Hey guys So I got a question for anyone that may be able to help. I’m finding myself emptying and cleaning out my vacuum filter very often and the vacuum is slowly starting to die I feel. It’s a smaller vacuum so It gets full really quickly. I’ve been looking at solutions and so far the only one I found that would work for me and is affordable is the dust deputy. (http://www.oneida-air.com/static.asp?htmltemplate=static/how-the-dust-deputy-works.html). The only thing I hate about it, is the damn markup on this thing. I’m stuck paying about 100$ for a 1$'s worth of injection molded plastic. Anyways with little competition I guess they can toss whatever price they want, and hey if it works then no problem! All of the systems I found using this, use a simple pail and lid. Today when I was at my parents helping prepare for my wife’s babyshower I found that my dad had this decent sized carboard cylinder thing, and I thought to myself, damn this would make for a great dust collection bin, its lightweight and seems like I could make it airtight. So I brought it home. Anyways my question is. Does having a larger bin affect the dustcollection/suction? I’m no engineer and not to familiar on how this cyclone works. Does anyone think this bin would work for what I need it for or is it a big paper weight? Here is a picture.
You’re probably looking for something called a Thien baffle - there’s quite a bit of talk about how people built their own. It’s a common project. April Wilkerson has a video on what she did, including slapping a baffle thing on top of a barrel like you’ve got.
(Personally, I just bought a Dust Deputy. There aren’t many hours I can spend on XCarve projects, and the dust collection stuff dropped off the bottom.)
Matthias Wandel has a really interesting take on shop dust collection. The use of furnace filters in particular seems intriguing.
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I am looking at the dust deputy, Just wondering if it works with bigger canisters. I only ever see it on the tiny little bins. That’s a neat little project but I think by time I factor in local materials that baffle would run me more than the dust deputy would cost me.
I saw this video, It was crazy how the dustdeputy beat the other more expensive units. I guess there is only one thing to do, test it out and see! Worst case I will just go out and buy a smaller bin.
Also, emptying the Dust Deputy is quick and easy (although dusty). It’s just a fancy lid on a 5 gallon plastic bucket, so you’re not messing around with filters at all. You don’t even need to disconnect the vacuum hoses (not that that takes any time; we’re talking seconds here). I’d suggest trying it out of the box before messing around with putting it on a bigger barrel.
Have a lid on a metal garbage can before my dust collector that is similar to this setup, works awesome, grabs 95%+ of dust, etc. Bit the bullet and got the dust deputy because it was easier for the shop vac setup I want to do, you’re right, couple bucks in plastic…
Got it. The bins in question are just normal everyday plastic buckets, so if that barrel thingy doesn’t work (and frankly, emptying that thing sounds like an awful job to me), try a bucket you’ve got lying around.
You might think about the kit. It comes with hoses, and they made up the price difference the last time I looked. Unless, of course, you have suitable hoses lying around already.
I just setup the dust right separator that stevemilby linked. Its been working great for me. I’m using a plastic 30 gal plastic drum for mine.
I just ran out to the garage and shot a video of how I’ve got my Dust Deputy set up. It’s not pro-grade, but it does a decent enough job for me. I still want to fix the exhaust fan in the garage though; the XCarve really does generate a lot of dust, plus the bit from sanding edges at the end of the job.
If you use a metal garbage can, make sure to ground it.
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Was the vacuum on when you took the video or was that something else I was hearing! How do you like that vacuum I saw it on sale for half off and am considering buying one.
Best deal as of tonight: Dust Deputy Deluxe Kit
I have a dust deputy and think it was well worth the purchase price. Before the fine dust from materials like MDF would just blow right through my shop vac, spewing out the back.
I got just the top and bolted it on a bucket. I used a old kitty litter bucket I had lying around because it had a lid. But you can buy a good heavy duty bucket with lid from home depot (the orange home depot branded ones. Finding them is a problem as they are usually on a end of a aisle)
I found that it was top heavy when the bucket was empty so I took a second bucket and bolted it to a board then just slid the first bucket inside that as a holder. It works pretty good.
The size of the barrel that you bolt the dust deputy to doesn’t mater, as long as it is air tight.
(At some point I may convert a 35 gallon trash can)
It does need to be strong enough not to collapse from the suction if the main hose get clogged. So the cardboard barrel might have an issue. It is easy enough to test.
If you want to go cheep you can make a simple dust collector (as linked above) using the card board barrel and some PVC pipe and connectors. It probably would not be as good as a dust deputy for finer particles, but you already have the big barrel which is most of the cost. 
That’s just the power supply for the XCarve controller and the laptop that runs it. They’re not exactly silent 
The vacuum sounds like a helicopter taking off; ear protection is a requirement.
It’s fine, I’ve never really thought about it. Had it for years, and it’s still running. Given those two things, if I saw one for a good price, I’d say sure, go for it. I have literally nothing to compare it to though.
I too have a dust deputy. I am thinking of getting a new one.
However if you want to build something I can take apart the other unit I got and you can see how its constructed if you want.
The setup you have in mind works as I had the same idea about a year ago. The bin will handle the vacuum but the lid will deflect but not enough to cause a hazard. The only negative is the bin does get heavy when full so I would suggest emptying every other week or so. Enjoy
FYI these are way over priced…Buying from china direct is much cheaper
I have this one
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Do you have this one? Can you confirm that it does the same?
I bought a dust deputy from Menards a while back. If I were to do it again, I would be the one from Rockler that is linked here. You can buy just the cyclone part of the Dust Deputy for $50 and buy your own bucket. (This is what I did). I really only get to use my XCarve on the weekends, so it takes me a little while to fill a 5gal bucket.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tp4ln9h3Eak is an interesting video about the cheap (=~ US$150, and it seems you can almost always find a 20% off coupon) Harbor Freight dust collector. $130.95 including tax&shipping right now.
