Shop Vac cyclone

Alan Bienlein

Member
Messages
2,045
Here is thr mini cyclone I just built from scrap lying around for the top of my Ridgid shop vac. It's built the same way as the cyclone I just made so I didn't feel he need to repost them again.
10-31-09 001.JPG
I'm using the motor mount plate to rout a groove for the filter to sit in. The piece on the bottom is what the filter will mount to.
10-31-09 002.JPG
This is the router bit I used for it.
10-31-09 003.JPG
And here is the finished piece the filter mounts to.
10-31-09 004.JPG
Here are some pictures of the assembled top for the shop vac. I still need to attach the pvc pipe from the top of the cyclone to the filter box, rout a groove for some weather strip to seal the top to the bottom of the vac and make a transition on the input to connect the hose to.
10-31-09 005.JPG10-31-09 006.JPG
 
Glen the motor is held in by these 2 tabs that fit into the groove I cut in the top and a swivel lock I still need to make and install.When the unit is running the suction holds everything tight.
10-31-09 008.JPG
Here is a shot of the inside and how the filter is held on.
10-31-09 007.JPG10-31-09 013.JPG
I also made my own fittings from some pvc pipe I had laying around I brought home from a job.
10-31-09 009.JPG
This is how I did the seal for the lid. It is 1/2" backer rod I had laying around. I used a 1/2" cove cut bit in my router with a circle cutting jig. The ends are glued together with contact cement and it is a friction fit in the groove.
10-31-09 010.JPG10-31-09 011.JPG
I tested it with some red mulch since I only have a used filter right now. The mulch was in the container and no signs of it were in the filter housing.
10-31-09 012.JPG
It might not look very pretty but it works and I made it without buying anything which was my real goal.
10-31-09 014.JPG
 
Rennie, You thinking what I'm thinking? Of using this with the dust deputy?

Can't wait till mine gets here.

Thanks for the awesome photos Alan!
 
Now you got my gears churning, Alan. :rolleyes: My Shop Vac brand vacuum has a pull-out mini-vac...it's essentially the big motor with a smaller filter and small (2 1/2 gallon) bucket. I'll have to study things and see if it could be modified to do something similar to yours when I get the Dust Deputy. I like the idea of a more compact form factor like yours.
 
Well I was going to leave it alone but this little vioce in my head said to go out this morning and finish the job right. So I went and rounded of the corners and sanded everything flush and applied 2 coats of lacquer. The cyclone I sprayed with flat black primer. Sure makes a difference and looks a little more professional now.
11-1-09 001.JPG11-1-09 002.JPG11-1-09 004.JPG
To keep the hose from falling of I folded a piece of metal in half and soldered it to the transition I fabricated to give the catch on the hose a place to grab.
11-1-09 003.JPG
This picture will give you an idea of the finished height of mine. the nice thing about it is it doesn't take up any additional floor space and converting it back to a wet vac is as simple as removing one top and reinstalling the other.
11-1-09 005.JPG
 
That is just so cool. I am definitely going to work something like that up when my mini cyclone arrives... :thumb::thumb::thumb::thumb:
 
Just Curious about the Cyclone, does the cyclone unit have to be a cone shape, or does that just facilate the dust dropping down into the can? Could the unit be cylinder all the way down?
 
I can be a cylinder for most of its length... but it's gotta' have a pretty acute funnel shape at the bottom or nothing'll drop into the can - it'll just build up around the center hole. Oh, NO center hole, just an open bottom? That might (probably would) work just fine... that'd work exactly like a conventional dust collector with a plastic bag on the bottom & a filter bag on the top.
 
Oh, NO center hole, just an open bottom? That might (probably would) work just fine... that'd work exactly like a conventional dust collector with a plastic bag on the bottom & a filter bag on the top.

Thanks Tim, That was my thinking, I like the idea of the "Dust Deputy" for my Shop Vac, but these economic times I'd be hard pressed to justify $60 of my budget for one.
 
Actually, you should look at making a Thien Baffle then. I made one for a trash can for my DC, and it seems to work pretty well. Pretty simple and cheap.
 
I really like the latch devise on teh hose connection in the fourth photo. Where did you get those? My DD should arrive this week. I got an email saying it was shipped and as far as I know all the ponies the express uses are healthy. I have a small Rigid vac with an amazingly strong 'pull'. I am going to use that as the sucker. The filter takes up most of the space on the small can, but it ought work just fine with the DD, which will sit on top of a 30 gallon trash can.
 
Actually, you should look at making a Thien Baffle then. I made one for a trash can for my DC, and it seems to work pretty well. Pretty simple and cheap.

Hey Brent,
I have one of those trash can lids things on my main trunk line between my dust collector (via blast gates) to my table saw, bandsaw and Jointer. but what I'm needing is a small unit hooked up to a shop vac that I have dedicated to my router table.
 
Hey Brent,
I have one of those trash can lids things on my main trunk line between my dust collector (via blast gates) to my table saw, bandsaw and Jointer. but what I'm needing is a small unit hooked up to a shop vac that I have dedicated to my router table.

Dan, you can also make a 5-gallon version of the Thien baffle and use it inline with your shop vac. Also, the Thien baffle does a lot better job of separation than the typical plastic "separator lid" that various places sell. If you've just got a plastic trash can lid separator on the main DC, I think you'd be pleasantly surprised at how much more gets separated with a Thien baffle on that trash can. ;)
 
I had a plastic lid that had both hoses connecting kind of at the edge. It did an 'ok' job, meaning I got a bunch of stuff in the trash can, but I also still collected a bunch in the dust collector bag.

With my hastily constructed and poorly executed "Thien" baffle, Very little actually goes into the DC bag now.

Like Vaughn says, it would be very easy to make a small one for a shop vac as well.

But don't let me talk you out of making a neat little cyclone out of sheet metal!. Heck, after seeing how basic the design of the Dust Deputy, I'm thinking of making my own for my bigger shop vac...

So many potential projects, So little time...
 
Carol that latch is actually a part of my ridgid shop vac hose. I just formed a lip on the transition I made so the hose can clip on just like it did with the original shop vac setup.
 
Top