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Just wanted to share my dust collector set up including some mods to the Harbor Freight dust collector I use in my workshop. I am still building the parts to hook it up to my x carve… nothing cooler than cutting parts for your machine with your machine!
First i replaced the dust filter bag with a cartridge from Wynn Environmental. This is a bolt on mod easy breezy. It reduces the fines and has 10x the surface area allowing better flow. Also you just clean it and it should last many years off setting the cost. Second under the filter and above the inlet i installed a Thein baffle. It basically turns the bag below into a cyclone, easy to do and works very well. Search google on thein baffle and you will find many videos showing how to make one. I chose this over a separate can cyclone due to space.
I used as much solid tubing as possible it collects less dust and has less pressure drop per foot. I used 4" sewer pipe, its thinner and cheaper than standard pvc. Even the fittings are lighter and cheaper. I didnt glue the fittings but shot one self drilling screw in each joint. This way if you want to change your configuration or need to clean a blockage its much easier. On the intake of the blower motor is a small grate this always got clogged up with the big shavings from my planner. I cut this out with tin snips and have no more problems. Once you get the pvc close to where you need it i used end caps to make adapters to flexible hose. The HF waste gates will slip inside of the 4" pvc.
I dont like leaving the dust collector running all the time, so i would end up at my table saw and not wanting to walk back to the dust collector just for one cut… So i bought a $10 remote light controller from the home depot. Its guts are on the right in this picture. I bought and HVAC contactor from e bay for $9. This is on the left. The contactor has a 120v coil, so when i hit the button on the clicker it powers the contactor which turns on the dust collector. I soldered it all up and put in a box. Now when i walk in my shop i stick the remote in my pocket and click it on and off where ever i am at.
My set up works quite well and i should have it on my x carve in the next few days and will add pics.
@ScottW definitely need more coffee this morning (got off shift at 3am) as at first glance couldn’t figure out what this crazy red part of your dust collection system was, then realized it was a plane hanging nose-down… I think that is the most serious dust shoe I have ever seen! Do the double hoses create a lot of drag on the Y-axis?
any chance you can post the file for that dust shoe so we can print our own? I’ve been trolling for dust shoe options and while I like the stationary model, I’m still leaning towards something like yours.
btw, thanks for the pics and detail, I have a similar DC and was wondering how well the separator and dust cartridge worked!
I have a remote start on my dust collector and my air compressor. The switches were about $10 at Lowes in the Christmas section. It just plugs into the wall and the button goes with me. Works great and cheap
be careful on the current rating of those things… they are meant for low current lights. I used the same thing on mine but added the contactor. It was a cheap way to get the current capacity.
Thank you for your concern. This one is rated for 110v. Don’t have the packaging any longer as they are several years ago. I have seen the ones that you are talking about and you are right, they would not be safe.
My remote is rated for 15 amps 115v. It has worked perfectly for my dust collector and my air compressor for the past three years. It has made my shop time much easier. Especially since my air compressor in out in my garage separate of my shop
I am using this set in the shop. I have one on my Harbor Freight Dust Collector and another on my air compressor. It is very convenient to just hit the button on the remote and go.
Finished my Harbor Freight Mod, made it into a dual stage with a dust deputy cyclone then added a wynn filter. Also have the remote start. This thing is super efficient, motor works allot better with the new ffilter. The old felt bag filter clogged so fast. Next will have to be running piping to all the othe machines in the shop.
