Home Made Cyclone

A while back I posted a home made dust collector I found on ebay.

After setting it up, I found that the separator wasn’t that efficient. It basically sucked the dust in and smacked against a plywood wall and fell into a waste basket. I had just bought two new filter bags and didn’t want to plug them up tons of dust.

So, I looked into a buying a cyclone but they seemed too expensive so I thought of a way to build my own. I used 26 gauge steel sheet from Home depot. I spent around $100 when it was all said and done. All the gaps are sealed with construction adhesive and gutter seal.

My biggest challenge was to create a spiral that a 4 inch pipe could stick into without leaking air. Then, it dawned on me, if I just cut a spiral with a bandsaw through some particle board, then I could just shove the steel up the slot and that would bend the sheet into shape. I added some pictures so you can see the band saw cut. It was a very effective way to create a “coil” or “spiral”. I couldn’t figure out how to make a cone so I just made a pyramid out of wood. The lid is held down tight on the trash can with some bungee cords.

In the end, this thing really works!!!

-- Tom, Simsbury, CT