Introduce yourself...

[beserkleyboy]

G'day folks,
Long time lurker, having nearly fully digested most of the info! Gonna do a top hat similar to retired2's design (very GOOD, mate!) with wall mounted/transposed blower to my 20 year old Jet DC1200. Thanks in advance/arrears for all the help from everyone and mostly to Phil for the initial design. Cheers

Jim
South Coast, NSW, Australia

[danofsteel]

I just found the site a couple of days ago. I mostly do iron work, but sometimes need to work in wood. The saw dust led me to investigate DC and that led me to dust separators which led me here.

I just got a 2HP HF DC and plan to build a separator, probably using a 55 gal plastic drum.

[lelandschultz]

My name is Leland Schultz and I joined this site to learn more how I can apply this baffle design to my DC system.

[SteveNelson46]

Steve Nelson here. Finally got logged in as a member. I'm currently building Phil's separator baffle for a Harbor Freight DC using 4" adapters and a 32 gallon metal trash can. If anyone else has done this, all recommendations and experiences will be greatly appreciated.   

[BernardNaish]

Hi Steve and Welcome. My experience is that a 5" system would be better. Others here have said the same. 32 gallons is fine but you need to check out that the rim of the metal can is flat enough to get a good seal otherwise the plastic Brute can is almost universally used. Although it is a long thread it is well worth reading about and using the design here:

http://www.jpthien.com/smf/index.php?topic=563.msg3024#msg3024

[buzz]

Hi.  I am a retired Machine Shop teacher and have been woodworking for several years.  Currently looking for a new DC.  My old one is a hand me down WoodTek 1HP and I am using a Woodstock trash can lid.  Everything seems to work well but I am looking for something better.  Been reading this blog and seems that a Thien top hat or lid is in my future.  Thanks everyone for all the input on this blog for some of the best information on seperators i have seen.

[mhrobus]

Hello all,  My name is Matt and I've found this forum by searching for 'Thien' after seeing some info & videos on the web.  I have a 2hp 'cyclone' dust collector (I'll withhold brand name to prevent any blowback from company) which has a bad scrubbing problem, pulling dust & chips from the collection bucket below the cone up through the impeller and depositing them into the final bag under the filter at a high rate.  It occurs to me that I can probably fit a baffle below the intake and just above the cone and reduce the scrubbing, so I'm going to give it a try.  This seems a bit different than most of the builds on here, where people are buildling stand-alone separators or incorporating a top hat into a single-stage DC.  If anyone sees this who has used a Thien baffle to improve performance of a 2-stage DC, I'd be interested to hear any advice or results.

Best,  Matt
Juneau, Alaska

[streetdoc]

Hobby woodworker just getting serious about DC. Looking to improve the performance of my Powermatic 75. Have a 16 x 24 detached dedicated wood shop.

[JohnWitham]

Hi,

I've got thoroughly fed up with cleaning out filters, so I'm going to make a separator to try and reduce that hassle. In my research I tripped over this site - and I'm hooked!
I've got a 5x3m workshop (shed!) that I've insulated but I've only got a 1.9m ceiling so I'm "vertically challenged" in everything I do - it can be a right royal pain.
Thanks for a great site.

[msager]

Mark in NJ here. I'm just starting to research a DC system for my shop while making do with an overhead Jet air filter and a couple of ShopVacs. Started looking at the HF 2HP DC and most of the reviewers were talking about this absolutely necessary mod called a Thien separator...and here I am.

[tvman44]

Welcome aboard, I use the HF 2hp DC with a Thien separator ahead of it.  Works pretty well. :)

[Fluffy]

I'm looking for the complete opposite of you guys research, as I want to use a dust separator to Fluff lightweight materials without going through the impeller - so tell me what does NOT work for you

Thx,
Fluffy

[leslyons]

Hello Everyone. I am not a robot. I am a moderately-competent woodworker! I have a Harbor Freight Dust Collector and am building the Thien baffle to go onto a 31 gal. metal garbage can. I am daunted by the thousands of postings/strings/replies. I want to put the 90 degree elbow on the side of the trash can near the top, so my hose will not turn 180 degrees as it would coming out the top. Can anyone point me to any posts where someone has done this successfully, and anything I need to watch out for?

Phil - everything seems to be working fine now. Thanks!

[JohnH]

Hello all, my name is John and I'm an over 50s woodworker, engineer, and like beer with big flavor.

I'm working on modifying my jet 1200 DC with a Thien separator and a MERV 15 filter. 

As a former mechanical engineer I've actually designed a few dust collector installations.  However this will be my first time messing with the guts of a DC. I'll start a thread so I can hopefully capture some knowledge and experience from everyone else.

John in STL

[Pop]

Hi Folks, I've been woodworking since the 7th grade and I just turned 74. Built my first shop in the early 60s. Started with a Craftsman radial arm saw. I then added a Shopsmith with a band saw. I now have a complete shop I only want 2 more machines, a Woodriver bench top mortiser and a Harbor Fright dust collector. I like the chip collector Phil designed. I need something for the huge amount of chips from my surface plane.  :)

Pop