I’m a fan of old iron but you have to be willing to refurbish parts, deal with motor / power compatibility, etc. It also requires patience and luck....
Correct, you can expect very little to get past the cyclone. Your two considerations for venting outside will be, can you crack a window for make-up...
Good luck. For learning techniques I have a soft spot for the New Yankee Workshop which is mostly behind a paywall these days. Woodworking magazines...
The advantage of adding a cyclone to a shop vac is that it lets you use a better filter that won’t clog as quickly since the DD separates out all but...