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]

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

[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

[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

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....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/cyc...etac160629.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

[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.