Dust removal and control are key in a woodworking shop, and a portable cyclone shop vacuum is one of the key tools to keep things tidy. Check out how the cyclone works and where you can get plans to build your own cyclone vacuum system!
No matter if you have a full dust extraction system or not in your woodshop, you’ll also need a portable “shop vac” to do detail work, or to extract dust from a smaller tool that is not connected to the main dust vacuum system.
However, simply vacuuming dust into the standard vacuum is a losing proposition because the dust will overwhelm the vac filters in short order. The trick is to use a device to get most of the sawdust and fine powder dust out of the incoming air BEFORE it is expelled through the vacuum’s filters. Fortunately, it’s pretty easy to do this by using small-scale cyclone.
A cyclone unit works by separating the vast majority of dust, grit, and particulates from the incoming air stream in the vacuum system - and BEFORE the actual vacuum unit. This approach can be scaled up or down. The same basic shape of a cyclone is used in a variety of industrial settings where very large units are used, as well as compact units for medium and hobby shop settings, all the way down to the “micro” unit you’ll see demonstrated here.
The basic principle is the same regardless of separator size. The incoming waste air stream is introduced to the cyclone “sideways” or horizontally, with a waste port at the bottom of the tapered cyclone, and the exit at the center top. When the dust-laden air enters the cyclone, it forms a tapered mini “tornado” along the inner surface of the unit. Using centrifugal force, almost all the dust and debris separate from the air and “twist” their way down into the collection bin, while the clean air rises up through the middle of the “tornado” and makes its way out of the unit and into the vacuum inlet.
Because the vast majority of the dust has been removed, the vacuum filter system has to do much less and last much longer. Also, the exhaust flow is better maintained over time with fewer changes and cleanings.
While there are several compact cyclone separator “knock-offs” out there, my favorite is the one that really fine-tuned and made small-scale cyclones readily available originally. Oneida Air invented the Dust Deputy®. It works well for a variety of dust types and can be readily installed on a variety of durable containers.
These units are made in America, take hoses and vac fittings ranging from 1.5 to 2.5 inches (38 to 64mm), and are very reasonably priced - about $40 at the time of the filming of this episode.
Several years ago, we built a portable combination shop vac, cyclone separator, and collection bucket. We used the plans that were available from our friends at Woodsmith® through their ShopNotes® publication. We’ve been pleased overall, but I recommend putting on bigger casters than they specify. The smaller ones don’t roll over cords and other obstructions on the floor as easily as larger wheels would.
I’ll warn you though. It can be mesmerizing to watch the “tornado” in the Dust Deputy®! Because it is made of translucent plastic, the cyclone action is quite visible and you can see how much dust is being captured before the air enters your vacuum.
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Hey, Dirt Farmer Jay here from DirtFarmerJay.com. Dust control in the makerspace is really important,
and if you don't have a full cyclone with a dust extraction system, a good place to start is a shop
vac, but you got to make it even better using a cyclone. Let me tell you about a great solution
that we purchase and we make use of all the time here in our shop. Hey, Dirt Farmer Jay here from
DirtFarmerJay.com. If you're like me, you have a shop vac in your makerspace, and these are great
tools for controlling dust, picking up stuff out of cracks and crevices. The problem is a shop vac
by itself gets really filled up fast with whatever it is you're vacuuming up. If it's like, for
instance, sawdust or wood chips, and that also leads to the filter getting clogged very quickly.
Well, there's a great solution that we purchased over five years ago, Oneida Air Systems mini
cyclone called the Dust Deputy. Now, we're going to show you how this works, and I want you to see
something right off to begin with. This shop vac on this fixture has been in place, oh, the last time
I cleaned it out was about two years ago, and I've used a lot of or used it for a lot of vacuuming
up of wood chips, sawdust, just general shop debris, all sorts of things. So, let's see how much of that
made it through to the canister inside after it went through the little cyclone. Well, let's take
a look. That's it, my friends. That's all that's gotten through there is that amount. Now, you can
see here the filter has gotten a lot of fine dust, but it's still usable, and what I can do
is get that cleaned out, or I can put a new filter in, but two years of use, and this is as dirty as
the filter is, I bet you I can get more use out of that. So, you can see there's a real advantage
to pre-filtering out all the major debris and a lot of the particulates before it hits your vacuum.
Now, let's put this into use and let you see the cyclonic action and how it really works.
All right, before we vacuum up this pile of sawdust, I'm going to show you very quickly how this works
so you understand what's happening here. This is the vacuum inlet that goes to the shop vac.
So, air is being pulled out of this unit, out of the top, and the vacuum inlet is perpendicular
and in a circular fashion to this. So, it's 90 degrees. So, as I vacuum up debris,
it's introduced into this tapered cyclone chamber at 90 degrees to the exhaust going into the vacuum
unit, and you'll see here as we vacuum, you'll see a tornado form right here where the cyclone
and a centrifugal force is actually taking the matter, putting it against the smooth sides of
this taper unit, and then dropping into the bucket, and very clean air is coming out of the
top. It's estimated that the cyclone takes out between 95 and 98 to 99 percent of the material
before it hits the vacuum. All right, let's just put it to use and you can see for yourself how
it's working. Okay, we vacuumed up the floor here. All that debris is gone, and let's see where it
went and how it worked. You saw the cyclone here. We'll go ahead and pull out the bucket.
There's the material right there. Now, how much of it made it into
the vacuum from that big old pile of fine sawdust? Here we go.
Almost nothing. As a matter of fact, imperceptible from what it was before.
We'll clean this in the future, but as you can see, again, very little makes it into this,
so this really, really works well. Now, if you're looking at this unit that we built,
I need to give credit where credit is due. First of all, this unit came from Oneida Air.
You'll find that information in the description below where you can get that. No, there's no
commission. We just found a great solution we want to pass on to you, and if you like
this combo cart, this came from Woodsmith Shop Notes, and there's also a link for their plans
below. We think you really enjoy having this in your shop, and we've kind of made it into
a cleanup station with a broom and the accessories and everything there. Another great skill to have
in the maker shop is flawlessly applying spray can finishes, whether it's lacquer, paint,
or varnish, you can get a beautiful finish. Check out this video where I'll walk you through
several great insider tips to get the results you desire, and while you're at it, check out
this other video from our catalog that YouTube thinks is just perfect for you. We think so, too.
Hey, until the next time, this is Dirt Farmer Jay from DirtFarmerJay.com.
