I made my separator based on Phil's design and it worked great - unfortunately I had trouble knowing when to empty it. I made a low tech indicator - a length of dowel slightly taller than the barrel, drilled a hole through the top so the dowel would slide easily, then put a mark when the dowel was even with the top of the separator. To use it, I pull up the dowel and let it fall -, if you try pushing it, you won't get a true measure because you can push past the chips. So far it is working pretty well.
(http://i235.photobucket.com/albums/ee248/barryvabeach/IMG_0039Small.jpg)
(http://i235.photobucket.com/albums/ee248/barryvabeach/fullSmall.jpg)
(http://i235.photobucket.com/albums/ee248/barryvabeach/IMG_0038Small.jpg)
Barry,
Innovative idea. Hope it continues to work for you.