J. Phil Thien's Projects

Quote from: Woodcarver on April 05, 2011, 04:03:36 PM
I like your approach, how's the baffle performing?  is your filter getting dirty or staying clean.

I haven't used it enough yet to know. Another couple weeks before I get started on the next project.

I like how you incorporated the original lid. Looks like you just hot glued the pipes in place. How secure is it?

Quote from: Chuck Lenz on April 03, 2011, 01:02:50 PM
Looks good. If you don't mind a suggestion, I think that if I would of done it, I would of used three small angle brackets bolted or riveted to the inside wall of the bag ring, then bolt the baffle to the brackets.

That's a great suggestion. Certainly would reduce turbulence.

Note: I posted this on my local wood working BB which is why it has an instructional format. Not really necessary for the experts here.

Even with a pre-separator, the stuff that gets into the bag of your typical single stage collector tends to get swirled up into the filter bag. This is often referred to as scrubbing. I modified my dust collector with a Thein Baffle. This type of baffle is typically used in a pre-separator but works well as a way to keep the contents of the bag from getting blown back up into the filter (bag or cartridge).

This mod took all of about an hour and is "low risk" in that you're not doing any permanent damage other than 3 tiny holes.

Disassemble. There's not much more to do than remove a few screws and a hose clamp.

Cut some posts from hardwood or use dowels. I snuck up on the angle which conveniently turned out to be 22.5 degrees.



I made the posts slightly more aerodynamic by lobbing off the corners.



And then drilled some small holes and screwed in place. Round heads would be better here but all I had lying around were some flat heads. I used a scrap of wood as a drill template to keep the distance from the inner rim roughly the same.



The baffle itself is a piece of 1/4 inch plywood. The outer circle is the inner diameter of the cyclone drum or whatever it's called.



The inner circle is an 1 1/8 inch in from the outer edge. The inner circle is 240 degrees around the edge. Note the quality compass tool. This is precise work.



To locate the baffle, I nipped off some finish nails and dropped them into some pre-drilled holes. Align the top so the 120 degree outer edge touches the inside of the rim. It should be located over the air intake.



Press down to make location marks. Drill and screw together



And reassemble the dust collector.




Does it work? I don't have anyway of measuring. There is a marked lower amount of stuff swirling in the bottom bag (it's clear). I don't perceive any reduction in suck, but that's subjective of course.

I had a chip collector setup already and "slapped" this together in about 35 minutes. I wasn't precise and had to use a center post due to the existing location of the inlets. This thing works so well I'm pinching myself. Before only the heaviest items would stay in the can. Now, all the chips stay in the can. Incredible.