J. Phil Thien's Projects

Thanks, Retired2. I think that making a top hat will likely be easier than taking out the ramp, or at least be more the kind of work I like to do, so I'll probably go in that direction now. Part of the reason I was thinking about keeping the collector as much "as-is" as possible was that the configuration, with the intake close to the ground, worked well for ducting in the location I have chosen for the collector. But last night I had an idea of a good way to make it work with the high input of a top hat on a barrel, so there is one less reason to not do it the right way, with the blower up top, etc.

That being said, I'm about to embark on a major shop improvement project, specifically casting a new, flat and level floor.  The existing floor is untroweled concrete that looks to have been poured over unlevelled dirt, and I've run out of flat places to put tools... Once I get that done, I think I might find that a whole different arrangement of my workspace is possible, so I'm not going to finalize my dust collecting plans until I get that finished, and see what it feels like. It is exciting but frustrating because I have to wait a bit to work on any of it, but at least I can enjoy reading this forum and planning as much as I can in the meantime. I'd post pictures of my shop as is, but I'd have to include warnings for the faint of heart; it is hardly the operating room a lot of you guys are able to maintain!  ;D

Thanks, Shreck - it's great to be able to to get advice from someone who has direct experience with this kind of ring. Looks like it is " back to the drawing board" for me!

Thanks, Retired 2, and thanks for all of the great information you have provided the forum in general.

In my proposed system, the air will still need to find it's way up into the filter, and of course, I'll want it to do that with the least turbulence and greatest flow, which is why I thought of the bellmouth.

Maybe Vaugn, who posted the project I linked to, will see this thread and weigh in.

Thanks, and of course, I'd appreciate any other comments, from Retired 2 or anyone else who can spare the time. It will be months before I'm ready to start this project.

Hi, everyone, it has been a pleasure reading all of the great information on this board, over the last few weeks. Honestly, I still have plenty to read. But not only is the information good, the tone of the board is nice also.

On to the question - I have an old Jet dust collector, rated at 2-1/2 hp, 1200 cfm. It has a 12" impeller with a 6" input fitting. I had it set up for a while years ago, and it worked well despite what I now know were some pretty inefficient home-made junctions and fittings. But of course, it was spewing fine dust throughout the shop.

Due to space and other considerations in my current shop, which is in the basement of a 110 year old house, now is not the time for me to do a full-on, perfect system. I am leaning strongly toward the kind of modifications shown in this thread - http://www.jpthien.com/smf/index.php?topic=145.0
(maybe without the cool paint job, though.) So, a Thien baffle in the bottom of existing "cyclone," cartridge filter above. One of the features of this particular DC is that it has a spiral ramp inside the "cyclone" part, and I am wondering how that might effect the working of the baffle, and if there are any design changes I should make. See picture, below, if it posts.

A specific question I'd have is, would it be worth me making an output tube with a bellmouth on it to feed up into the filter? I'm going to have to make the "donut" to support the filter,so I'd be halfway there, already. And if so, would it make sense to have a bellmouth on both ends of that tube? I don't think that air straighteners in the tube would be worth the time, since I wouldn't be feeding the impeller directly, but you could talk me into them. The "hole" through the inside circumference of the "ramp" is 9", so I could use a 6" pipe in there and have 1-1/2" of clearance on all sides of the tube.
So, thanks, I look forward to any and all replies - Dusty

Hi, everyone - Once a professional furniture maker, I am now getting back into it as my children grow, and my "fall-back" career gives me the opportunity. I am interested in modifying my old Jet single stage dust collector with a Thien baffle and a cylinder filter, and look forward to digging into the great information on this board.
Thanks, Dusty