentiment. Sometimes, it’s one of those things you read about before you need it at all.
I’m not sure what kind of answer you’re looking for. Are you implying that it’s not new to market and so that I shouldn’t have posted about it?
JoeM
No no, you both answered my concern. I just wanted to make sure I wasn’t imagining this sensation that this particular item ISN’T new, and it makes every bit of sense that it appears to.
I’ve never actually had a shop of my own, where I could set up dust collection, and lay it out, buy the required elements, and all that. So, I am LITERALLY in a zone of ignorance on this subject. When I saw the writeup, it gave me the impression that this particular item is somehow unique in dust collection components. I just had trouble believing that impression.
You both answered it. I got it wrong. It’s just a post talking about a long-established product that many people may not know they want at the moment. I must’ve been tired when I read it at first. I find it greatly comforting that this is simply a reminder of one of those “Aren’t these things great, folks?” kinds of posts. Every so often, you, Stuart, do post some relatively nostalgic topics on ToolGuyd, and I wasn’t quite cluing in that this fits in there.
Thank you for clarifying, both of you! I felt like a crazy person for a while there!
Stuart
Ah, got it.
It’s hard to classify this product because there’s nothing quite like it currently on the market. There are smaller attachments, but nothing of this size and shape.
It’s a sort of “problem-solver.”
There used to be a scoop-type attachment that could be placed right behind a miter saw, but it seems to have been discontinued a while ago.
Dust collection attachments are, at least in my opinion, the kind of thing that one might completely ignore unless they have an active interest. Because of that, something doesn’t have to be new to be new to many readers.
JoeM
In a hypothetical shop in my head, I can imagine at least 20 different places to put one of these. They’re so common-sense in design. I would even put them along the floor, to act like a central vac system. Chips and dust fall to the floor? Sweep into big gulp. Recently cleaned out the dust collector? Open these up, and sweep all the loose screws and such into them so you can collect them from the machine bin and put them away.
As well, I can see one of these hanging from the ceiling, with clamps to attach it to whatever workbench you’re at, sucking up dust along the way. Every large tool, that lacks a dedicated dust collection port, would do well to have one of these installed near it, or at least at the base of the workstation for sweeping into it later.
Am I getting this particular device wrong in these uses? Because, this just seems like one of those things that others would mock you for not having in a dedicated shop. Which I don’t mean in an offensive way. I mean in that We-All-Pick-On-Eachother-Playfully way.
“Wait… You don’t have a Robertson screwdriver? At all? Have you been living under a rock the past century? Dude… We’re SO going to the store to get you a set…” THAT is the kind of ribbing I’d expect for not having several of these in a fixed shop space. “…Seriously? Not one? You’re not waiting on a delivery of one, or anything like that? No… This won’t do… You need this… You need twenty of them… You haven’t truly finished your shop layout until these are in place… let’s go already….”
DRT
I bought a similar one in the early to mid-90s, maybe even earlier, for a RAS. I got the saw in 1987 and was always annoyed by the total lack of dust control. The funnel works pretty well on the RAS – basically if a chip enters the funnel, it will be sucked up by the shop vac, with only a very little bit getting stuck in the corners. Hmm – now that I think about it, that is probably the only difference between mine and this one – mine takes a 2.5″ shop vac hose, and this one takes a 4″ dust collector hose. Maybe I should upgrade !
Brian M
I installed one under my circular saw, makes one hell of a difference. I should probably get another for my miter saw.
Benjamen
I have one and have it hooked into my dust collection system. It works pretty well for capturing all the sawdust from behind a miter saw. I’ve also used it with my lathe, but it’s less effective — probably because I can’t get it close enough or in the right position.
I’ve seen people use similar funnels on adjustable arms for more effective lathe turning collection.
ktash
One of the problems I have with this is that I haven’t been able to find a connector/reducer to hook it up to my smaller shop vac hose. Some of the places I’d like to use it are where I use the shop vac/cyclone combo. Hooking it up to my very basic Rikon 4″ collector works ok with the Dust Right attachments, but it’s unwieldy. Positioning it properly for the 4″ system is a problem, since my DC moves from tool to tool. Best to use the 4″ hose and a hose clamp without all the other plastic pieces that make it too big to position.
I haven’t been much of a fan of this product, so it’s been relegated to the corner with other unused/problem-children devices. Reading some of the comments, I’m going to give it another try. Maybe embed it in a piece of MDF for clamping with some kind of a hinge arrangement (to get different angles). Something to think through.