Every shop needs a shop vac, they are so useful for cleanup, and keeping the dust / sawdust / metal filings from flying all over the place. But the shop vacs are large and bulky, and the hose and attachments clutter, and get in the way.

So I decided to integrate the shop vac Into my work bench.

Step 1: Tool of the Trade ...

Now as your reading this, you are going to be thinking,

"This is so simple, why didn't I think of it?"

And it is simple, and pretty cheap to build.

THE PARTS

Shop vac: buy one at Salvation Army or Goodwill.
About 5 - 2" PVC elbows
One length of 2" PVC pipe
Two (or three) 2" PVC Valves
Three 2" PVC couplers
Two 2" 'T's
Duct tape
A few Steel "L" brackets as support. You can get fancier with 2" Clamps if you want.
Some redhot PVC glue, but a small amount
A hacksaw
Some silicon or industrial glue.

Step 2: The Underside of the Workbench

These are the pipes running under the workbench. The 'T's are glued into place to give more stability

I drilled two 2 1/4" holes in the workbench to pass the pipe thru and then glued the valves into the pipe attached to the 'T'.

Step 3: Hacking the Vac

Using the hose that came with the vacuum, you are going to cut up into sections, and attach the PVC coupling to one end, depending on your needs. Don't do this till you have sized up your workbench and where you are going to put vacuum 'ports' or stations. If you can find extra vacuum hoses, buy them so you can 'expand' to meet your garage needs.

Step 4: To INFINITY ... Well, to the Front of the Garage and Beyond!

As I have found broken shop vacs on the cheap, I have bought them and harvested the parts to expand my shop vac network. I can now take the hose connector off the workbench, and vacuum anywhere in the garage.