At the moment my dust extraction consists of a fairly powerful "bucket" style collection bin and motor. However the bin only holds approximately 20 litres of dust/chippings and the 3 stage filtration system seems to need cleaning every few empties of the bin. This is now not practical and require a larger collection bin and a way of minimising the cleaning of the filtration system ( it's not pleasant on a windy day?)
As in my last post... Space is at a premium ! however I have a plan ?
The Cyclone Dust Cart
A cyclone dust cart you say ? what is that ?
Basically it's a cyclone unit which spins the dust and chipping in a chamber, then under the effect of gravity they drop to the bottom of the cyclone and through a hole into a larger collection bin. But it also stops the majority of finer particles from reaching the filtration system thus making cleaning less often.
If I build this vertically it will save on space, and if on castor's will make it easier for projects throughout the workshop and outside. Also with the addition of a piped extraction system running down the workshop it does make for a more powerful collection unit.
As with the previous cart I shall make this out of OSB due to the fantastic price I'm getting at the moment, however my timber merchant has warned me it may rise in price as it's high in demand this time of the year and stocks are getting low... it's the "Supply and demand" scenario.
Going to make the motor and bin assembly sit in a recess for stability, so the following photos show the process, along with adding the castor's...
You maybe thinking that this is not central ? which is correct, but I want storage for some accessories and will be build a "rack" for these to sit in.
So using 2 sheets for the base; the bin can sit in a recess.
Fitting the castor's...
Now for the pocket holes...
So now made 4 "up stands" 2 are just 1 plank to allow access to the motor and filtration bin, and the 2 back ones are "L" shaped. Plus a couple of side braces for stability.
Added the shelf for the NEW collection bin, this has a 50 litre capacity, 2.5 times more that the old collection bin.
The new collection bin has to have a fairly air tight seal with the cyclone unit, I'm using foam pipe insulation as a seal, after a couple of tries found the 22mm pipe size was better than the 15mm, however it depends on the top of the bin ?
The cyclone chamber will sit on the top hinged part of the cart. I will be adding some "toggle clamps" to this to add compression to the foam top of the bin, so just sizing up the positions of the hinges.
The cyclone chamber requires a bit more than the 18mm thickness to attach too, so using the leftover circle for extra thickness, however this is a little too large, so cutting it down a little.
Finding the centre and cutting a smaller circle so the top part can fit inside the new collection bin.
Fitted the extra circle to the underside of the top, fitted the hinges, I did fit these to the back of the cart approx 4mm lower than needed. The reason is that with the toggle clamps at the front it will add sufficient compression force to the top of the bin for a good seal between the foam and the hinged top.
2 toggle clamps fitted and adjusted... feels like a good seal !
Had to add an extra brace to the front of the cart, just above the toggle clamps, found that the clamps were forcing the side upright apart. Used pocket hole screws for this.
Used a 64mm hole saw to cut the top for the cyclone chamber, then 6 screws around the base to secure it to the top... Nearly there ... time for a test !
OK so the test was successful ? but we had a little and surprising issue ?
We emptied dust and shavings on the floor, added the hoses to the system, switched on, and started to suck up all the dust and shavings... Success !! UNTIL we accidentally got the hose stuck on the floor; with the increased vacuum, the new plastic bin "IMPLODED" ! the plastic bin was not strong enough to withstand the force of the vacuum (if that's the correct description ?)
Both Alex and me scratched our heads for a couple of minutes thinking how we could re enforce the plastic bin, it was staring us in the face... the bit of OSB we had cut from the circle, (see earlier photo) the ring fitted perfectly! tested again and worked a treat. However I may have to secure it better than just "wedging" it in place, but it works for now.
We checked the old bin to see if any debris had made it through... well just a little ? hopefully now it will keep the filters cleaner for longer.
Added a little video of the cyclone working...
Summary of the Cyclone Dust Cart...
1 Sheet 1220mm x 2440mm x 18mm OSB £13.95 (yes gone up in price !)
Pocket hole screws £2.49
4 x 75mm rubber wheel castor's £5.99
1 x cyclone chamber £10.50
2 x Toggle clamps (had to buy a 4 pack) £5.19
2 x hinges £1.00
2 x lm lengths pipe insulation £1.98
1 x 50 litre clear bin £9.99
1 x secondhand workshop dust extraction unit (ebay marketplace) £20
Total cost £71.09
Time taken 5 hours
Still not finished, will continue later this week, got to add on some type of accessory rack to the rear and tidy up the hoses, Sun just starting to set and the temperature is dropping fast. Time to get the tools away.
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