noob here, just built a separator and bought 2HP HF DC

[Big Dawg]

DB
Thanks...your answer was so obvious...it was one of those "now why didn't I think of that" moment.
On the baffle alignment...how far below the opening on the center ring did you place the baffle?
Is there any trick to the placement of the baffle over the inlet hole to get the most efficient use. In other words, should the 120 degree section of the baffle be placed with the inlet hole just over the beginning of this section, in the middle or end of the 120 degree section of the baffle.
Since the center ring seems to angle downward to the plastic bag, did you do anything special so that when the rods are attached, they would point straight down and not angled inward?
Lastly...have you noticed any dust build up at the standoffs when using threaded rods? If so do you think it would help to have the rods sheathed with some tubing?

[bennybmn]

The way I understand it, you should have the discharge of the blower "land" on the 120 deg portion, to encourage it to go around the outside instead of buffeting around.

[Big Dawg]

bennybmn:
I guess I didn't do a good job explaining my question. I understood that the discharge should land on the 120 degree section...my real question is...as the material enters the separator ring (lets assume from left to right), should the beginning of the left side of the 120 degree section (of the baffle) be set just below the discharge chute so that most of the 120 degree section is to the right of the discharge chute? Or should the 120 degree section be positioned so that the discharge chute is approximately in the middle of the 120 degree section? Or does it really matter as long as the 120 degree section of the baffle is anywhere under the discharge chute?
Whew...I'm not sure I understood what I just said.

[Greg McCallister]

Big Dawg,

I put my outlet closer to the end of the 120 degree section instead of the middle or beginning.
My reason was that being I was using 6" duct there would be more air flow entering the chamber.
I remember a while back Phil suggested doing that when someone upped to 4". Figured 6" being bigger than that, I did what was recommended at the time when I built it.
Not sure on how much that will effect your separation but so far it has worked great for me.

[Big Dawg]

thanks for the info...I think I will play around with it before making it permanent to see if there is any advantage to beginning, middle or end of the 120 degrees.
On an earlier post you explained how to add the baffle after installing the canister filter. I plan to use threaded rods as well (that's what I have on hand). Since the center ring seems to angle downward toward the plastic bag, did you do anything special so that when the rods are attached, they would point straight down and not angled outward? I could see that if they don't come straight down, then putting the Thien baffle on might not go smoothly.

[Greg McCallister]

Being that I did not add a baffle to my original HF DC and made a top hat version instead, I can not answer that question. Anyone out there help him out here?

[phil (admin)]

The threaded rod complicates things a little.  If you use dowels or plastic (like I've done), you can cut an appropriate angle on the end.

Some have also used material slightly thicker (1/2 and 3/4) and used the holes in the side of the ring where the legs attach.  They remove one machine screw and replace it with a longer one that can run into the edge of the baffle.  In those cases it can be necessary to add an extra tab in the center of the drop zone so you can pickup the screw.  Also, this doesn't work w/ all DC's and depends on where the legs attach.

[Big Dawg]

Thanks,
Yea I've been thinking that I would use dowels instead, the more I think about the threaded rods approach. I'll just use my angle finder and cut accordingly.
Thanks for the help and the tremendous baffle idea. Can't wait to put it all together and give it a try.
BD

[coaster]

a little OT update; i am in the middle of building an outfeed table - i have it mostly done. it is sort of like bennybmn's but it attaches different; i ran supports on the sides of the table flush with the tabletop and no support underneath. i struggled with this for days mocking up different ideas with scraps and nothing else would pan out barring a large rolling base that the entire saw sits on.....maybe someday.

i had to drill/tap 6 holes in the saw; 3 in the cast iron extension and 3 in the angle iron rail in the rear. the cast iron was a lot easier to work with and i broke 2 bits in the steel. i also found out my steel angle iron on the rear of the saw is not straight  >:( but a little planing and sanding 'fixed' that issue. i toyed with the idea of removing the angle iron as its only function is to attach the extension table - but i ended up leaving it on due to hole placement in the deck. i'll try to post some pics soon.

i also ordered the removable delta splitter so i am not notching the outfeed table for the stock one. i am going to build/buy an overhead guard and pipe it into the HF DC. i've been cutting a lot of wood and only had to sweep the floor with what is coming off the top of the saw - nothing compared to what is in the trash can separator coming from the bottom of the saw.

[bennybmn]

Sounds great!! Definitely post up some pics soon. Yeah cast iron is softer... Maybe some tapping oil would help with the steel?