Jun 27 2008
Building the 5-Gallon Thien Separator
Adapting the Thien Baffle to a 5-gallon bucket isn’t hard, and overall; it is going to reduce a lot of the suction clogging dust that gets to the filter of any shop vac. I feel it is a worthy addition to the shop vac portion of your dust collection system, so here is the stuff you need to know. This may seem a little over detailed for some readers and I apologize, but there was some strange engineering involved, and it is a bit involved regarding the measuring and layout, so I will detail my approach, and leave you, dear readers, to you own devices. Welcome to blaze your own trail or follow mine. For my part, all I can say is I am happy I did it, and feel it can benefit anyone who is inclined to make one, so I am sharing it with you. First you will need to obtain a 5-gallon bucket, which is available from most any hardware store, and the Woodcraft Mini Dust Collection Separator Lid. (part# 143868), which is of course available from Woodcraft. Once you have those; please take not of the following critical measurements, and double check them for yourself. The bucket will not be perfectly round, but on average, at the rim, it will be 11-1/16th in diameter, at the least if the bucket is held to nominal roundness. If you find the bucket is deformed beyond this roundness, I would reject it, and get a different one. This is easy to check with something like a telescopic pointer, or magnet, if you have one. Those handle inside measurements really well, and then simply compare them to a steel ruler or tape measure. Continue Reading »
