Christian, Artist Woodworker and Hilbilly Philosopher

Dust Collection System Separator Experiment

Below are a few images of an ongoing experiment in building a shop made pre-separator for the dust collection
system in my woodworking shop, which is roughly 12' x 48'. The shop is part of an old barn, 100 years old.

My Dust Collection (DC) unit is the Central Machinery 2 HP unit sold by Harbor Freight Tools. It's a good unit
and affordable for a small shop. However, I wanted a pre-separator that would catch the larger chips and
shavings before they enter the collection bag of the DC unit. One problem that I had encountered without the pre-seperator
was that the guard that prevents blocks of wood from entering the DC impeller blades also was causing a back up of
larger shavings generated by the planer, thus causing the unit to not work properly.

For the seperator I started out with a 55 gallon heavy gauge plastic barrel obtained from the local recycle center,
also known as the dump! Having developed a rapport with the Dump Meister, I asked him to save one of these barrels for me when they
came in. He willingly and graciously obliged. This barrel has a removable lid that is secured with a locking metal ring.

Please keep in mind that this is a novice's experiment and that this is my first dust collection system.You'll notice that
I've used duct tape to secure the fittings. I don't want to use glue in the event that I decide to change the configuration
at some point in the future. If I glue the joints together, I'm married to that particular set up. Divorce is expensive!

This photo shows the basic set up of the pre-separator. In this photo the chips and dust from all of the large machines in
the shop, are routed through the pre-separator. Please notice that I added a "view port" to the barrel made from a scrap piece of
polycarbonate. In a test run the DC unit lifts a a 1.5 inch cube of wood 7.5 feet vertically from a stationary floor sweep to
the overhead ducts, across the shop and deposit this 1.5 inch cube of wood into the separator. The total travel is about 33 feet.

This is a view of the DC unit and the sperator from another angle with the DC turned on and all blast gates closed.

Here's a photo showing how I fitted the intake and out take ducts to the lid of the barrel.
I removed the sliding portion of two blast gates and sealed the flanges with silicone and secured them with
short screws. I decided to use the blast gates because they have a nipple on both ends to accomodate the
DC hose and fittings.

This view is of the underside of the lid. The 90 degree elbow is the intake duct and the short straight piece
is the outlet going to the DC unit. I added some extra weather stripping to the top edge of the barrel for
a better seal. The general idea, of course, is for all of the debris to enter through the intake and deposit the heavier
material in the bottom of the barrel. So far, so good!

This photo shows the debris from the jointer swirling around inside the barrel. As long as the DC unit is turned on
and the blast gate remains open, the centrifugal force keeps the debris spinning around the inside edge of the barrel.
When you turn the DC off or close the blast gate the debris falls to the bottom of the barrel.

This is a view of the inside of the barrel after a few tests. I was surprised to see how much of the
fine dust from the sander was also remaining in the barrel. That's a good thing, too! The larger pieces of
wood are the ones I used in my test from the stationary floor drop sweep/dust pan thing.

Update: This system has been in use for over a year now. When the debris in the barrel gets to the bottom of the window
it's time to empty the barrel. The system begins to be less effective the fuller the barrel is. I've learned that the barrel catches all
of the shavings and most of the fine dust, too. I have to empty the bag on the DC unit about every fourth time that I empty
the barrel.

This view is of the inside of my "evolving work in progress shop". It's come a long ways
from a stock barn to a woodworking shop and still has a long way to go!
One day at a time............

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This seems to be an inexpensive way to build a good seperator for small shop DC system. The entire system,
DC unit, pipe, fittings, blast gates and flex hose cost less than $500.00.

Special thanks to John W. Nixon of Eagle Lake Woodworking in Wheatfield, NY for his invaluable tips,
advice and patience in explaining to me the basics of Dust Collection for the small shop! Visit his site to see
examples of his fine furniture built in the Arts and Crafts Tradition and to learn many useful woodworking tips.
His site is: http://www.eaglelakewoodworking.com/

Useful Tip: John Nixon taught this one to me. To install blast gates in the lines, simply caulk around the bottom outer edge of one
nipple on the blast gate. Then run a heavy bead of caulk around the inside edge of a short piece of thin wall S&D pipe, short enough
so that you can reach down into the pipe to the blast gate. Slide the S&D pipe over the caulked nipple of the blast gate.With a damp rag,
clean the excess caulk on both the inside and outside of this connection. Set the newly connected blast gate and short piece of thin wall S&D pipe
aside for at least 24 hours, longer if necessary, until it's fully cured. These two pieces will stay together until the cows come home! Just be sure
to use enough caulk to get an airtight seal and give it enough time to fully cure before using it.

When these pieces have cured you can use a coupling to connect the short piece piece of S&D to a "Y" fitting off the main
trunk line. To the nipple of the blast gate you can connect a piece of the super flex black hose with a wire hose clamp and use that
as a drop to your machine. Works like a charm!

Thanks for looking! Feel free to email me if you have any questions.

~Steve~

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All Images On This Page Are The Property of Stephen Edison Edwards