Where's the dust????? (UPDATE)

[skysharks]

Hello all
Well after doing some reading on a few topics about dust collection. I decided that I might venture into improving my own.
First criteria was that I wasn't going to spend allot of money on it.

So I read Bas's post on the separator, and related posts of others and thought that I would go this route.

So here I go:


This thing works as advertised. I mean NO DUST IN THE BAG AT ALL.
Not to bad and pretty easy to make. If you notice that the input chute I installed it at an angle to aid in the trajectory of the flow.
I read it somewhere so I tried it.



The first one is witht he Metal 30 gal can from Lowe's. It works great. However milling down rough cut lumber I emptied it out 4 times in 1 1/2 hours.
So I said to myself "Self you need to build a bigger one"

So I build the other one that you see on the 55 gal drum.


I won't have to be emptying it out as often now.
To answer a question that may come up. " No I was not using the Dewalt planer, I was using my woodmaster 718 planer.

I don't have the smaller one, as of this afternoon. A good buddy got an early X-mas present.

Update: All Of this design belongs to http://www.cgallery.com/jpthien/cy.htm. Mr Phil Thien.

I just completed and installed a trash can separator on that 30 gal metal trash can from lowes. My suction source/air flow source is a Shop vac.
Problem: the trash can will cave in the sides if you decrease the airflow through the wand. example block off the intact and create a blockage.
I can work around it by mentally watching how I vacuum.
I read in Mr. Phil Thien's forums, that Bas mentioned, that someone else had the same problem. A bigger size hose might help to decrease the frequencies.
However I am still asking a vacuum cleaner to act like a dust collector.
My understanding and correct me if I am wrong is that a Dust collector is mover of air as opposed to the suckion of a vacuum.
The dents that are created are not poising a problem right now, and are easyly popped back out. But I am wondering over time if the can will experience metal fatigue.

[JackLeg]

That's really cool, Mac. I need to do the same thing, badly.

[cskipper]

Very good!

[Bas]

Very cool Mac. The HF/ Wynn/ Baffle combination is rapidly becoming a staple! If I may, you should post your success on Phil Thien's forum (http://www.cgallery.com/smf/index.php?board=1.0). He invented the baffle, and sharing your success will help bafflers everywhere

Emptied it out 4 times in 1 1/2 hours? Were you using your DeWalt planer?

[rsitzejr]

Mac, put mine together a couple weeks ago, works great. Sorry, no pictures. But I still get fine dust in the bag. I'm ok with that though.

[Bigdog72]

I will let you all know how the smaller one works tomorrow. Might even take a picture! Thank you for the gift, Mac

[Splinter]

Will these pre-separators work with a 2HP DC setup? Do you loose any dust/chip collecting capacity at the machine? Has anyone tried one with a 6" inout/output?

[McRabbet]

Alan et al,

I am planning on making a 6" version of the Paul Thien separator to use close to my planer and jointer as a pre-separator before everything else goes on through to my ClearVue. I'm hopeful that the Thien baffle will provide some separation to remove the heavier chips in my shop before the ducts go down through my shop floor to the cyclone "below decks". I'm looking for any means to avoid frequent trips down to my crawl space to empty the cyclone bin.

[jeff...]

Originally Posted by skysharks

No I was not using the Dewalt planer, I was using my woodmaster 718 planer.

I don't have the smaller one, as of this afternoon. A good buddy got an early X-mas present.

What am I - minced meat? couldn't resist

[skysharks]

Sorry Jeff, I'l make your right away buddy.

Infact Last night I made another one just for my SHop Vac. Got tired of that pleated filter, in the shop vac, getting plugged up every time I turned around.

[skysharks]

now, now, Alan, I had to say that.
I don't know anything about the cyclone systems other than what I read about yours, and what you went thru constructing yours.

I don't have the top floor of a 3 car garage for my shop. I don't have the ceiling height to properly use a cyclone system. Forgive me if I'm wrong here but the construction that you went thru, all the soldering and, sheet metal work, etc. Your system cost allot more than, the < $10.00 that I spent on this upgrade

I have not doubt that the cyclone is a fine system. And could probably suck start a C130. . I am excited for this project cause I was being thrifty and it is 100% better than what I had before I added it.
But who knows maybe after a few months, I may just go ahead and build me a cyclone , if I can get it to fit in the shop and the cost of the metal hasn't gone thru the roof.

[rsitzejr]

Right now I just don't want to invest the time and money for a cyclone, I would rather spend my time building other stuff, so the trash can seperator is a good deal for me, cheap, didn't take long, and I'm back on my wood projects.

I will say that I'm going to cut a slot in the side and glue plexiglass in for a sight glass soon. So I can see it's full at a glance.

[skysharks]

You know Rob I was just thinking of that last night, about the sight window. Thanks for reminding me.

[rsitzejr]

Yeah, I just have to get around to doing it sometime. It's on my to do list.

[McRabbet]

Originally Posted by Alan in Little Washington

I guess you gotta do what you gotta do. With a 5 hp blower and 15"/16"(?) impeller, the Thien separator shouldn't tax your system too much.

So your dust drum is in the crawl space?!?!?!? Who designed that?
No way to make it more accessible?

The CV1800 has a 15" impeller and certainly should provide more than adequate suction (if anything, too much suction!) Ed and Matt Morgano of CV have not been able to make a good chip collector yet, so mine is an experiment. They have found that any they made had so much airflow through them that the chips just kept going through the separator bin!.

Alan, I am not troubled by having my cyclone with its bin in my crawl space because the benefits far outweigh the drawbacks. Like your arrangement, I will have the majority of my ductwork under my shop floor out of the way and the noise level the cyclone produces will be dissipated below an insulated floor. I have a large capacity bin (about 55 gallons) and will use the bin sensor control circuit I designed that uses your photocell system to detect bin full status. I am exhausting directly outdoors through one of the crawl space vents (8" x 16") using 8" HVAC insulated flex (no filters).

Access is not a major issue as I have a full sized doorway about 35-40 feet away from the cyclone and I've installed lighting. I have at least 5 feet of headroom along the access route as well. I may experiment with using my old 1 HP Penn State blower to empty the bin through 4" duct to a "bagging station" outside as well. If that works, then access is even less of an issue.

You all may well ask why I don't have it installed yet. I've run out of excuses, but I did have a commissioned project that I just finished 2 weeks ago and a long list of Honey-Do's after that. I am hoping that it will be installed and operating by the 1st of November.