Project Information
I had been saving for a dust collector for a while and was about to pull the trigger on it and wham…life got in the way. When you have two kids in college that tends to happen from time to time. Well I am back in saving mode again and still intend to get one but still have a dust collection issue. Dont get me wrong, my shop vac does a pretty good job but like all single stage collection systems, as the collection bag gets full I start to lose suction. The higher grade filter bags tend to get pricey as well so I needed a short term fix. After studying several different designs of trash can seperators, I decided to try the Thein style baffle. I collected some scrap plywood out of some shipping crates and set to work. Three plywood discs, three 8 1/2" long pieces of 1/4" all thread and a 3" pvc elbow and I was ready to assemble this thing. The top plywood disc was just a tad bit larger that the top of the can while the second was sized to fit snugly inside the can. These two were glued together. The trash can tapers so I had to use a slightly smaller disc to cut the baffle out of. I cut a 2 1/4" hole in the center of the lid and offset a hole for the 3" elbow to mount into. Since the shop vac uses 2 1/2 hose, I had to cut a hole in piece of plywood to fit the hose and mounted it over the 3 1/2" hole with glue and screws. Mounted the baffle with the all thread. One of my concerns was that the shop vac would not be able to pull enough vacuum due to the volume of the trash can but when I hooked it up and turned it on, I noticed it was collapsing the sides of the can some so knew that probably would not be an issue. The last pic is of some junk I picked up around the shop while giving it a trial run. Guess I need to build a cart to put it and the shop vac on…but that can wait for another day.