J. Phil Thien's Projects

How can I seal the can better? The fifth picture shows the dado pretty clearly. And it does fit quite tightly.

I am assuming you need lots of filter surface area. You could - in simplistic terms - build a box with 1/2/3/4 sides (whatever works for your location) that are mostly covered with filters rated for 1/2 micron. You need lots of surface area to duplicate the Winn filter. But where do you find fine air filters or filter material? I don't know if they rate car/truck air filters, but I would imagine they are too coarse. Ditto even the expensive house air filters (or am I wrong - HEPA filters, maybe?). Shop vacuum filters are rated but I think 5-10 of the really fine ones would be too expensive (the CleamStream by Gore for the Sears vac costs $35 and filters to .3 microns). Are the HEPA and allergin bags in consumer vacuums fine enough? Those bags typically cost $2-$4 each. Each bag would (I think) be turned into a 2-3 square foot flat filter.

I use a Craftsman shop vac in the shed outside the garage with my separator can inside. I do a lot of sanding. Most of the fine dust makes it into the vac. I want to almost eliminate the fine dust making it into the shop vac filter. [As an aside, I've seen reference to adding a bag to the vacuum to catch the dust but I don't comprehend - what type of bag, attached where/how?]

Relevant issues (?):

• I modified the cap on my separator with a thin sheet of black metal (anodized flashing from a roll) to create a "wall" to deter the fine dust going directly from the inlet to the outlet - it helped a little, but not nearly enough. I have extended it some since the picture was taken with no improvement. Some sawdust/chips can pack the outside of the "wall" without any discernible effect.
  
• my bottom baffle layer fits quite closely to the sides of the can
  
  • I must have an imperfect seal because the suction at the end is not as strong as at the end of the hose connected directly to the shop vac even though the wood dado in the top fits tight enough I can almost lift the can by lifting the top with no suction - I do not have any type of gasket or sealant [how would I do that on a tight fitting dado?]
    
  I DO NOT WANT TO BE FORCED TO BUY A DUST DEPUTY!
  
  Any suggestions? Would it help if I added a longer extension on the center outlet pipe? Thanks.

My baffle works GREAT! I read a lot and then read some more on Phil's Forum. I asked questions several times and got great answers. I am very impressed by the product. I am also very impressed by Phil. So I did something I never do - give money away!

Signed in at PayPal.com
"Send Money" to Phil at CGallery dot com

It was really, really easy.
And it seems a nice way to say "thanks."

Doug

Dik -

Isn't this baffle great? Hello, from a fellow Eureka Zone regular.

Your SketchIt skills are very, very impressive.

Doug

I used a center pipe protrusion of 1.5" and about 1/4" clearance from the 2" inlet elbow to the baffle plate - should it be tight?

I plugged everything in and turned on the vac, located in a lean-to shed on the other side of a window. No extra noise, no fuss - just the baffle lid pulling down a little. Seems like about the same level of suction. HOORAY!

I sucked up 1-2 # of sawdust, mostly from sanding. All the bigger debris and most of the very fine dust stayed in the baffle can, but there was still enough to lightly coat the filter and sides of the 6.5HP Sears vac. REALLY COOL! Now I can radically decrease the number of trips to the vac itself (outside in the shed).

QUESTION: Is there any way to decrease the fines getting to the vac? Smaller/larger baffle width? Longer/shorter center pipe? Baffle tight against elbow, even shaving the bottom of the elbow for the tightest possible fit? Shape the outlet on the elbow?


THANKS! This baffle is very, very impressive! It took quite a while, but I am green - this was the first time I cut circle dado or cut a circle using the router. And painting the lid took time (2 coats on top, 1 on bottom, very damp weather).

I am finally doing this - I solved the damning issue of where it can fit. I have a Sears 16 gallon vac and a 20 gallon can. I made a special trip to Rockler to get the nice fittings (worth the hassle - thanks). I have some 2" PVC pipe and an elbow. I've routed and am waiting for the paint to dry. All is wonderful. Except...

I've been watching your progression for quite a while. Your front page is much more effective since you added the new illustrations and the more detailed design specifications. But what happened to your center pipe, Phil? It used to reach near the baffle, and it appears as though it might be completely gone now. I am interested in catching as much as I can, including fine dust, so it seems like close to the baffle would be best, but you are the man! What do you suggest?

Thanks for being such a dedicated nut case - people like you make the world a vastly more interesting place.

What's your PayPal address?

PS - You could start other forums for your other projects, like the controversial doweling jig, one for particle measurements, etc. One forum for each project.

PPS - Is it possible to determine that the catch can is full w/o looking? Does suction drop off? Does noise change? Do I need to add a window to the can? Thanks

I want to build a cart with my shop vac (Craftsman, 6 HP peak, 16 Gal.) and a separator and a removable boom. I will use it with "small" tools like my circular saw (on an EZ rail), or the small outlet on my router. I will report back with pictures and results - it should be interesting. But I immediately find numerous basic questions as soon as I start planning how to best do it.

• Separator can size - What size would work best with a shop vac? I have a rigid plastic barrel (about 50 gal.), an extra Craftsman 16-gallon tank, various smaller size containers, and I'm willing to buy something new, although it's against my instincts!
• Hose size - I have small (approx. 1 1/2") & large (approx. 2 1/2") shop vac hoses, the ports I will be connecting to are 1 1/2" or less, and the hose between the tool and separator will be about 15'. Large DC ducting works best, and the best practice I believe is to do any reduction at the tool end of the run. Would it be better to run a 2.5" hose for the first 12' and then 1.5 for the connection to the tool?
• Separator up/down/side - The cart will be more compact if I place the vac or separator above the other, but I could do side-by-side. I can formulate good reasons that either one would work best if it were on top, but I would bet that experience will trump confused guesses.
• Side entry - I have an idea for a way to have the separator input hose come into the container tangentially, similar to a cyclone. Has this been tried with the PT baffle design? Is it worth trying if I can crank up sufficient ambition?

I obviously need help! Thank you for reading this far!

As an aside, I have a 2HP DC setup in a shed outside my shop (un-plumbed as of now). I had planned on plumbing it through the adjacent window to my various tools. Then the final filter would be outside my work area, saving me from worrying very much about the dust in the shop, although I also have one of those ceiling box filters for ambient (?) shop air. But it seems like overkill to use that for my circular saw or hand-held router. I decided that the DC should be used for the table saw / band saw / jointer / planer / router table and the shop vac for the smaller tools.

Windmill -

SPECTACULAR pictures and comments! Thank you very much! Naturally I have some comments...

• Your testing is simple but exactly what I want to see.
• You used 4" fittings, answering my about-to-be-asked question.
• I thought the IN port outlet was supposed to line up close to the start of the 120 degree extension, but I see that Phil's new design doesn't either.
  
• You also have a lot more "breathing room" than Phil, which might make it a little easier to construct.

You have answered all my questions. Your results are so spectacular that I see zero reason to experiment.





Thanks for making my life easier!