Home made Cyclone system.

[greatdane2]

When I first built my shop I bought a cheapy dust collector. It worked ok as long as I kept the hose short and just to one machine. So when I built a seperate room for the tools I use for intarsia I needed something better. This cyclone was in the Wood Magazine "Best Ever Workshops". 2001 eddition.
I will scan the one page to show what it is and hope that is alowed.
This is a one day project and cost just over $100 to make(plus the dust collector). In the diagram it shows the motor/fan mounted on top. I used a 90 deg bend there and uesd the metal fan suround mounted off the side so I could still use the bag filters. I had bought a fancy filter bag and wanted to still use it.
Also in the diagram it shows a small airfilter being used, it is amazing how little dust gets that far. The cyclone seperates the dust very well and it falls down into the lower can.
In my small shop I have a 6x38 belt sander/10"disc sander, a dual drum sander and 3 more smaller belt sanders, a small bandsaw all hooked to this system with 4" hose and a blast gate at each machine. I also have 2" hose that goes to my small drillpress and scrollsaw. I also have a 4" hose with a fine screen going to my table for sanding and carving.
This adds up to way more hose than the bought vacum could handle, but with the cyclone it works well,as long as I remember to only have 1 gate open at a time.
In my big shop I have all my bigger tools, and have built a second cyclone for them. On this one I bought a large air filter that fits on the fan housing the way a bag would. I mounted this to the wheeled platform my 18" bandsaw is on so I can move it around as needed. All my large tools are on casters. Anyway this system just has a 25'x 4"hose that gets attached to the machine I am using.
I do not know what the difference is in air volume with the cyclone but it is a lot.
The cyclone you see advertised must work better than this one as they come with a more powerfull fan but they also come with a much bigger price tag. So mine will not suck the chrome of my truck bumper but they do control the dust and chips I like making.
If anyone has questions about this plaese feel free to ask.

[Ramjet]

Hi Alan . The motor at the top looks like it could come off a shop vac .Use it and fill in the space below . Good idea . Thanks for the idea .
Roger

[greatdane2]

I saw an add last year that showed a smaller unit about half this size. Do not know who makes it.