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My old Jet DC-650 works just fine for me, with a few notable exceptions. The caster system on this old unit is worthless. Very difficult to move around. The stand itself has allowed the motor/impeller unit to sag on the mount. Lastly it is a pain in the @$$ to empty the filter bag. So, I decided to dismantle this baby and remount the motor/impeller in a new wood housing riding on a cart that also carried a trash can cyclone pre-filter. This new unit is shown in the pics above.
I was interested in something on casters BUT not movable when I didn't want it to move. I designed some feet that will swing up out of the way when the unit is pushed in one direction. However when it is pushed in the opposite direction the front edge of the feet catch the floor and swing down lifting the casters up off the floor about 0.25". At which point the unit is immobile. I like this design. It seems to work well. What I really found useful is I prototyped this "whole thing in Sketchup. I was able to very accurately determine the proper dimensions on the feet and related parts by simply playing around with size and rotation in Sketchup. A very powerful tool. No actual prototyping needed.

Then it was simply a matter of elevating the base frame with shims to reflect the height above the floor I wanted it, attaching he hinges to the feet, positioning the feet/hinge on the frame so the extended feet were touching the floor (table top) and lastly screwing the hinges onto the frame.

As well the fit off the motor/impeller unit in the frame is almost perfect. VERY TIGHT with no possibility of vibration working something loose. I designed a sliding mount setup so it is easy to remove the DC unit, should that become necessary for any reason. Again after taking numerous measurements off of the actual unit and transferring those to a Sketchup component, the resulting Sketchup design was spot on. I LOVE SKETCHUP!
This is all held together with pocket holes joints.
The trashcan cyclone lid I used is one from Woodcraft. I've seen this product referenced in a number of places here on LJ. This works GREAT. I ran a few boards thru my thickness planer and NOTHING showed up in the DC-650 bag. Emptying the trash can will be loads easier.

Gallery

Comments

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Way to go. I did much the same sometime ago and it really makes things nice. One thing I might suggest is to get a different bag filter on the top. If yours is like mine was it does let a lot of very fine dust through. I got one made out of thick felt that extends to the ceiling, although this makes it pretty much stationary, it does not let any fine dust through into the shop to be captured by your lungs. If anyone is interested I could post some pics.
 

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I was also going to comment on those old bags….not good for your lungs !!
 

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OK, so any recommendations on bag replacements. I've seen references to some sort of canister that sits on top but don't recall the details.
 

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There are several aftermarket suppliers of bags and canister filters. You will want something that filters down to 5 microns or less . I believe that my JET canister filter is rated at 2 microns. The canister systems have the filter on top and just a clear plastic collection bag on the bottom.
 

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Nice setup! I have the same cyclone lid and it's been working great for me too.
 

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I also have the Woodcraft cyclone lid, and I love it. Great project.
 

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Shoulda torn the whole rig apart and gone Frankenduster on it! ;)

Nice job, love the casters!
 

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Took me a minute to figure out how the casters were gonna swivel up out of the way from your written description. But I figured out that they dont move, it's the wood cleats that'll raise up when they make contact with the floor. NEAT IDEA.

Thanks for sharing this. Adding to my fav's so when I'm ready I'll be able to find it again.
 
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