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#1 ·
HF-DC Dust Collector Optimization

I know that many people have modified the HF-DC but I just wanted to put my spin out there. I have been doing a lot of research on the many different styles of updates/modifications that have been done and holy cow there are a lot. But, most of them rely on the Thien principle that seems to be pretty simple. On the Thien blog there is a guy that tests and records many different modifications with different setups. I am going to set-out to make my entire system buying the least amount as possible. I already had a plastic 55G barrel and the HF-DC, so now its just time to start the crafting.

From the pictures you can see the standard 55G white drum that I will be using for the separator/collector side. Unfortunately the barrel I had didn't have a removable top so I had to do some modifying.



To do so, I took my jig saw with a long blade and cut right along the black line that I put onto the container. I tried to keep this so that I would have a flat spot to attach my screws for the wooden top ring. One tip for attaching the top ring if you barrel is a little out of round (like mine was). Take a long clamp and using a couple blocks of wood to pressure the barrel, squeeze it in the longer direction to make the shorter dimension widen out to round. If you don't, I don't think it will affect the performance, just will have a bigger overhang in some areas.



To create the wooden ring I did something that I have been nervous of doing for a long time….I cut a circle on the table saw. I have hesitated to do this before due to the dangerous nature of this task, but after carefully doing it a couple times in this project, I think it will be something that I use in the future to cut some perfect circles. (I would have used my band saw but the table isn't big enough and it would have taken a lot more to mod the table than to make this jig for the table saw.) Here you can see the barrel with the wooden top ring attached. I used 2" screws into the barrel side doing my best to keep the screws inside the lip. I did have a couple slip out the side, but just backed them out, put some silicone in the hole and angled them a little more. After I had this top ring attached, I ran a healthy bead of silicone around the inside and outside of the barrel right where the plastic and MDF meet. The wooden ring for my base is 1-3/4" but that is all dependent on how big you want the 'top-hat' separator to be. Mine will turn out to be just about a 20" inner chamber.



Now, next steps are to create the chamber and I hope to have that up and posted later this week. I might also try to do a video on the cutting of the circles on the table saw…. Until then….
 

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#2 ·
HF-DC Dust Collector Optimization

I know that many people have modified the HF-DC but I just wanted to put my spin out there. I have been doing a lot of research on the many different styles of updates/modifications that have been done and holy cow there are a lot. But, most of them rely on the Thien principle that seems to be pretty simple. On the Thien blog there is a guy that tests and records many different modifications with different setups. I am going to set-out to make my entire system buying the least amount as possible. I already had a plastic 55G barrel and the HF-DC, so now its just time to start the crafting.

From the pictures you can see the standard 55G white drum that I will be using for the separator/collector side. Unfortunately the barrel I had didn't have a removable top so I had to do some modifying.



To do so, I took my jig saw with a long blade and cut right along the black line that I put onto the container. I tried to keep this so that I would have a flat spot to attach my screws for the wooden top ring. One tip for attaching the top ring if you barrel is a little out of round (like mine was). Take a long clamp and using a couple blocks of wood to pressure the barrel, squeeze it in the longer direction to make the shorter dimension widen out to round. If you don't, I don't think it will affect the performance, just will have a bigger overhang in some areas.



To create the wooden ring I did something that I have been nervous of doing for a long time….I cut a circle on the table saw. I have hesitated to do this before due to the dangerous nature of this task, but after carefully doing it a couple times in this project, I think it will be something that I use in the future to cut some perfect circles. (I would have used my band saw but the table isn't big enough and it would have taken a lot more to mod the table than to make this jig for the table saw.) Here you can see the barrel with the wooden top ring attached. I used 2" screws into the barrel side doing my best to keep the screws inside the lip. I did have a couple slip out the side, but just backed them out, put some silicone in the hole and angled them a little more. After I had this top ring attached, I ran a healthy bead of silicone around the inside and outside of the barrel right where the plastic and MDF meet. The wooden ring for my base is 1-3/4" but that is all dependent on how big you want the 'top-hat' separator to be. Mine will turn out to be just about a 20" inner chamber.



Now, next steps are to create the chamber and I hope to have that up and posted later this week. I might also try to do a video on the cutting of the circles on the table saw…. Until then….
Keep us advised how it works out
 

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#3 ·
HF-DC Dust Collector Optimization

I know that many people have modified the HF-DC but I just wanted to put my spin out there. I have been doing a lot of research on the many different styles of updates/modifications that have been done and holy cow there are a lot. But, most of them rely on the Thien principle that seems to be pretty simple. On the Thien blog there is a guy that tests and records many different modifications with different setups. I am going to set-out to make my entire system buying the least amount as possible. I already had a plastic 55G barrel and the HF-DC, so now its just time to start the crafting.

From the pictures you can see the standard 55G white drum that I will be using for the separator/collector side. Unfortunately the barrel I had didn't have a removable top so I had to do some modifying.



To do so, I took my jig saw with a long blade and cut right along the black line that I put onto the container. I tried to keep this so that I would have a flat spot to attach my screws for the wooden top ring. One tip for attaching the top ring if you barrel is a little out of round (like mine was). Take a long clamp and using a couple blocks of wood to pressure the barrel, squeeze it in the longer direction to make the shorter dimension widen out to round. If you don't, I don't think it will affect the performance, just will have a bigger overhang in some areas.



To create the wooden ring I did something that I have been nervous of doing for a long time….I cut a circle on the table saw. I have hesitated to do this before due to the dangerous nature of this task, but after carefully doing it a couple times in this project, I think it will be something that I use in the future to cut some perfect circles. (I would have used my band saw but the table isn't big enough and it would have taken a lot more to mod the table than to make this jig for the table saw.) Here you can see the barrel with the wooden top ring attached. I used 2" screws into the barrel side doing my best to keep the screws inside the lip. I did have a couple slip out the side, but just backed them out, put some silicone in the hole and angled them a little more. After I had this top ring attached, I ran a healthy bead of silicone around the inside and outside of the barrel right where the plastic and MDF meet. The wooden ring for my base is 1-3/4" but that is all dependent on how big you want the 'top-hat' separator to be. Mine will turn out to be just about a 20" inner chamber.

Gas Wood Serveware Natural material Fluid


Now, next steps are to create the chamber and I hope to have that up and posted later this week. I might also try to do a video on the cutting of the circles on the table saw…. Until then….
Looking forward to future updates…..
 

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#4 ·
HF-DC Dust Collector Optimization

I know that many people have modified the HF-DC but I just wanted to put my spin out there. I have been doing a lot of research on the many different styles of updates/modifications that have been done and holy cow there are a lot. But, most of them rely on the Thien principle that seems to be pretty simple. On the Thien blog there is a guy that tests and records many different modifications with different setups. I am going to set-out to make my entire system buying the least amount as possible. I already had a plastic 55G barrel and the HF-DC, so now its just time to start the crafting.

From the pictures you can see the standard 55G white drum that I will be using for the separator/collector side. Unfortunately the barrel I had didn't have a removable top so I had to do some modifying.



To do so, I took my jig saw with a long blade and cut right along the black line that I put onto the container. I tried to keep this so that I would have a flat spot to attach my screws for the wooden top ring. One tip for attaching the top ring if you barrel is a little out of round (like mine was). Take a long clamp and using a couple blocks of wood to pressure the barrel, squeeze it in the longer direction to make the shorter dimension widen out to round. If you don't, I don't think it will affect the performance, just will have a bigger overhang in some areas.



To create the wooden ring I did something that I have been nervous of doing for a long time….I cut a circle on the table saw. I have hesitated to do this before due to the dangerous nature of this task, but after carefully doing it a couple times in this project, I think it will be something that I use in the future to cut some perfect circles. (I would have used my band saw but the table isn't big enough and it would have taken a lot more to mod the table than to make this jig for the table saw.) Here you can see the barrel with the wooden top ring attached. I used 2" screws into the barrel side doing my best to keep the screws inside the lip. I did have a couple slip out the side, but just backed them out, put some silicone in the hole and angled them a little more. After I had this top ring attached, I ran a healthy bead of silicone around the inside and outside of the barrel right where the plastic and MDF meet. The wooden ring for my base is 1-3/4" but that is all dependent on how big you want the 'top-hat' separator to be. Mine will turn out to be just about a 20" inner chamber.



Now, next steps are to create the chamber and I hope to have that up and posted later this week. I might also try to do a video on the cutting of the circles on the table saw…. Until then….
Mine does have the removable lid. Nice to be able to see the level in the drum.


 

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#5 ·
HF-DC Dust Collector Optimization

I know that many people have modified the HF-DC but I just wanted to put my spin out there. I have been doing a lot of research on the many different styles of updates/modifications that have been done and holy cow there are a lot. But, most of them rely on the Thien principle that seems to be pretty simple. On the Thien blog there is a guy that tests and records many different modifications with different setups. I am going to set-out to make my entire system buying the least amount as possible. I already had a plastic 55G barrel and the HF-DC, so now its just time to start the crafting.

From the pictures you can see the standard 55G white drum that I will be using for the separator/collector side. Unfortunately the barrel I had didn't have a removable top so I had to do some modifying.



To do so, I took my jig saw with a long blade and cut right along the black line that I put onto the container. I tried to keep this so that I would have a flat spot to attach my screws for the wooden top ring. One tip for attaching the top ring if you barrel is a little out of round (like mine was). Take a long clamp and using a couple blocks of wood to pressure the barrel, squeeze it in the longer direction to make the shorter dimension widen out to round. If you don't, I don't think it will affect the performance, just will have a bigger overhang in some areas.



To create the wooden ring I did something that I have been nervous of doing for a long time….I cut a circle on the table saw. I have hesitated to do this before due to the dangerous nature of this task, but after carefully doing it a couple times in this project, I think it will be something that I use in the future to cut some perfect circles. (I would have used my band saw but the table isn't big enough and it would have taken a lot more to mod the table than to make this jig for the table saw.) Here you can see the barrel with the wooden top ring attached. I used 2" screws into the barrel side doing my best to keep the screws inside the lip. I did have a couple slip out the side, but just backed them out, put some silicone in the hole and angled them a little more. After I had this top ring attached, I ran a healthy bead of silicone around the inside and outside of the barrel right where the plastic and MDF meet. The wooden ring for my base is 1-3/4" but that is all dependent on how big you want the 'top-hat' separator to be. Mine will turn out to be just about a 20" inner chamber.



Now, next steps are to create the chamber and I hope to have that up and posted later this week. I might also try to do a video on the cutting of the circles on the table saw…. Until then….
That is nice to have the removable lid, but I am going to be doing the "TOP-HAT" style. After reading a lot about it, I am planning on doing this to limit all hindrance to optimum air speed. With all of the 90's and the extra hose you have between the separator and the motor, and then the motor to the DC there might be a significant drop in the air speed and rotation. In my case, the inlet will come in and spin the same direction as the blades on the motor and also the same direction into the can. With this change, I should get better air flow and not loose (and maybe even gain) efficiency and cleanliness of the fine dust.
 

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#6 ·
HF-DC Dust Collector Optimization

I know that many people have modified the HF-DC but I just wanted to put my spin out there. I have been doing a lot of research on the many different styles of updates/modifications that have been done and holy cow there are a lot. But, most of them rely on the Thien principle that seems to be pretty simple. On the Thien blog there is a guy that tests and records many different modifications with different setups. I am going to set-out to make my entire system buying the least amount as possible. I already had a plastic 55G barrel and the HF-DC, so now its just time to start the crafting.

From the pictures you can see the standard 55G white drum that I will be using for the separator/collector side. Unfortunately the barrel I had didn't have a removable top so I had to do some modifying.



To do so, I took my jig saw with a long blade and cut right along the black line that I put onto the container. I tried to keep this so that I would have a flat spot to attach my screws for the wooden top ring. One tip for attaching the top ring if you barrel is a little out of round (like mine was). Take a long clamp and using a couple blocks of wood to pressure the barrel, squeeze it in the longer direction to make the shorter dimension widen out to round. If you don't, I don't think it will affect the performance, just will have a bigger overhang in some areas.



To create the wooden ring I did something that I have been nervous of doing for a long time….I cut a circle on the table saw. I have hesitated to do this before due to the dangerous nature of this task, but after carefully doing it a couple times in this project, I think it will be something that I use in the future to cut some perfect circles. (I would have used my band saw but the table isn't big enough and it would have taken a lot more to mod the table than to make this jig for the table saw.) Here you can see the barrel with the wooden top ring attached. I used 2" screws into the barrel side doing my best to keep the screws inside the lip. I did have a couple slip out the side, but just backed them out, put some silicone in the hole and angled them a little more. After I had this top ring attached, I ran a healthy bead of silicone around the inside and outside of the barrel right where the plastic and MDF meet. The wooden ring for my base is 1-3/4" but that is all dependent on how big you want the 'top-hat' separator to be. Mine will turn out to be just about a 20" inner chamber.



Now, next steps are to create the chamber and I hope to have that up and posted later this week. I might also try to do a video on the cutting of the circles on the table saw…. Until then….
That is nice to have the removable lid, but I am going to be doing the "TOP-HAT" style. After reading a lot about it, I am planning on doing this to limit all hindrance to optimum air speed. With all of the 90 s and the extra hose you have between the separator and the motor, and then the motor to the DC there might be a significant drop in the air speed and rotation. In my case, the inlet will come in and spin the same direction as the blades on the motor and also the same direction into the can. With this change, I should get better air flow and not loose (and maybe even gain) efficiency and cleanliness of the fine dust.

- Morton WoodWorks
I haven't plugged a hose yet in over a year's use whether it is the planer, joiner or the drum sander. Of course, larger equipment than mine might bog it down.

Post some pics when you get it going.
 

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#7 ·
HF-DC Dust Collector Optimization

I know that many people have modified the HF-DC but I just wanted to put my spin out there. I have been doing a lot of research on the many different styles of updates/modifications that have been done and holy cow there are a lot. But, most of them rely on the Thien principle that seems to be pretty simple. On the Thien blog there is a guy that tests and records many different modifications with different setups. I am going to set-out to make my entire system buying the least amount as possible. I already had a plastic 55G barrel and the HF-DC, so now its just time to start the crafting.

From the pictures you can see the standard 55G white drum that I will be using for the separator/collector side. Unfortunately the barrel I had didn't have a removable top so I had to do some modifying.



To do so, I took my jig saw with a long blade and cut right along the black line that I put onto the container. I tried to keep this so that I would have a flat spot to attach my screws for the wooden top ring. One tip for attaching the top ring if you barrel is a little out of round (like mine was). Take a long clamp and using a couple blocks of wood to pressure the barrel, squeeze it in the longer direction to make the shorter dimension widen out to round. If you don't, I don't think it will affect the performance, just will have a bigger overhang in some areas.



To create the wooden ring I did something that I have been nervous of doing for a long time….I cut a circle on the table saw. I have hesitated to do this before due to the dangerous nature of this task, but after carefully doing it a couple times in this project, I think it will be something that I use in the future to cut some perfect circles. (I would have used my band saw but the table isn't big enough and it would have taken a lot more to mod the table than to make this jig for the table saw.) Here you can see the barrel with the wooden top ring attached. I used 2" screws into the barrel side doing my best to keep the screws inside the lip. I did have a couple slip out the side, but just backed them out, put some silicone in the hole and angled them a little more. After I had this top ring attached, I ran a healthy bead of silicone around the inside and outside of the barrel right where the plastic and MDF meet. The wooden ring for my base is 1-3/4" but that is all dependent on how big you want the 'top-hat' separator to be. Mine will turn out to be just about a 20" inner chamber.



Now, next steps are to create the chamber and I hope to have that up and posted later this week. I might also try to do a video on the cutting of the circles on the table saw…. Until then….
I like your upgrade and want to convert mine to a top hat but I have the thien baffle in mine… Putting the pleated filter on mine from Wynn environmental make it a totally different machine with the increased air flow while being lowering the noise level…. I highly recommend the upgrade,,, a safer filtration level with more air flow
 

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#8 ·
HF-DC Dust Collector Optimization

I know that many people have modified the HF-DC but I just wanted to put my spin out there. I have been doing a lot of research on the many different styles of updates/modifications that have been done and holy cow there are a lot. But, most of them rely on the Thien principle that seems to be pretty simple. On the Thien blog there is a guy that tests and records many different modifications with different setups. I am going to set-out to make my entire system buying the least amount as possible. I already had a plastic 55G barrel and the HF-DC, so now its just time to start the crafting.

From the pictures you can see the standard 55G white drum that I will be using for the separator/collector side. Unfortunately the barrel I had didn't have a removable top so I had to do some modifying.



To do so, I took my jig saw with a long blade and cut right along the black line that I put onto the container. I tried to keep this so that I would have a flat spot to attach my screws for the wooden top ring. One tip for attaching the top ring if you barrel is a little out of round (like mine was). Take a long clamp and using a couple blocks of wood to pressure the barrel, squeeze it in the longer direction to make the shorter dimension widen out to round. If you don't, I don't think it will affect the performance, just will have a bigger overhang in some areas.



To create the wooden ring I did something that I have been nervous of doing for a long time….I cut a circle on the table saw. I have hesitated to do this before due to the dangerous nature of this task, but after carefully doing it a couple times in this project, I think it will be something that I use in the future to cut some perfect circles. (I would have used my band saw but the table isn't big enough and it would have taken a lot more to mod the table than to make this jig for the table saw.) Here you can see the barrel with the wooden top ring attached. I used 2" screws into the barrel side doing my best to keep the screws inside the lip. I did have a couple slip out the side, but just backed them out, put some silicone in the hole and angled them a little more. After I had this top ring attached, I ran a healthy bead of silicone around the inside and outside of the barrel right where the plastic and MDF meet. The wooden ring for my base is 1-3/4" but that is all dependent on how big you want the 'top-hat' separator to be. Mine will turn out to be just about a 20" inner chamber.



Now, next steps are to create the chamber and I hope to have that up and posted later this week. I might also try to do a video on the cutting of the circles on the table saw…. Until then….
I'd like to do that in the future, but right now I think going from no DC to a 5 micron system will be much better for me. Like I said in my post, I'm trying to do this with the stuff I have laying around my shop. Isn't the WYNN filter over $100?
 

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#9 ·
HF-DC Dust Collector Optimization

I know that many people have modified the HF-DC but I just wanted to put my spin out there. I have been doing a lot of research on the many different styles of updates/modifications that have been done and holy cow there are a lot. But, most of them rely on the Thien principle that seems to be pretty simple. On the Thien blog there is a guy that tests and records many different modifications with different setups. I am going to set-out to make my entire system buying the least amount as possible. I already had a plastic 55G barrel and the HF-DC, so now its just time to start the crafting.

From the pictures you can see the standard 55G white drum that I will be using for the separator/collector side. Unfortunately the barrel I had didn't have a removable top so I had to do some modifying.



To do so, I took my jig saw with a long blade and cut right along the black line that I put onto the container. I tried to keep this so that I would have a flat spot to attach my screws for the wooden top ring. One tip for attaching the top ring if you barrel is a little out of round (like mine was). Take a long clamp and using a couple blocks of wood to pressure the barrel, squeeze it in the longer direction to make the shorter dimension widen out to round. If you don't, I don't think it will affect the performance, just will have a bigger overhang in some areas.



To create the wooden ring I did something that I have been nervous of doing for a long time….I cut a circle on the table saw. I have hesitated to do this before due to the dangerous nature of this task, but after carefully doing it a couple times in this project, I think it will be something that I use in the future to cut some perfect circles. (I would have used my band saw but the table isn't big enough and it would have taken a lot more to mod the table than to make this jig for the table saw.) Here you can see the barrel with the wooden top ring attached. I used 2" screws into the barrel side doing my best to keep the screws inside the lip. I did have a couple slip out the side, but just backed them out, put some silicone in the hole and angled them a little more. After I had this top ring attached, I ran a healthy bead of silicone around the inside and outside of the barrel right where the plastic and MDF meet. The wooden ring for my base is 1-3/4" but that is all dependent on how big you want the 'top-hat' separator to be. Mine will turn out to be just about a 20" inner chamber.



Now, next steps are to create the chamber and I hope to have that up and posted later this week. I might also try to do a video on the cutting of the circles on the table saw…. Until then….
Yes, the Wynn filters can even run more than $150….
However, much less expensive than a double lung transplant!!!

There have been less expensive "upgrades", using truck air filters. A search on LJ should yield additional information.

BTW: I love my Wynn 35A274NANO cartridge filter!!!
That and the folks at Wynn Enviromental are a pleasure to deal with.
 

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#10 ·
HF-DC Dust Collector Optimization

I know that many people have modified the HF-DC but I just wanted to put my spin out there. I have been doing a lot of research on the many different styles of updates/modifications that have been done and holy cow there are a lot. But, most of them rely on the Thien principle that seems to be pretty simple. On the Thien blog there is a guy that tests and records many different modifications with different setups. I am going to set-out to make my entire system buying the least amount as possible. I already had a plastic 55G barrel and the HF-DC, so now its just time to start the crafting.

From the pictures you can see the standard 55G white drum that I will be using for the separator/collector side. Unfortunately the barrel I had didn't have a removable top so I had to do some modifying.



To do so, I took my jig saw with a long blade and cut right along the black line that I put onto the container. I tried to keep this so that I would have a flat spot to attach my screws for the wooden top ring. One tip for attaching the top ring if you barrel is a little out of round (like mine was). Take a long clamp and using a couple blocks of wood to pressure the barrel, squeeze it in the longer direction to make the shorter dimension widen out to round. If you don't, I don't think it will affect the performance, just will have a bigger overhang in some areas.



To create the wooden ring I did something that I have been nervous of doing for a long time….I cut a circle on the table saw. I have hesitated to do this before due to the dangerous nature of this task, but after carefully doing it a couple times in this project, I think it will be something that I use in the future to cut some perfect circles. (I would have used my band saw but the table isn't big enough and it would have taken a lot more to mod the table than to make this jig for the table saw.) Here you can see the barrel with the wooden top ring attached. I used 2" screws into the barrel side doing my best to keep the screws inside the lip. I did have a couple slip out the side, but just backed them out, put some silicone in the hole and angled them a little more. After I had this top ring attached, I ran a healthy bead of silicone around the inside and outside of the barrel right where the plastic and MDF meet. The wooden ring for my base is 1-3/4" but that is all dependent on how big you want the 'top-hat' separator to be. Mine will turn out to be just about a 20" inner chamber.



Now, next steps are to create the chamber and I hope to have that up and posted later this week. I might also try to do a video on the cutting of the circles on the table saw…. Until then….
the point of using the Wynn cartridge filter is you dramatically increase air flow and lower noise of the collector while filtering smaller particles…. so I think it is a wynn wynn situation
 

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#11 ·
HFDC Dust Collector Optimization - Cutting the TOP HAT pieces

After a couple days away from the shop I was able to get back at it after work yesterday. Crazy but I am the most productive at 4:30 AM when I get home from my 12hr shift. Today when I started I had no idea how far I would get, but everything went very quickly. First off, I went to my scrap pile and found a sheet of 3/4" plywood for the main components and cut it into 4 - 2' x 2' pieces.



After that I created a jig so that I could cut the circles on my table saw. This is something that I have seen before online but I have never tried before. If you are not very comfortable with your saw, please do not do this (I am not responsible for anyone getting hurt after trying this).



After I found center of all of the pieces and created the jig, I drilled a hole in the center that is the same size as the pin that I created in my jig. Then I cut the pieces making sure to leave one 1/4 of the circle for the inlet making what I would describe as a 'tear drop' shape.



After I had take all 4 2' square pieces and created the tear drops I made one more from a scrap of 1/8" hardboard that I had laying around the shop. This piece will be the actual drop plate that allows the dust/debris through. Many posts suggest to use the thinnest material that will still be rigid to decrease the downward distance the air has to fall into the separator. As you can see, the jig that I used to cut the pieces has continued to be used for the centering pin while I did all of the layout work on the panel.



Like Thien suggested, I made the drop slot 1-1/4" wide and running a perimeter of 240* around the circle. The drop slot ended just to the side of my inlet in order to maintain optimum air flow. If you need assistance on dividing a circle without a protractor, there is a very simple tutorial that I found. I will try to explain, but it will likely be best to watch their video.

From the center of your circle, draw a line to the edge (the radius). Now put a mark on that line directly in the middle (1/2 of the radius). Next place a square on the radius line at the midpoint and mark the spot that the square intersects the circle both above and below the line. Then simply connect the intersection points with the center point and continue the radius line to the other side (essentially diving the circle in half). Then, erase the radius line that you used to find the 1/2 points and your circle is perfectly divided.

Or you can simply follow this link. http://tinyurl.com/1thirdcircle



Since the 1/8" hardboard isn't strong enough to support on its own and I don't want to have any interference on the top side of the drop, I cut the bottom piece which I will call the baffle support very similar. It has the same 1-1/4" drop slot to mimic the hardboard piece, but it also has an additional 2" drop that runs about 1-1/4" past the hardboard drop slot. Once again, the centering pin made this process very simple to layout. One thing I almost forgot to mention…. on the end of the baffle drop closest to the inlet, you need to back miter the end so it forces the air down into the barrel.



Here is the finished product for today. Again, I have used the centering/alignment pin to ensure everything is lined up correctly. After final fitup, the drop slot is about 1/8" inset from the top ring on the barrel so that there is no chance for material to buildup on the top of the barrel ring.



Finally, you can see the plan that I have adapted this from with the current progress marked out. Hope to get more done in the coming days but I am struggling to conjure up some material for the walls of the baffle. I would really like them to be clear, but I don't think I have anything in my garage. Anyone have any DIY ideas?

 

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#12 ·
HFDC Dust Collector Optimization - Cutting the TOP HAT pieces

After a couple days away from the shop I was able to get back at it after work yesterday. Crazy but I am the most productive at 4:30 AM when I get home from my 12hr shift. Today when I started I had no idea how far I would get, but everything went very quickly. First off, I went to my scrap pile and found a sheet of 3/4" plywood for the main components and cut it into 4 - 2' x 2' pieces.



After that I created a jig so that I could cut the circles on my table saw. This is something that I have seen before online but I have never tried before. If you are not very comfortable with your saw, please do not do this (I am not responsible for anyone getting hurt after trying this).



After I found center of all of the pieces and created the jig, I drilled a hole in the center that is the same size as the pin that I created in my jig. Then I cut the pieces making sure to leave one 1/4 of the circle for the inlet making what I would describe as a 'tear drop' shape.



After I had take all 4 2' square pieces and created the tear drops I made one more from a scrap of 1/8" hardboard that I had laying around the shop. This piece will be the actual drop plate that allows the dust/debris through. Many posts suggest to use the thinnest material that will still be rigid to decrease the downward distance the air has to fall into the separator. As you can see, the jig that I used to cut the pieces has continued to be used for the centering pin while I did all of the layout work on the panel.



Like Thien suggested, I made the drop slot 1-1/4" wide and running a perimeter of 240* around the circle. The drop slot ended just to the side of my inlet in order to maintain optimum air flow. If you need assistance on dividing a circle without a protractor, there is a very simple tutorial that I found. I will try to explain, but it will likely be best to watch their video.

From the center of your circle, draw a line to the edge (the radius). Now put a mark on that line directly in the middle (1/2 of the radius). Next place a square on the radius line at the midpoint and mark the spot that the square intersects the circle both above and below the line. Then simply connect the intersection points with the center point and continue the radius line to the other side (essentially diving the circle in half). Then, erase the radius line that you used to find the 1/2 points and your circle is perfectly divided.

Or you can simply follow this link. http://tinyurl.com/1thirdcircle



Since the 1/8" hardboard isn't strong enough to support on its own and I don't want to have any interference on the top side of the drop, I cut the bottom piece which I will call the baffle support very similar. It has the same 1-1/4" drop slot to mimic the hardboard piece, but it also has an additional 2" drop that runs about 1-1/4" past the hardboard drop slot. Once again, the centering pin made this process very simple to layout. One thing I almost forgot to mention…. on the end of the baffle drop closest to the inlet, you need to back miter the end so it forces the air down into the barrel.



Here is the finished product for today. Again, I have used the centering/alignment pin to ensure everything is lined up correctly. After final fitup, the drop slot is about 1/8" inset from the top ring on the barrel so that there is no chance for material to buildup on the top of the barrel ring.



Finally, you can see the plan that I have adapted this from with the current progress marked out. Hope to get more done in the coming days but I am struggling to conjure up some material for the walls of the baffle. I would really like them to be clear, but I don't think I have anything in my garage. Anyone have any DIY ideas?

Progressing along nicely.

Clear walls…. um…. plexiglass???

I used a sheet if aluminum, that I had lying around.
Of course the aluminum is NOT clear.
Perhaps in the future, think "StarTrek the Movie", aluminum will be clear!!!
 

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#13 ·
ASSEMBLY, Installation & 1st Use

First off, wow, I can't believe that I never finished this blog. And, for that, I apologize but I was too excited after I completed it that I never took the time to get back to it. So, here it goes.

Unfortunately, since it is all put together, all I have to provide is the minimal pictures that I took during assembly. Nothing about putting it together was very difficult, but ensuring an air-tight seal makes it run all the better.

The first aspect of construction is to create the frame that will hold the plexi. You don't have to use plexi, but it's just so cool to see the dust swirling around inside.



This is where my pictures stopped. I really wasn't able to take pictures while holding the plexiglass in and attaching everything. Therefore, I present the finished separator mechanism resting nicely on top of my 55G drum.



The hole in the center is 5" diameter to match the inlet of the HF dust collector. Also, I never really explained or showed the reason that I left the 3/4 plywood in the middle but this picture should explain it. It is basically only a support for the 1/8" hardboard that is used as the drop separator plate. You want to keep this plywood support back far enough to not inhibit the air flow, but not too far that the drop separator plate becomes weak and flimsy.



Here is a close-up picture of the inlet where you can see the details on the inlet hose from my machines. I chose to do a taller baffle which increase the separation of the material.When I did this, I then had to take a scrap of the leftover hardboard to finish off the circle to keep the flow going smooth around the separator.



After all of that construction, I now have 2 very large items taking up very large amounts of room in the garage where my wife likes to park her car….crazy idea isn't it.



But, with this separator reducing the amount of dust going to the bag, I attempted to begin a re-design of the stock system and took to stacking. Since the bag isn't going to be used for the main dust collection, I reduced the capacity by almost 1/4 or less by simply cutting it off. I then took the bag and rolled it up to shorten the height of the bag as well. Once I had these dimensions, I bolted 2 support legs to the green stock separator and then attached them to the baffle separator I made. One key note, make sure that when the bag hangs down at full extension that it does not block the end of the motor. Then, after I got all of this done, I tried to simulate emptying the can. Well, that was an epic failure. This stuff is SUPER HEAVY! So, I developed the lifting system you see here. I threaded in 4 eye bolts into my baffle separator and attached them to two hinged arms with chain that also have eye-bolts in the ends as well (again, sorry, not pictured). There are also 2 chains with large S hooks hanging from the ceiling that you can't see in these pictures. So, when you want to empty the bin, simply remove the wing nuts that hold the separator to the 55G barrel and lift on the hinged arms and hook the eye bolts to the S hooks and the entire system is suspended allowing you to easily remove the full barrel.



Now, I have been using this system in my shop for over 2 months running my table saw, panel sander, and thickness planer all to this DC system and I JUST filled it for the first time last week. And, I was amazed at the cleanliness of the bag. There is virtually no dust at all in the bag. I would estimate that the baffle captures 99% or more of the dust that goes into the system.

Almost forgot! How did I connect the motor outlet to the stock separator? I used the factory hose with two 5" ducting elbows. One suggestion I would give is to ensure that you tape all of your seams. I noticed while I was emptying it that there was some leakage around my seams.

I took a test video to see how it would perform before the construction was complete. Wow was I impressed. Even with no bag or filter system, the separator performed perfectly. It is really neat to see the dust go through the cyclone and then fall into the can (and nothing blowing out but clean air). I have seen some guys that talk about blowing the exhaust out of an exterior wall, but then I would just be blowing all of my heated air outside. And, that is not something you want to be wasting on the cold Illinois winter nights where temps can routinely fall below 0* F.



Next phase is to enclose both the air compressor ($100 CL find due to a broken valve. $5 fix and it runs like new) and the DC in a couple walls to reduce the sound even more. I also plan to wire a few 4-way switches around my shop so that I can power on my DC from my mitersaw, planer, sander or table saw without having to go manually flip the switch on the machine.
 

Attachments

#14 ·
ASSEMBLY, Installation & 1st Use

First off, wow, I can't believe that I never finished this blog. And, for that, I apologize but I was too excited after I completed it that I never took the time to get back to it. So, here it goes.

Unfortunately, since it is all put together, all I have to provide is the minimal pictures that I took during assembly. Nothing about putting it together was very difficult, but ensuring an air-tight seal makes it run all the better.

The first aspect of construction is to create the frame that will hold the plexi. You don't have to use plexi, but it's just so cool to see the dust swirling around inside.



This is where my pictures stopped. I really wasn't able to take pictures while holding the plexiglass in and attaching everything. Therefore, I present the finished separator mechanism resting nicely on top of my 55G drum.



The hole in the center is 5" diameter to match the inlet of the HF dust collector. Also, I never really explained or showed the reason that I left the 3/4 plywood in the middle but this picture should explain it. It is basically only a support for the 1/8" hardboard that is used as the drop separator plate. You want to keep this plywood support back far enough to not inhibit the air flow, but not too far that the drop separator plate becomes weak and flimsy.



Here is a close-up picture of the inlet where you can see the details on the inlet hose from my machines. I chose to do a taller baffle which increase the separation of the material.When I did this, I then had to take a scrap of the leftover hardboard to finish off the circle to keep the flow going smooth around the separator.



After all of that construction, I now have 2 very large items taking up very large amounts of room in the garage where my wife likes to park her car….crazy idea isn't it.



But, with this separator reducing the amount of dust going to the bag, I attempted to begin a re-design of the stock system and took to stacking. Since the bag isn't going to be used for the main dust collection, I reduced the capacity by almost 1/4 or less by simply cutting it off. I then took the bag and rolled it up to shorten the height of the bag as well. Once I had these dimensions, I bolted 2 support legs to the green stock separator and then attached them to the baffle separator I made. One key note, make sure that when the bag hangs down at full extension that it does not block the end of the motor. Then, after I got all of this done, I tried to simulate emptying the can. Well, that was an epic failure. This stuff is SUPER HEAVY! So, I developed the lifting system you see here. I threaded in 4 eye bolts into my baffle separator and attached them to two hinged arms with chain that also have eye-bolts in the ends as well (again, sorry, not pictured). There are also 2 chains with large S hooks hanging from the ceiling that you can't see in these pictures. So, when you want to empty the bin, simply remove the wing nuts that hold the separator to the 55G barrel and lift on the hinged arms and hook the eye bolts to the S hooks and the entire system is suspended allowing you to easily remove the full barrel.



Now, I have been using this system in my shop for over 2 months running my table saw, panel sander, and thickness planer all to this DC system and I JUST filled it for the first time last week. And, I was amazed at the cleanliness of the bag. There is virtually no dust at all in the bag. I would estimate that the baffle captures 99% or more of the dust that goes into the system.

Almost forgot! How did I connect the motor outlet to the stock separator? I used the factory hose with two 5" ducting elbows. One suggestion I would give is to ensure that you tape all of your seams. I noticed while I was emptying it that there was some leakage around my seams.

I took a test video to see how it would perform before the construction was complete. Wow was I impressed. Even with no bag or filter system, the separator performed perfectly. It is really neat to see the dust go through the cyclone and then fall into the can (and nothing blowing out but clean air). I have seen some guys that talk about blowing the exhaust out of an exterior wall, but then I would just be blowing all of my heated air outside. And, that is not something you want to be wasting on the cold Illinois winter nights where temps can routinely fall below 0* F.



Next phase is to enclose both the air compressor ($100 CL find due to a broken valve. $5 fix and it runs like new) and the DC in a couple walls to reduce the sound even more. I also plan to wire a few 4-way switches around my shop so that I can power on my DC from my mitersaw, planer, sander or table saw without having to go manually flip the switch on the machine.
That's an interesting system. I like how it's all vertically integrated. Might have to come back to this.
 

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