Thien cyclone separator with 1 7/8" hose?

[bad_idea]

I plan on building a Thien cyclone separator for use with my c-man shop vac. It has a 1 7/8" hose. I went to Home Depot to gather the necessary supplies and couldn't find any PVC pipe that my hose would fit on or in. This is proving to be a PITA!

BTW... I found a steel drum to use for this. It has a metal lid and I am having trouble figuring out how to attach the fittings to the lid. Ugh.

Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

 

[Regnar]

You might want to read through the forum for the top hat design. Better performance and allows for full trash can fills.

For just a shop vac you might want to look at the dust deputy. I think I payed 40.00 back in the day and it works great.

 

[Toolfool]

Check out what these guys have. Works really well.
http://www.clearvuecyclones.com/cv06-mini/17-cv06-mini-system.html

 

[bad_idea]

you guys are killing me. I am looking to invest about $10 in pvc fittings because I have everything else I need to make this thing and you recommend something that is going to cost me $150!

So I take it no one has found anything to fit a 1 7/8" shop vac hose to?

 

[e3pres]

I bought one of theirs and wound up using a shop vac fitting that was close, then I thinned down a bit on my lathe so it would fit tightly. There has to be a standard size fitting out there, but I couldn't find it... though I admit I didn't look that hard.

 

[R6 Racer]

I have a couple of sites bookmarked on the subject. Maybe this can help you out...

http://harderwoods.com/pipetemplate.php

I am interested in how your project turns out. Keep us posted.

Steve

 

[PECVD2]

Bad Idea,

I too used HD parts, but used an old craftsman bag (from leaf blower/vac) as my "separator". It works good. None of these, even the high dollar DC units work perfectly. I use mine to capture the bulk of the sawdust and use 20"x20" filters on box fans to capture some of the really nasty fine particles (filters have increased 10X in price over the past 5 years). These 4" parts are also not cheap. I do have some rubber reducers to get to the 1 1/2" regular vacuum hose (HD plumbing dept).

I built up a wood frame to hold the drum and blower as a unit but don't have a pic right now.

 

[Motofixxer]

Your local box store shouuld sell Vac adapters designed for attaching different sized hoses. The one I have is rubber and has a 2 1/2 on one end then stepped sizes on the other that you cut of at the correct size.

Otherwise HF has 2 smaller portable dust collectors that sit on a platform with casters and the bag just sit on the floor. They are about $100. The volume increase would be much better than a shopvac.

Here is the bigger one for $124 Link

Here is the smaller 1 HP for $94 Link

 

[Nowater]

Some of the woodworking suppliers like Woodcraft or Rocklers may sell a size adapter that is basically a series of increasing short *******. Cut it off where you need it. Other wise consider some aluminum flashing or tin that you cut into a long funnel shape and trim yourself. Add a few pop rivets and metal duct tape.

I was able to find an adapter for larger pipe in the duct sections of the BORG or his Blue brother for my dust collector. Good luck.

 

[bad_idea]

I found a 1 1/2" rubber coupler squeezed down on the shop vac hose good. I made the separator this afternoon. I have about $11 (overshot my budget by 10%) and about 3 hours of my time invested in it. The best part - it works great!

I made a pile of saw dust just to test this thing out. That's one way to get rid of some scrap wood right? Bunch of dust in the barrel and a small quantity in the shop vac.

I'll get some pics posted soon.

 

[bad_idea]

I had a chance to take some pics.

Here is a picture of the setup.

An overhead view of the lid flipped upside-down to show the shape of the baffle plate.

A side view of the lid upside-down to show the inlet for the saw dust. I used construction adhesive to attach the 90 to a chunk of 2x4 with a hole in the middle for the 90 to pass through. Used one screw to hold the 90 to the chunk of wood. Then I spread construction adhesive on the 2x4 and ran 4 screws through the lid into the 2x4. The center hole is a piece of 2x4 with a 1 3/4" hole drilled in it glued and screwed to the bottom of the lid. A 1 3/4" hole saw makes a hole that the shop vac hose fits snugly in.

The pile of sawdust is about 70% chips from the planer and 30% dust from the miter saw. I grabbed the first object on the bench to lay in the middle of the pile to give a size reference.

That is about a handful of saw dust in the vacuum. The rest of the pile was in the bottom of the barrel.

The list of materials:

30 gallon steel drum - FREEBIE (dumpster find)
additional shop vac hose - FREEBIE (dumpster find)
3/4" plywood - leftover from the wood cart
3/8" all thread - FREEBIE (dumpster find)
1 1/2" PVC pipe 2' long - HD ~$2
1 1/2" PVC 90 - ~$2
1 1/2" Rubber clamp on 90 - ~$7

All totaled ~$11 and 3 hours of my time. Overall, I am happy.

 

[texasOFT]

Her is a link to an article which describes building a thein baffle as a tophat (sits on top of the dust collection can). I built one and it works great.

http://www.cgallery.com/smf/index.php?topic=431.0