DIY Cyclone Separator

[Doug Walls]

Has anyone here made their own cyclone separator, If so what gauge sheet-metal did you use for the cone?

I'm looking to make a cyclone sawdust separator using a old 20 gal. steel drum for the upper section. I wan't to make the lower cone section out of the thickest sheet-metal possible so hopefully I can weld it together.

Doug

[Frank Pratt]

I can't help, but I remember seeing a few build threads and videos on DIY cyclones. The Google should bring something up.

[Bill Dufour]

Toyko Stu made his own with a good writeup on another wwing site. No idea if a search will tun it up or not. The one at Home Depot for the cutoff saw uses a oil drum for the cylinder. Maybe worth a look? A longer cone is more efficient but needs ceiling height. A internal ramp helps separation as well.
Bill D

[Julie Moriarty]

I used 30 GA for a 3/4 HP motor, as recommended by Wood Plans. It's not thick enough.

[Jim Andrew]

Why not just buy the SSD XL 6" for 240$? Might also check with ebay as someone used to sell a sheet metal cyclone on there.

[Doug Walls]

I used 30 GA for a 3/4 HP motor, as recommended by Wood Plans. It's not thick enough.

I would like to be able to use 20ga. or better yet 16ga. sheet-metal, But forming the cone would probably be a total PITA!

Doug

[Doug Walls]

Why not just buy the SSD XL 6" for 240$?
The SSD XL 6" & many other units have a right-side inlet!
I need a left-side inlet to match the rotation of my blower.


Might also check with ebay as someone used to sell a sheet metal cyclone on there.
Yeah there's a guy on E-Bay that sells a 6" cyclone with a left-side inlet for around $200, With shipping fees It would probably be around $270.

Being I already have the 20gal. barrel on-hand, All I would need is the sheet-metal for the cone, Probably only about $50 for the sheet-metal

Doug

[Jim Becker]

I would like to be able to use 20ga. or better yet 16ga. sheet-metal, But forming the cone would probably be a total PITA!

Doug

A local sheet metal fabricator can very likely help you with the cutting and bending of the heavier gage material...they often have ways of "rolling the cone", as it were, because of transitions in large industrial/commercial duct work.

[Doug Walls]

they often have ways of "rolling the cone"

Perhaps something like this
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1CBCs9Bqvnc

I haven't checked on just getting the metal cut & rolled yet, But there's a local sheet metal shop near me that does a lot of commercial HVAC ducting. That may be an option?

Doug

[Jerome Stanek]

I downloaded a dxf of the cutout for a cyclone but I can't find it now. I just ended up building a Thien separator

[Doug Walls]

I just ended up building a Thien separator

How do you like the Thien?

I originally thought about making a Thien Baffle & then upgrading to a true cyclone later on, But I've decided to just try making the cyclone first.

Here's another thread of mine where I had some related questions.
https://sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?276765-Dust-Collector-With-Prefilter



I downloaded a dxf of the cutout for a cyclone but I can't find it now.
Bill Pentz has a link to his plans in Excel.
http://billpentz.com/woodworking/cyclone/cyclonespreadsheetac160629.xls

I don't have Excel on my old laptop & I'm not planning on building a cyclone that size.

As for making a cone to fit the 16" dia. of my 20gal. drum, I'm planning to use the calculator on this site.
https://www.kzell.com/calculators/

Doug

[Jerome Stanek]

I like the Thien ok but it isn't a true cyclone. I use it for my CNC and when I surface the table it catches most of the MDF dust I get maybe a cup in my bag. My table is a 4 x 8 and I end up with about 5 gallons in the barrel

[Doug Walls]

I get maybe a cup in my bag. and I end up with about 5 gallons in the barrel
Actually for MDF dust that's probably pretty good!

Doug

[Bruce Wrenn]

I used 30 GA for a 3/4 HP motor, as recommended by Wood Plans. It's not thick enough.I use 26 GA for all the ones we built in workshops. I make the cone from one piece of metal, and get both cone and cylinder from a 3 X 8 sheet of 26 GA. Julie, I think still have the parts for another here. It's yours if your travels bring you to central NC.
I

[Bill Dufour]

i would look around for a premade cone. Do they make traffic safety cones big enough? how about those dog collar cones or some kind of garbage can lid. It shouldn't be too bad to make one out of fiberglass but attaching that will have to be well thought out..
Bill D.

https://www.instructables.com/id/Dust-Cyclone-made-from-a-Traffic-Cone/

https://sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?177412-DIY-Cyclone-of-Plastic-Barrels (https://www.instructables.com/id/Dust-Cyclone-made-from-a-Traffic-Cone/)

https://www.sheetmetalworld.com/sheet-metal-news/fabrication-tutorials/22-sheet-metal-tutorials/5961-learn-how-to-layout-a-cone-in-sheet-metal

[Doug Walls]

Searching the web some more, It seems like 24ga. is the thickest material used for homemade cyclones.
Any thicker than that sounds like it would be hard to shape by hand?

24ga. is too thin for me to weld with my old stick welder!
I could just rivet it together as others have done, But the connection of the cone & upper section could be tricky?

I did manage to find a local sheet metal fabricator that can cut & roll the cone for me out of 16ga. material for around $75, So more than likely I'm probably going to go that route.

Doug

[Jim Becker]

That sounds like a pretty darn reasonable price for a 16 gage cone, Doug. You might have them do a matching constant diameter piece for above the cone, too.

[Doug Walls]

While searching the web for information on the gauge of metal used in DIY cyclones, I ran across this web-site that shows a modified version of a Thien Baffle

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iC_yjuLgCNc

It wouldn't really be that hard to modify the bottom of my barrel to try this method out!
Here's a few ideas I'm thinking of:
1st. one is to just drill some holes along the inside edge of he barrel.
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2nd. idea is to cut the center out & add some metal supports to hold it in the center.
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Has anyone seen or used this modified version of a Thien Baffle?

Doug

[Doug Walls]

That sounds like a pretty darn reasonable price for a 16 gage cone
Yeah that price almost sounds too good when compared to other shops I checked with, Several other shops were around the $100 range.


You might have them do a matching constant diameter piece for above the cone, too.

I really wouldn't need a constant diameter piece for the upper section, But it's something to consider if the price is good.

As for having a constant or smooth inner diameter, I plan to cut the barrel down just above the lower rib anyway. A good part of the upper rib will be above the inlet-pipe & inner air ramp and the little bit of the inside of the rib I'll fill with fiberglass or epoxy.
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The outside not being constant or smooth won't be a problem because I plan to enclose the cyclone & sawdust storage container.
Here's a couple pics of the type of side panels I plan to use.
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The long section of PVC pipe was for when I had planed on going with a regular Thien Baffle.

Doug

[Mike Cutler]

There appear to be some pretty impressive results in that video, using just a 5 gallon bucket.
Has anybody tried out the final two setups themselves?

[Frank Pratt]

That video's test methodology is highly flawed and the results next to useless. They are judging the results by what is caught in a piece of non-woven fabric that is being loosely described as a filter. I doubt it would stop anything smaller than a 100 microns. There was no weighing to quantify how much the separator took out.

Just about any kind of cobbled together separator will take out the big stuff. It's getting the small stuff is where the good separators (taller cyclones) shine. It's the fine stuff that clogs filters the worst and is the hardest to clean out of them.

So, if the goal is to keep the chunks from rattling around in the blower and you're venting outside, a bucket separator is fine. If you are aiming to minimize filter cleaning, a good cyclone is much better.

[Jim Andrew]

If you are going to go through with this fabrication, make the cyclone body the same size as the ones sold by Oneida and other companies, with a long cone, as the 18" diameter seems to work very well. You could make the cone a few inches longer and possibly improve the separation. My cyclone has a tube that goes near the bottom of the cone, which seems to separate the air from the dust. As to venting outside, would not want to vent mine outside without a cyclone, do not want a sawdust pile outside the shop, unless it comes with a trailer to catch the dust.

[Prashun Patel]

I'd step back and consider if it is worth the time and expense of fabricating your own cyclone for the HF blower. A Thien baffle worked pretty well on my table saw, bandsaw, and jointer for several years. It was easier to build. You may find that you want or would appreciate an even more powerful dust collector depending on your future shop/equipment/convenience needs. At that point, maybe just buy a true cyclone.

Also, FWIW, I have a Super Dust Deputy which utilizes an old 3/4hp blower I had. The blower was also 'wrong handed' for the SDD. However, why would that come into play? Is the suction created from the blower rotation-specific? It pulls up through the center of the cone. The vortex would be dependent on the cone geometry - not the blower direction, right? Anyway, this is the first time I've even considered it would be an issue. But the config has worked just fine for me.

[Doug Walls]

If you are going to go through with this fabrication, make the cyclone body the same size as the ones sold by Oneida and other companies, with a long cone, as the 18" diameter seems to work very well.

From what I've read the 18" dia. cyclone usually works best with a 3hp.~5hp. blower, My blower is only a 2hp. Also the larger cyclones usually have 6" inlets & outlets, From what I've read 5" is the ideal duct size for a 2hp. blower.

Doug

[Doug Walls]

I'd step back and consider if it is worth the time and expense of fabricating your own cyclone for the HF blower.
I never said it was a HF blower!
My blower came from a industrial style Cincinnati Dust Master model 200S with a 2hp. 3-phase motor.
https://www.cincinnatifan.com/catalogs/DustCollectors108-sls.pdf
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The blower was also 'wrong handed' for the SDD. However, why would that come into play?

It will reduce your usable HP.



"Quote From Bill Pentz" If made incorrectly your cyclone turns that air in the opposite direction as your blower. A blower wastes about 1/2 hp to reverse the spinning air direction.

Doug

[Prashun Patel]

I learn something every day. Thanks!

[Doug Walls]

consider if it is worth the time and expense of fabricating your own cyclone
Work is slowing down for me right now & I currently have the time to work on some of these projects I had sitting around! I also like fabricating & metalworking, It probably comes from working in a machine shop for 10 years :D

Once the snow starts falling I'll be busy again doing snow removal.

As far as the expense, I'm pretty much using items/stock that I already have on hand.

Doug

[Doug Walls]

Continuing this project with my use what I have approach!
I picked up this workbench from C/L awhile back for $20, I figured the lumber alone was worth the price.
To my surprise it had two sheets of 16ga. sheet metal on the top.
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As luck would have it!
The sheet metal top was just the right size needed for the cone I was planning on.
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Being the 16ga. material was too thick for me to shape by hand I took the cut out sheet to a local sheet metal shop & they ran it through their roller. They only charged me $20 which was well worth it!
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I used some rivets to hold it temporarily in-place until I cut the drum, Then I'll weld everything together & seal the seams with epoxy.

Doug