As a way to cut the number of times I have to drag out and empty the dust collector bag on a 1 HP single bag collector, I decided to add an ashcan pre-collector. I built the collector from a normal plastic garbage can, put an elbow in the top for an air inlet, and a straight pipe for an outlet. I connected it to my dust collector on the outlet side, and to a jointer on the inlet side. The first can of jointer shavings went very well--2/3 of a can of chips that I could dump directly into the City green-waste recycle bin. The second try brought me a trash can flat o three sides, except for the round base and round top. It still held vacuum, and the inlet was an unobstructed path through the jointer.
What have other folks done? These things seem to be quite popular. I don't want to use an oil drum, since they are heavy, and I fear that using a metal trash can will give me something so crunched that I cannot pound it out again. One short-term solution I have thought of is to put cross bracing inside the can, but that will make emptying it much less successful. Another possibility would be to use a scrap edge-ripping from white oak, wet it, form a hoop, and screw the hoop into the inside of the can. Presumably the oak ring will not collapse.
Better ideas would surely help! Thanks.