J. Phil Thien's Projects

I went through some of the some thought processes when I built mine. I think you might consider my setup. The only thing I used from the HF dust collector was the blower. I get nearly no dust in my filter.

One concern I'm sure you though of: exhausting to the outside in the winter will make your house very cold.

I made my side entry by just trial and error. As noted there is a more scientific way to figure the cut, but it wasn't that hard to figure out:

I created a similar setup. I get at least 99% recovery in my trash can. Almost no dust makes it to my filter.

Sure glad I have a "sight glass" on the side of my cyclone! :)



I guess its time to empty!  :o

Hey guys, I appreciate your comments. My next/another project is to figure out how to make an effective fugitive dust filter that works and doesn't cost a fortune.

Quote from: Chuck Lenz on December 11, 2010, 05:38:33 PM
I think DB brings up a good question, have you thought about going this route ? I guess that another thing to concider is that eventually your going to want to clean the filter.                                     

Interesting picture!!!!!! LOL

The reasons for the long exhaust:
  1) provide sound deadening,
  2) only place I could figure to put the filter out of the way
  3) The HF blower has a 4-5" outlet, the insulated duct is 6"
  4) The filter sits on a rack. I climb up on a stepladder to take it down. I've cleaned it once in 2 years use.
  5) I don't know, but it works and is way quiet.

Merry Christmas

For my lid, I did not use anything to seal it. The melamine "disc" is just barely smaller than the trashcan and sits to the inside. The metal lid fits to the outside of the can. It seals without having to deal with a gasket each time its emptied.

I included this idea in my cyclone. But I used a 3 litter soda bottle for the window. It is flexible and clear. I riveted and then foil taped the edges.


I think its time to empty!!!!!! LOL ;D

Don't know if this helps, but this is how I did it.

I too used the factory lid. I placed a "disc" of melamine in the top, just inside the diameter of the can and hung the cyclone below that. Everything is bolted together with threaded rod.





With a side entry though the can, I just lift the lid off and dump the sawdust. Intake is a slip fit that just slides out.

I setup my current shop a couple of years ago. I moved from the basement with no dust control to the garage. Again with no dust control and too cold to work in the winter. So I convinced my wife that if I bought a shed to move my shop to, I would not be tracking sawdust into the house. She bought it!!!

After spending a ton of money on the shed and wiring it, I was not in a position to spend $$$ on a cyclone. I found this website and am very thankfull for it!!! I 've started using the shop quite a bit lately and I just can't get over how nice it is to not be constantly buried in saw dust. I used several peoples ideas and then modified them to my situation.

I started with the HF setup. I bought their filter. Then I took a 35 gal. trashcan, cut a hole in the side and created a side entry Thien cyclone. I set the trashcan on the roller plate that the original HF dust collector came with, wall mounted the blower, connected the blower to the cyclone with a slip fit connector, and connected the blower exhaust to the filter with 10' of insulated duct (poor man's muffler).

I setup a box fan with a furnace filter to help contol fugitive dust.

Check out my posting "20 gal. trash can etc."

I used 4" PVC S&D and ran it into the side of a metal 20 gal. trash can. The trash can is composed of steel about the consistency of foil, not very strong. I used the trash can lid with a  melamine insert. That provided the seal and the strength to install the PVC fittings in the top. I used a short piece of S&D that included the female flair. With the can sitting on a roller base, I can roll the can up to the wall mounted PVC duct, inserting it into the female flair. Of course the blower is wall mounted above. Hope that helps.

I'm not an air "expert" but......

My primary concern is trying to reduce bad air, not necessarily eliminate it. I don't have the money or inclination to go to those extremes. I have found that a K-Mart box fan ($15) with 2 moderately priced furnace filters duct taped to the intake side, makes a significant difference in the amount of "fines" floating around. Not scientific, but works for me.

The flexible insulated duct running the exhaust from the blower to the filter is a very effective muffler. Nearly no air noise is observed.

A year ago I talked my wife into a "real wood shop". Ever since I've known her (28 years), she has had to put up with sawdust all over the place. The first shop started in the basement (no dust control, no air filter). When we got a garage, the shop moved to one wall of the  attached garage. Again no dust control or filtration, and still lots of sawdust in the house. A year ago in September I mentioned that if I bought a pre-built shed and made it into a wood shop I could move the operation away from the house. To my surprise she said "Go for it!"  ;D

The next day I ran down to Klotter Farms and secured a 14'x20' shed. Over the next few months I installed the electrical (60 amp/220),
insulated, installed OSB walls and floor (on top of the plywood floor), painted the walls, urethaned the floor, and spent a considerable amount of time on this and other web sites investigating dust control. Having spent so much on the shop, I was looking for the low cost alternative.

Using a modified Thien Separator, a 20 gal. trash metal can, and a HF Blower I created a low cost effective DC system. Thanks Phil!