Shop projects

I spent my shop time over the weekend building a few items for the shop. I started on a Thien Separator for my dust collector system. Ever since I got the dust collector I've been meaning to build a separator. Taking the bag off the dust collector is always a chore and was having to be done about once a weekend lately. Also since  getting the collector in July the amount of dust trapped in the top filter is surprising. Hopefully the separator will keep some of the fine dust from reaching the filter and I know it will be easier to empty the separator than the emptying the dust collector bag.

The separator is built from a container (trash can), a baffle, and some plumbing parts. I used my router and a circle cutting jig to create the lid from a sheet of 3/4 birch plywood. Next a jig saw was used to cut the holes, the center port goes to the collector and is a 3" schedule 40 pvc pipe connector. The inflow is a 3" schedule 40 street elbow. Both were a snug fit but were sealed with silicon caulk.

The underside of the lid has a rabbet that is sized to create a snug fit on the trash can. 

Here you can see the elbow

The baffle inside the separator creates a trough for the debris to be able to fall down into. The separator acts as a cyclone to remove the debris from the air. Once again I used the router to cut both circles.

The inside radii is 1.25" smaller than the outside radii

finished baffle

 I still need to attach the baffle to the top to complete the separator.

 I also built a router sled to be able to flatten large cutting boards and pieces to large to run through the planer. It is built from 3/4 birch plywood. I will be rebuilding this because currently the side rails are too high on the base which limits the thickness that can be milled.

This is a piece of apple I was using for a test. The router left some small ridges but those would come off with a  small amount of hand plane work.

I plan to use the router sled for leveling cutting boards, and eventually to level the top of a workbench.