# New Harbor Freight Dust Collector



## MT_Stringer (Jul 21, 2009)

Well, it ain't pretty, but I got it up and running. It is a little different than what you might expect. Just like Tim the Tool Man Taylor, I modified it a little.

I fabricated a base for the motor/blower by laminating two pieces of 1/2 inch Baltic Birch. Then I drilled four mounting holes so I could screw it to the garage wall with three inch lag bolts.

To mount the motor/blower, I pre-drilled holes and used 3/8 inch bolts and t nuts to create mounting studs. I put a neoprene washer on each stud then mounted the blower and bolted it down with flat washers and lock washers under the nuts.

I made a pre-separator by locating a 30 gallon plastic drum and installed the 4 inch Dust Right component kit from Rockler.

I wanted the drum to sit on the original HF frame, so I had to make an extension for it. I used more 1/2 in BB and shimmed it in several places with 1/4 inch ply so it would sit level above the bolt heads for the casters.

With a little help from my wife, I managed to sit the motor/blower frame 50 inches above the floor on a ledger board and she drove the lag bolts home with an impact wrench. 

I got the hoses hooked up but I am not happy with the first fit. I hope to find a 5 inch to 4 inch single fitting to tie the hose from the drum to the suction of the blower. And the 5 inch hose is just a tad short.

I have it running and separating the dust. I cleaned the floor and emptied a bucket of dust from the Bucket Max vac.

Next up is to order a canister filter from Wynn Environmental and get some 5 inch hose while I am at it.
And, at first opportunity, build a separator baffle based on the Phil Thien principal.

When I am finished, the separator/dust collector will sit against the wall and won't take up much room in my one car garage/work shop.

Still have a few leaks to trace out and seal but overall, I am happy with the "smoke" test!

Thanks to all the input from fellow LJ's and especially b2rtch

Note: I have the 4 inch hose connected to a 4 inch manifold which has a couple of take off's including a 4 inch (for planer, and joiner) and a 2 1/2 for the router table. The table saw connection is also connected. Blast gates make it easy to change tools.



















Motor/blower test fit on custom wall mount.









Support base for the drum.









Pre-separator test fit.


----------



## tuffruss (Nov 17, 2011)

Neat idea I wouldn't have thought of that it sure saves a lot of valuable space. Did you make your barrel separator?


----------



## JesseTutt (Aug 15, 2012)

Good start, you will love the wynn filter!


----------



## MT_Stringer (Jul 21, 2009)

"Did you make your barrel separator?"

Yes, using the kit from Rockler.


----------



## kdc68 (Mar 2, 2012)

Looks like a good set up. Can you answer a couple of questions?
- The HF and the Rockler's are all 4" fittings. If so why did you convert to 5" from the blower to the drum?
- The HF dimensions according to their website is 33×22 x 75-1/2. Is the footprint of your set up smaller or bigger?
The reason for asking is I'm interested in what you and others have done to improve the HF collector. And I have limited room in my little workshop.


----------



## JesseTutt (Aug 15, 2012)

kdc68, the best improvement I did to my HF dust collector was adding the wynn 35a nano filter in place of the top bag. It catches a lot more fine particles than the bag did. I had problems getting the filter to seal against the sloped top; I ended up adding weather stripping and a band clamp.


----------



## kdc68 (Mar 2, 2012)

*JessTutt*...Yep looked at the Wynn website yesterday. I like the fact that their products are reasonably inexpensive. Thanks for the tip


----------



## MT_Stringer (Jul 21, 2009)

@kdc68 - The suction inlet to the blower is 5 inches in diameter. The two 4 inch hose ports merge into a five inch port which fits over the inlet. The blower discharge port is also 5 inches and connects to the dust collector with a 5 inch hose.

I don't recall but I think I extended the footprint by 5-8 inches with the plywood deck. I will measure and report back.

And yes, the Wynn 35a Nano canister filter is the final part of my puzzle. I should have it in place in a week or so.

Edit: I was at my local Woodcraft looking for 5 inch hose. The salesman doubted me so he removed the clamp off of a similar Jet, and sure enough, it is a 5 inch hose also.  I think his name was Thomas…"Doubting Thomas".


----------



## MT_Stringer (Jul 21, 2009)

Overall length is now 40 inches.


----------



## kdc68 (Mar 2, 2012)

*MT_Stringer*- thank you for checking the footprint measurements and explaining the 5" inch hose. The info on the HF website about their collector said inlet and outlets were 4."


----------



## MT_Stringer (Jul 21, 2009)

And now for an update. I have been busy with several projects and haven't had time to build the Thien separator. When the plastic drum got about 1/3 full, the chips started carrying over into the plastic bag. Now it is almost 2/3 full. I emptied the drum and went back to work. Profit from my projects will easily fund the Wynn canister filter.

As soon as I can, I will modify my drum lid to add the inner part of the separator.


----------



## ldl (Dec 4, 2011)

Stringer how did you remedy the 5" hose problem?

I have this same setup except my DC sets on the original cart. I have a 55gl drum with the Rockler separator kit to the side. I want to make a Thein sys and put over the drum with HFDC on top. Thinking of mounting it all back on original cart with a few mod.


----------



## MT_Stringer (Jul 21, 2009)

*"Stringer how did you remedy the 5" hose problem?"*

Also, I will be ordering a canister filter from Wynn Environmental. They also sell the 5 inch hose so that is my plan - order it at the same time.
Mike


----------



## MT_Stringer (Jul 21, 2009)

I ordered some 5 inch hose from Grizzly and it was delivered today. I cut it to fit between the blower and the dust collector. That allowed me to slightly reposition the cart closer to the garage door and against the side wall.

While I was emptying the clear plastic bag I thought HMMM…
Yep my 42 gallon 3 mill trash bag fit perfectly. I used some scotch tape to help hold it in place while I wrestled wuth the clamp.

Don't laugh, the bag is workin just fine so far. I will post an update if the bag craters on me.


----------



## Alan72 (Oct 31, 2012)

Stringer I use the same step up as you except I vent outside. I also have the same problem with the dust collector pulling the saw dust out of the drum and in the back yard. I think that's the problem with Rockler's separator system. When money permits I would like to get a Dust deputy.


----------



## MT_Stringer (Jul 21, 2009)

Thanks Alan. I hope the Thien type separator will help eliminate most of the carryover. I got the mdf, just need the time to measure and cut out the inner piece and mount it to the drum lid.

I am getting there, slowly but surely.


----------



## MT_Stringer (Jul 21, 2009)

I finally got around to making the lower part of the Thien chip separator for use in the plastic drum. I used 3//4 inch mdf and tried to duplicate what Phil had created. Hopefully it will serve me well.

While I had everything apart, I sealed the two hose connection fittings on the drum with silicone caulk. also, I shortened the hose connecting the drum outlet to the blower suction.

I shortened the hose by about 2 feet between the drum inlet and my dust collection manifold.

I am not sure what made the most contribution but I now have more suction than before.  and that is a good thing. I plan to do some planing and jointing this week so I should get a better idea of how the chip separator is working.

I guess I could have shortened the all thread pieces but, what the heck. I wasn't really sure how long they needed to be.

And I have an update on the trash bag…I have been running the dust collector regularly for the past week and the trash bag is hanging in there. No rips or tears. There is some sawdust in the bottom of it but I am hoping the mods I made today will help reduce any carry-over from the drum into the trash bag.

If I remember I will order the Wynn cannister filter tomorrow. Three projects paid for this weekend and a fourth will be picked up Tuesday. I like that.

Mike


----------



## MT_Stringer (Jul 21, 2009)

A month or so ago, I swapped out the bag for a Wynn nano canister filter. Seems to be working just fine.

Yep, that is a bag with about 20# of sand sitting on top of the filter. I didn't bolt the filter on, just used a couple of bungee cords and the sand bag to keep it in place.


----------



## shawnmasterson (Jan 24, 2013)

do you think the sand bag would work for the hood on my beater truck.


----------



## MT_Stringer (Jul 21, 2009)

Maybe. I have used it to tie down one corner of a pop up canopy.


----------



## HorizontalMike (Jun 3, 2010)

Just a suggestion here… Rotate your intake (the 90-degree elbow) location to "start" at the wider section of the baffle. By doing this, the "back" of the elbow actually helps direct the chips downward into the can after one trip around the baffle.

Like THIS
*click to see full image


.
.
.
.
The above adjustment really improved how my separator functioned. It started out like the below image and passed a lot of the chips on to the bag.


----------



## MT_Stringer (Jul 21, 2009)

Thanks for the tip, Mike. My setup is actually working very well. I also have the fittings siliconed in place.  Hopefully, these tips will help others build their separators.


----------



## HorizontalMike (Jun 3, 2010)

FWIW, I did NOT mean rotate the fitting 180 (I did that by accident on mine). What I meant is rotate the baffle on the bottom (below the fittings), so that the wider baffle starts at the end of the 90 elbow. You can do that by drilling three new holes in the baffle and filling the others with silicon. That is how I did it.


----------



## MT_Stringer (Jul 21, 2009)

I might try that. Thanks.


----------



## ldl (Dec 4, 2011)

I wonder if anyone has removed the metal cross in the impellar inlet to allow better flow. With my rockler separator in the 55 gl drum I filled it up to about 6" of inlet elbow and didn't get any more shavings in bag. Probably would have if it had gotten a little more in it. I changed my blue plastic drum to a white one like yours and hopefully it will allow me to see the level of the shavings in it without a putting a window in it.


----------



## MT_Stringer (Jul 21, 2009)

" I changed my blue plastic drum to a white one like yours and hopefully it will allow me to see the level of the shavings in it without a putting a window in it."

It's pretty cool to watch the shavings swirl around in the drum.


----------



## OnlyJustME (Nov 22, 2011)

I plan on making my thein separator out of clear acrylic so i can see down in the bin.


----------



## WoodWorkingGuy916 (Sep 13, 2015)

I realize this is an old thread, but where did you get your white barrel?

Bill


----------



## OldCoach (Jan 3, 2016)

Check out Craigs list. I find them listed as food grade barrels. They are listed in San Antonio and Austin under tools. There's a guy in Seguin TX that has a bunch of them.


----------



## Willque (Feb 6, 2016)

Upgrade to a Wynn 35a filter well worth the money and stops the find dust.


----------

