Metal containers for dust collection separator

[Mike Gager]

dont over think it.

metal garbage cans work fine and are cheap

[Trent Shirley]

What about using a large sonitube section or creating a tube with two overlapping layers of laminate and route thin rings in the top and bottom panels for them to set into? You could then make the intake tube fairly flush to the inside of the tube and not have the flat area?
The assembly could then be strengthened on the outside of the tube with dowel or even 1x2 pieces connecting top and bottom. The grooves the tube sits in can be sealed with caulk or whatever and the whole assembly could still be taken apart if you had a need to.
I think it would be a lot easier to build but I do not know how it would affect the air flow.

My goal is to ultimately suspend the separator from the motor where it never has to move and the barrel underneath could be removed separately without need of tools.

[james glenn]

I was looking at fiber drums the other day but they were a bit pricey. Please post the company you bought from it may come in handy.
I am in Western MA so it is not too far from Albany but still a couple hours. We do head out that way from time to time for other purposes though.

The company is called:
Capitol Container Corporation
240 Church St # 2
Albany, NY 12202-1082
(518) 449-0797

They just have them stacked up in trailers. They are used, mine was used for tomatoe sauce, but they are clean and ready to use.
It just had a slight sauce smell when I opened the top. But like I said, $7 for a 45gal one. I plan on building the separator inside the drum,
so the size is just right. They are grey on the outside.

[Randy Alkins]

Go to nearest car wash, they usually have too many barrels from the soap and want to find someone to take them away. 30 to 55 gal

[Kevin Groenke]

Here is a "top-hat" design that uses polycarbonate for the sides of the separator instead of hardboard or kerf bent plywood.
http://www.cgallery.com/smf/index.php?topic=431.0

I am also working on a separator modification.

I'm planning on making the separator itself from sheet steel and using a fiber barrel which was given to me by a local recycling place.

I also posted the below to Phil's forum.

Phil.... thanks for developing this product and especially for sharing it with others.

I am working on a HF 2hp conversion with a "tophat" separator, pleated filter, etc... as many others have done. I'm planning on using a fiber barrel, mounting it all on a rolling base and probably just moving it from machine to machine.

I do some work with a sheet metal shop that has laser cutters, so I'm planning on having the separator parts laser cut out of 14ga steel and welding them up.

A few questions:

Does the slot-to-inlet position in my illustrations look correct?

There doesn't seem to be a conventional direction of rotation in separators that I have seen. Does it not matter?

Should the 5" outlet tube on the top of the separator be flush or protrude into the separator? (again, no convention)

What is the ideal drop slot width? (more chips than dust - router, chop/tablesaw, planer/jointer - more solid wood than sheet stock)

Window? I suppose I could laser cut a window in and back it with PETG or Polycarbonate, but do I really need it?

I appreciate any comments/feedback, I'll try to update this thread as the project progresses.

dc.001.jpg

dc.002.jpg

dc.003.jpg


-kg

[Harvey Pascoe]

I'm also using a 40 gallon galvanized can with a very tight fit but I devised a sleeve that slides up and down over the intake from the DC and the Thien lid connector. Slide the sleeve down and the can slides off the cart sideways. With 4" pipe and elbows I thought the 30 gallon can too small as I needed 8" of space for the elbow in the Thien. Not a perfect solution as I have to slap a piece of duct tape on the sleeve keep vibration from causing it slide down.

[Neil Brooks]

Bob R-

Form follows function.

In other words ... yours looks great