what advantage does this filter have?

[DarthVader]

http://www.jpthien.com/smf/index.php?action=profile;area=showposts;u=269

it seems the fine dust would have no where to go but through the filter. heres another pic
http://www.google.com/imgres?q=thien+separator&hl=en&sa=X&tbo=d&qscrl=1&rlz=1T4ADRA_enUS477US477&biw=1280&bih=656&tbm=isch&tbnid=HWE9hvmGG5XD9M:&imgrefurl=http://www.ncwoodworker.net/forums/showthread.php%3Ft%3D40958&docid=wAB7zBAxueMTHM&imgurl=http://www.jpthien.com/smf/index.php%253Faction%253Ddlattach%253Btopic%253D166.0%253Battach%253D323%253Bimage&w=640&h=480&ei=O9utUO_qCuSUiALH2IGgBw&zoom=1&iact=rc&dur=99&sig=113293683651611212174&page=2&tbnh=156&tbnw=228&start=20&ndsp=27&ved=1t:429,r:41,s:0,i:214&tx=151&ty=84

i have noticed lately my lower bag was getting more scrubbing and more dust lately, then i realized my filter was covered in fines. but i use my tools a lot, minimum 24 hours a week and it took about a year to need a cleaning.

im changing shops soon out of my garage to an actual woodshop for business, eventually i will go larger blower etc but for now i am trying to maximize my hf thien top hat baffle system.

any thoughts would be great. TIA!

[phil (admin)]

Once you get past the separator, there really is nowhere for fine dust to go except the filter anyhow.  I know a lot of people look at the clear bag on the bottom of a filter attached to a cyclone and proudly proclaim that not much if any dust is in that bag. The truth is that the bag is not air-permeable, and the filter is.  So whatever dust makes it past the separator will likely find the filter media a much better place to settle (compared to the plastic bag).

If you're working 20 hours/week and it took a year for the filter to fill, I'd say you're doing very well.  Most guys I know that work in the 20 hours/week and have conventional cyclones clean their filter stage every 3-4 months.

[DarthVader]

well in all honesty i should have cleaned it MUCH sooner. probaly at the 6 month mark. i dont use too many fine dust producers regularly so its nice to not have to clean the filter often...