My WD-1660 was a Christmas gift 2 years ago that I was able to pick out. The detachable blower and the lifetime warranty were the determining factors in choosing the Ridgid over Craftsman or ShopVac. It comes equipped with wheels and a reasonably long hose. There are several attachments included, but no brush attachment which I would have found very handy...that's extra. The vac is loud. They offer an optional muffler for about $10 that I recommend. It's effective to a fair degree, but would have been nice to include.

There's really not much assembly. Open the box, place the attachments in the rolling base, and you're good to go. Suction is impressive and almost justifies the noise! I use the vac in my wood shop frequently. Often it's used on the top side of my router table to extract chips. Before I purchased a more industrial type dust collection system, I used the vac to extract dust chips from a 12.5" planer...something I was told a shop vac wouldn't handle effectively...it did more than a satisfactory job. Sometimes I use the vac to suck the dust off my work bench. This occasionally leads to a "Chevy Chase" type calamity as I get within 10-12" of a lightweight material that was not intended to be inhaled. Up it goes, then I overreact and grab something else that wasn't supposed to go up the stck...bags, pencils, nuts, screws, you name it. Removing the filter allows it to become a wet vac. My son uses it every month to drain the water out of his turtle's tank. The large cannister comes in handy.

The detachable blower has turned out to more useful than I thought it would. It's great for blowing off the driveway and sidewalks. It's good for blowing out the woodworking machines. And of course it'll will levitate a tennis ball in the hands a skilled operator, and makes interesting designs when aimed at a stomach! (don't try this at home)

I'll spare you the cliché, but it really does a nice job and aside from the knit picks mentioned, I'm about as pleased with this shop vac as a guy can get over a machine in this category. There are better vacs intended specifically for woodworkers by Fein and others, but they're expensive and not as versatile.

The WD-1660 has now replaced with the WD-1665, which looks to me to almost identical to it's predecessor.


Recommended: Yes