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Thread: Building a cyclone dust collector

  1. 07-20-2009, 11:23 PM #1
    Bob Hammond
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    Thumbs down Building a cyclone dust collector

    has anyone built the cyclone dust collector that was in wood magazine? my 2hp central machinery dust collector bit the dust last weekend. i'm not too disappointed as it was not the best anyway.

    how hard is this cyclone system to build and what motor would you recommend. i have a single garage shop with a planer. jointer, cabinet saw, drum sander and a routing table.

    thanks

    bob
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  3. 07-20-2009, 11:49 PM #2
    Jamie Buxton
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    Welcome to the Creek. You'll likely get lots of replies on this. You can also find many more discussions by using SMC's Search function.
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  4. 07-21-2009, 6:51 AM #3
    Al Barale
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    Hi Bob and welcome to the forum,
    I built my cyclone from plans which I downloaded from Bill Pentz's site, there are plenty of people that have built their own cyclones, I didnt find it too hard to build my cyclone once I actually got started.
    Regards,
    Al

    You don't know, what you don't know, until you know it. http://www.woodworkforums.com/images...d/rolleyes.gif
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  5. 07-21-2009, 8:44 AM #4
    Jerome Hanby
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    Al, how bad was working the sheet metal? All I can picture is slicing my hands to ribbons (based on prior projects )
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  6. 07-21-2009, 9:24 AM #5
    Al Barale
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    Jerome, from memory I dont think I really had many problems with cuts while working with the sheetmetal, I took my time trying to avoid any sharp bits.
    Regards,
    Al

    You don't know, what you don't know, until you know it. http://www.woodworkforums.com/images...d/rolleyes.gif
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  7. 07-21-2009, 9:47 AM #6
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    Ben Hatcher
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    Al, Pick up a pair of mechanics gloves. They work wonders when it comes to keeping sheet metal on the outside of your skin.
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  8. 07-21-2009, 10:33 AM #7
    Matt Benton
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    Search for "cyclone separator" on Ebay, and check to see if the switch is bad on the HF DC (common problem, $4 solution).

    This has worked great for me...

    http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?t=105272
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  9. 07-21-2009, 10:51 AM #8
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    Ken Garlock
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    Hello, and welcome to the creek, Bob.

    I bought a kit made from the Pentz design. It was well made and straight forward to assemble. I don't think the fellow making the kits is still in business, but you might want to visit his website for additional information.
    Best Regards, Ken
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  10. 07-21-2009, 11:01 AM #9
    David Hostetler
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    Might want to try to determine what is wrong with your HF DC. While it is no Delta 50-760, it's a FAR cry better (IMHO) than the 50-720. If you just get humming with no spin, replace the start cap and you should be good to go. Do a search here for HF start capacitor. There should be a TON of posts on the subject. Lots of DCs have this problem. HF, Delta, Steel City, etc... Just the nature of the beast. Another common problem that does seem a bit more specific to the HF, at least the older model is the switch tends to go bad. No big deal, cheap fix...

    If you are running stock bags and no separator you can get exponentially better performance out of that HF DC by adding a Wynn cartridge filter and some sort of separator. At the very least a Neutral Vane, a better idea would be a Thien baffle in the inlet ring.

    And that 2HP rating is a bit overstated like most of them. It is really more along the lines of 1.5HP...
    Trying to follow the example of the master...
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  11. 07-21-2009, 5:19 PM #10
    Tom Klass
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    Bob,
    I did make one from the instructions through wood mag. works great. I started with the filter they have but I ended up changing it out to a garbage can with a filter bag on top works much better . This way if I over fill the collection can it doesn't clog the filter just dumps into the filter can.
    tom
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  12. 07-22-2009, 10:05 PM #11
    Bruce Wrenn
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    I used to teach classes building the Wood Magazine cyclone. I have built over fifty of them, with one being as far away as Texas. I used a 3 X 8 sheet of 26 ga metal to build both cone and cylinder. My cones are one piece, instead of three as shown in plans. I use filter socks instead of the the air filter shown in the original plans. I have a set of templates for all the parts.
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  13. 07-22-2009, 11:29 PM #12
    Bharat Badrinath
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    Bruce: Where do you live? SF Bay area i hope
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  14. 07-22-2009, 11:33 PM #13
    Bob Hammond
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    Quote Originally Posted by Matt Benton View Post
    Search for "cyclone separator" on Ebay, and check to see if the switch is bad on the HF DC (common problem, $4 solution).

    This has worked great for me...

    http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?t=105272
    where do you find a new switch. i have been looking on the web and can't find any parts. i think it is the switch as it was working great the lat time and now i get nothing when i turn it on

    thanks

    bob
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  15. 07-23-2009, 10:15 AM #14
    Matt Benton
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    I just took mine off and went to either Ace hardware or the Borg and matched it up. It doesn't look exactly like the old one, but it works...
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  16. 07-23-2009, 11:16 AM #15
    David Hostetler
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    Ace Hardware, Fry's electronics etc... You won't get a 100% cosmetic match on the older switch, but you WILL get a good replacement that is functionally equivalent. Eh who knows, you might get lucky and get a cosmetic match, but that is icing on the cake...

    Switches do go out on power tools for sure, but if you get a hum and no spin, check the start capacitor as well...
    Trying to follow the example of the master...
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