Alternate and economical way to stop the pails from collapsing. When you cut the top lip ring off the pail, save the ring, remove rough edges and when your done building the collector, push the ring down firmly on the top pail. Worked for me and only needed 2 pails. Thanks Chris.
@@jenniepost7837 Can you blow into it? Can you hook the hose from the shop vac into the exhaust hole [making it a bloser] and c a r e f u l l y blow the walls out?
Again with the masterful use of physics to solve everyday problems!! If only they still taught this type of thinking in school the world would be a better place!
Chris, GREAT project idea. I built it and it worked fine but I did have the tippyness and bucket collapse issues (although it still worked fine). I've just incorporated your update suggestions and... Good to go! Thanks. To all viewers: Don't even think about buying a dust cyclone of any sort. This works every bit as well and costs almost nothing. You may even have some or all of the parts laying around.
I improved the original version by cutting a 10" circle of 1/2" plywood and glued it to the outside bottom of the top bucket then drilled the holes. The adaptors and fittings are now very tight, and the bottom of the top bucket no longer cracks. I just now set the whole thing in an extra bucket with a large rock in it ala this video and no more tipping, and no more bucket crunching. With the plywood on the top bucket it never did crunch. Only the bottom did. Thanks for your clear common sense solutions.
I have one additional upgrade I would like to suggest. After filling the bottom outer bucket with the weight of your choice (I do not recommend water) screw the two bottom buckets together using 4 screws at opposite sides. Then screw the two top buckets together in the same manner. Next find and screw a couple "L" brackets to the very bottom of the collector so it can be held down to the floor with your feet. Then screw two handles to the top buckets on opposite sides. Now you can easily separate the two halves when it's time to empty.
I made the original last week and wanted to see if I had the issues these modifications fix. Mine never tipped, but my vac constantly crushed both buckets. Added these mods and I vacuumed 10 gallons of sawdust today without one collapse. I'm going to design this into a rolling cart with my vacuum now. This is such a simple, affordable solution. Thank you!
I just built my dust cyclone off your video and it works great! Made a few other mods, used 2" instead of 1.5" fittings, added a 7 " wide piece of 1/2 plywood to the bottom of my shop vac sticking out the back about 12 ", screwed the lowest bucket to the plywood, the bucket that collects the dust goes inside this lowest bucket. The shop vac is portable with wheels of course and now the dust cyclone just tags along. behind . Thanks for the great ideas Chris.
@@Mikemartin968 not sure if you saw it on sale or they make different models, but as of 4/3/2020 (month after your post) HD is selling the duststopper for $41.97 (according to HD website..in store $ different?)
I built this and it works great for me. When I use it with my DeWalt 9-gallon shop vac and planer, I found that the planer's air pressure pulls the buckets apart. To solve the problem, I drilled four slots around the two bucket rims and passed a velcro strap through to keep them together. It works great. Thanks again.
Recently made the collector and shortly after it started collapsing and tipping over. Saw this vid and it worked. I used some leftover sand for weight. Absolutely love this design
I put some old speaker magnets in the bottom of the cyclone bucket. Heavy, so it doesn't tip over, and if you suck up a screw or nail it sticks to the magnet so you can retrieve it easily, and also have clean sawdust for compost.
Thanks for the update Chris. Not realizing it also prevented collapse, I used a 3rd bucket mounted to a shelf to get it off the floor while still allowing portability. I couldn't be happier with how well this separator works. Pays for itself by skipping just one filter cartridge swap.
@@jackiepousson8497 None at all. Don't know if it makes much difference but I used Lowes buckets. I imagine if I used it as a shop vac and the nozzle sucked flat against a surface, the top bucket might buckle...but I hook this up to my table saw, router bench and band saw so that situation is impossible.
I did your first project and worked fine. I faced the same issue when the painting tape blocked it. Not this I wanted to post to ask a solution and you already posted it. Thanks so much.
Buying 1 extra bucket 5 bucks, Buying 2 extra buckets and a brick 50 bucks!!!!!!, Watching Simple Cyclone Dust Collector collapse ......... Priceless!!!!!! Great Video.
I did not think you could improve on your orginal design............but WOW !!!!!!!!!!! This is even better !!!!!!!!!! I am going to build one this weekend.......can't wait.
This was amazing. I built mine last night, I used a Lowe’s bucket for the bottom and followed your instructions on the top half. thank you for this, I already hit the floors in the shop and the vacuum bucket is nearly clean, but the exception of a couple of pieces of paper.
Love it! I still have to pick up another bucket (or two), but I was really impressed with how well it works. For now I just tied the buckets to an old cabinet to prevent it from falling over, but still have to be careful not to clog it up, or you know what happens...but still very happy...thanks, Chris
Chris I just built your dust collector based on the original video. I used it for the first time yesterday and I don't understand why I didn't do this 20 years ago. Works great. Thanks for the update I'm going to get another bucket and put a brick in it so I don't have the tip over problem. I put both the vacuum and the bucket on a shelf with casters and now it rolls around the shop nicely. I didn't have two home Depot buckets so I used another bucket until I can get the proper one.
Just finished making a dust collector. Powered first test with a 2.5 gallon Shopvac with about a half full collector bag in it. I'm am impressed no end. Also used the hook carpet blade in oscillating saw...wowsers. Canadian Ingenuity at it's best.
After watching your original video I built your exact one and it works great on my shop vac. I intend to use it permanently on my house central vac system so I’ll be doing this upgrade too. Excellent update thank you!
That very interesting. I’m amazed by the fix considering the extra buckets don’t physically change anything about the internal volume and yet it works!
Here's the secret: When the bucket collapses, its diameter decreases in the collapse direction, but _increases_ in the other direction. (Try squeezing a hula hoop.) The outer bucket prevents the inner bucket from expanding in that direction, thus maintaining the integrity and strength of the circle shape. It simply cannot collapse (as long as you maintain IRL conditions).
Thank you for your 2 videos, well done. Easy to put together system. To make the shop vac and dust collector system movable I went to Lowe's and bought a wheeled wood furniture moving dolly. Placed a piece of plywood on the top of the dolly and screwed the second bottom bucket of the dust collector to the dolly. Your system will not tip over and you can lift up the system from the bottom bucket easily to empty dust from the pail. Not sure if I want to screw the shop vac to the plywood or just let it sit on the plywood loose.
Thank you! I just did this last week and immediately was trying to figure out ways to keep it from tipping. One idea occurs to me after watching this - put the bottom bucket (the one with brick/gravel/water) on a platform with wheels so that it also can be easily moved around the shop if you don't have a long hose.
I live in an apartment, I have had to select my tools for portability. Your dust collection system is the best I have seen so far to fit my conditions. I will have to buy it a piece at a time, but it will come in handy for several uses, especially when another upstairs water heater gets broken. Thanks, Chris
I don't need the cyclone feature. But you have given me some great ideas for a 'pre-filter' for my shop vac, using a vacuum cleaner bag inside a 5 gallon bucket...
I have had BROWN lung from sawdust, back in 1980 or so. We were working at the Army base Craft shop in Stuttgart Germany and did not have a good filtering system. On my Chris Notap's design I used 4 buckets. One with a lid upside down but cut 5 inches off the bottom. I then filled it, lid down, with wet cement 1 inch higher than the level of the 2nd bucket when pushed down in to it. Put a contractor trash bag over #2 bucket and shoved #2 bucket down, pushing the cement up the sides a little, the sheeting kept the cement off #2 bucket. Let the cement cure for 2 days. Removed the trash bag. Bucket #3 I did the PVC piping but put 2 90 degree elbows so the hoses were coming out sideways. #4 bucket was cut like Chris Notap's UPDATED version* to slide over #3 to make it so it could not suck in. The added weight of concrete and the hoses going 90 degrees keeps it from tipping easier.
I'm late to this, obviously, but I've just realized that you've created not only a dust separator/collector, but also a general purpose shop-vac capacity extender. With a little effort at caulking seals, this or similar could really speed up basement flood clean up for those of us with smaller shop-vacs. Brilliant. Definitely subscribing!
I wish you were my neighbor ♥️ your so smart, I had to think a good 30 seconds before I could work out how the top over bucket was able to prevent the collapse of the wall.... Then 💡Just genius 😀
Yup I built this today before seeing the updates. Will have to do a couple mods! Was thinking of just using construction adhesive to glue a couple bricks on the bottom to weight it. But I might as well just add another bucket and prevent the possible collapse issue too. Thanks for the update, Chris!
Plastic buckets collapse under partial vacuum because the walls are too thin. The Home Depot's "Homer" buckets have 70 mil wall thickness, as do the buckets sold in most hardware stores and home improvement centers. I found the best way to solve the problem was to use buckets with 90 mil wall thickness. Most hardware stores don't carry them, but if you check local businesses that get material deliveries in 5-gallon or 6-gallon buckets, chances are they'll have 90 mil walls. You may also be able to mail-order them.
CertainTeed premixed buckets of drywall mud are about twice as thick as the HD buckets. I buy a few just for the buckets, then buy boxed mud after so i have the better thicker buckets to mix in.
You are THE MAN. Not only is your initial design better than the others I've seen (for some a maker would be saving time & money by NOT making them and buying retail), but adding these updates shows you view criticism as learning opportunities. Very adult. And that you actually care about what you. 4 buckets instead of two is a drastic increase in materials (by my calculations nearly 100% more in buckets alone) but still manageable considering the cost of commercial units. All that said, how come the sawdust doesn't just come rushing out the hole the shop-vac is connected to? It seems like quantum mechanics, operation at a distance, but the opposite: particles know to not interact with each other.
Thank you for sharing this and the wet vac videos, it's exactly what I was looking for! I may try and design an adapter to hook multiple vacuum hoses in at once to accompany everything in the garage, but I can't thank you enough for sharing this. Building it this weekend!
Very awesome, finished mine about two months ago, and I put a wire mesh over the PVC cutout, and a thin piece of filtering material over that, and now even the fine soot from the wood stove does not get on the filter, and the suction is still strong. Thank you so very much as this is the ultimate answer to vacuuming in the shop. I also cutout a rectangle hole in the flat-wand attachment, and rubber banded a thin piece of plastic to it, which stays in place nicely when vacuuming, and when I bend it back and place the end under the rubber band, I can pick up very fine pieces of dust and debra from the tool box, bench, and shelves, and no small screws or even rubber bands get picked up. Works like a charm, so happy man.
This is super slick! 25 years ago I did something very similar with two full sized metal trashcans for my central dust collection system, but I have the filter inside the upper can. Emptying the shop vac is a bit of a pain, and messy. This looks so much easier!
Thats was cooler than your first video. Im sharing it. Thanks for notifying me of the update. It takes a certain Kind of sense to think like that. Ive been watching videos for years and noone has ever hit my comment on a previous video and asked me to watch their next video. Well played.
Chris, I have to apologize and explain something. It's about my last reply, just below. When I posted I had totally forgotten that I used the best of your ideas combined with the best ideas of someone else on youtube. When I built your vac, I also installed a thien baffle, so in the center of the upper bucket is a disk, (so no collapse) with a two inch hole. In that hole is a PVC tube which goes down to the bottom of the upper bucket, where a smaller disk is installed, leaving a small space between it and the bucket. The bottom disk has no thru hole. Part of the PVC tube is cutout, about two inches long, opposite to the incoming debris tube. It worked great except for some wood stove soot, so I covered the cutout with some mesh, and wrapped a thin sheet of filter material over it, like you would use for duct work. Total success, not even fine dust on the filter, and the material can be rinsed off when needed. I cut out a plywood ring and it fits snug in the center of the bottom bucket, which gets narrower as the bucket goes down, so no collapse. The thien baffle simple makes for a weird path of travel so the debris is not likely to make all the turns. I cut a notch all around the upper disk and fitted it with a large rubber band and the seal is perfect, especially since the vacuum draws it tight, considering that the upper bucket is upside down, so the disk is constantly drawn into the bucket as the bucket gets narrower. I am totally happy as it seems the filter will remain new forever. Just amazing when things are put together correctly, which reminds me of a rocket mass heater that allows for 95% of all the heat to remain in the house, with a side burn, which is a horizontal fire tube, so instead of the smoke just going up and away from the flame and not getting burned, the smoke remains in the tube with the fire, and does get burned, giving intense heat, and no smoke out the stack. Keep up the good work and thanks for those amazingly good ideas of yours. s
Bill Boehmer, thank you, can could possibly post a link to pictures of this? It seems like a good idea, but I too cannot follow the instructions about the pvc pipe and the wood. (I am so totally a visual learner, but I couldn't do a mind picture on this.)
I made this last week and actually just built a cart to hold shop vac below and buckets above. Also used PVC between shop vac and bucket. A board with a half cut circle slid into the notch on bottom bucket
Another great idea! I took your idea a step further. I used 30 gallon plastic trash cans for greater capacity. It works great too. But, good quality cans need to be purchased that have sturdy walls. Otherwise, the cans will collapse much worse than what you showed on your original design with the buckets.
@charliej494 Used a heavy galvanized 30 gallon trash can, then switched to using a 20 gallon steel barrel I found in a junk yard. The barrel works much better and easier to seal.
My buckets also collapsed. What I did was to cut the rims out from the 'discarded' lids. (I removed the inner flat portion of lid thus leaving all of the 'rim'.) Then fit each rim half way up each bucket and secure them with duck-tape. They work 'good enough'. They can still collapse but not under normal usage and accidental blockages. AND yes, I also put a brick in the bottom... Helps save it from tipping over.
I used two homer buckets as the bottom of my shopvac... mine fit perfectly then i used the actual bottom with wider base and wheels to hold the collection container.. doesn't tip gives strength for collapse and i can wheel it around. Thanks for the awesome tutorial
So I made one of these last week and I've been saying to myself, "How can I keep this from tipping over?". Well, I guess I must have been thinking out loud again cause here it is!
Hey Chris, I built this, used it with central vacuum and had the collapsing problem. Solution. I cut out 2 rings of scrap plywood, set in each bucket about 8 inches and they hold it open great. Put the central vac and cyclone on a cart and now I have super mobile vacuuming capabilities.
I saw your first video and I star watching some others to do the same work and get more info , because has no way to found same type of buckets here .... then I found one video about avoiding collapsing buckets or tank, a Russian guy explained easier way to no collapse. let me explain .... he installed a spring check valve ( the one used for no return water sistem) and it works amazingly! I did it and it prevents to colapse your deposit tank or to force the vacuum cleaner in case of total blocked air . So no need double buckets. Hope you can try this to. Brgds .
Just discovered your channel. This is a great upgrade to the vac. Also gives me a place to get rid of my Fe wheel weights I cull out of the lead weights I use for casting sinkers and bullits. Earned a new subscriber!
Assuming you have scrap wood (which as woodworker, you more than likely have more scrap wood than project wood,) you could also make feet for it at 12, 3, 6, and 9 on the second bucket for even more stability. Start it at just under 3 inches tall, taper it down to 1 inch. Make 4 of those and you should be good.
People in the paint business throw away those 5gal paint buckets almost everyday, you can get a lot of them for free. Cleaning them will be the messy part. Car shops and mechanics often buy degreaser in 5gal buckets, they use it a lot for cleaning motor parts and other stuff. I have used those buckets and they are a little stronger than others. Car shops in your area may have some to throw away. Restaurants like asian food ones, bakeries and pastry shops buy a lot of their ingredients in 3gal and 5gal buckets. I have a store near that buys the sugar and egg whites in those buckets and throw them away almost daily. The only disadvantage is that some of these buckets have thinner walls compared to other ones. Also the cleaning process can be a little messy. It's been years since I last bought a bucket. It's just a matter of searching around.
Just made mine exactly as specified, except the first 2 holes were cut wider than the pipes, had to wrap tape around the pipes to form a seal, still a small gap , these gaps may prevent implosion. Glad my mistake will result in the fix for implosion
Before you run out and buy all the stuff to build one, be sure to read the important note I made about the buckets in the description under the video!
Alternate and economical way to stop the pails from collapsing. When you cut the top lip ring off the pail, save the ring, remove rough edges and when your done building the collector, push the ring down firmly on the top pail. Worked for me and only needed 2 pails. Thanks Chris.
Great tip!
Any suggestions for uncollapsing the buckets?!
@@jenniepost7837 Can you blow into it? Can you hook the hose from the shop vac into the exhaust hole [making it a bloser] and c a r e f u l l y blow the walls out?
@@jenniepost7837 maybe fill with super hot water?
Again with the masterful use of physics to solve everyday problems!! If only they still taught this type of thinking in school the world would be a better place!
That hook blade in the oscillating saw is an awesome tip! Brilliantly simple! Thanks for sharing.
Chris, GREAT project idea. I built it and it worked fine but I did have the tippyness and bucket collapse issues (although it still worked fine). I've just incorporated your update suggestions and... Good to go! Thanks.
To all viewers: Don't even think about buying a dust cyclone of any sort. This works every bit as well and costs almost nothing. You may even have some or all of the parts laying around.
I improved the original version by cutting a 10" circle of 1/2" plywood and glued it to the outside bottom of the top bucket then drilled the holes. The adaptors and fittings are now very tight, and the bottom of the top bucket no longer cracks. I just now set the whole thing in an extra bucket with a large rock in it ala this video and no more tipping, and no more bucket crunching. With the plywood on the top bucket it never did crunch. Only the bottom did. Thanks for your clear common sense solutions.
I have one additional upgrade I would like to suggest. After filling the bottom outer bucket with the weight of your choice (I do not recommend water) screw the two bottom buckets together using 4 screws at opposite sides. Then screw the two top buckets together in the same manner. Next find and screw a couple "L" brackets to the very bottom of the collector so it can be held down to the floor with your feet. Then screw two handles to the top buckets on opposite sides. Now you can easily separate the two halves when it's time to empty.
I made the original last week and wanted to see if I had the issues these modifications fix. Mine never tipped, but my vac constantly crushed both buckets. Added these mods and I vacuumed 10 gallons of sawdust today without one collapse. I'm going to design this into a rolling cart with my vacuum now. This is such a simple, affordable solution. Thank you!
That's great!!
I just built my dust cyclone off your video and it works great! Made a few other mods, used 2" instead of 1.5" fittings, added a 7 " wide piece of 1/2 plywood to the bottom of my shop vac sticking out the back about 12 ", screwed the lowest bucket to the plywood, the bucket that collects the dust goes inside this lowest bucket. The shop vac is portable with wheels of course and now the dust cyclone just tags along. behind . Thanks for the great ideas Chris.
would love to see a how to video for that
Now that's problem solving in almost real time. All for under 10 bucks. Brilliant
Shawn Stuart well, yes and no. The buckets are $5.25 a pop in my neck of the woods. A duststopper from HD is $25...
@@Mikemartin968 not sure if you saw it on sale or they make different models, but as of 4/3/2020 (month after your post) HD is selling the duststopper for $41.97 (according to HD website..in store $ different?)
@@seans9841 Plus you still need at least one bucket. ;)
Who doesnt have multiple buckets hanging around?
Lowe's are $4 Harbor Freight sells buckets too
I built this and it works great for me. When I use it with my DeWalt 9-gallon shop vac and planer, I found that the planer's air pressure pulls the buckets apart. To solve the problem, I drilled four slots around the two bucket rims and passed a velcro strap through to keep them together. It works great. Thanks again.
Never thought of putting a hook blade in a reciprocating saw - genius!
And it works really well too!
Thats not a recip saw... 🙄😏
Recently made the collector and shortly after it started collapsing and tipping over. Saw this vid and it worked. I used some leftover sand for weight. Absolutely love this design
That's great!!
Wet the sand it will be heaver...
Love this guy Speaks clearly,makes sense,very practical person.
Thanks for that feedback!
Aw man, I just finished building mine from the original video! Might as well go back and make the mods now. Thanks for the update!!!
You may not need the mod. Some vacuums are a bit stronger than others.
Haha- I also just completed mine today, but I ceiling mounted mine with ready rod next to the central VAC. Now I have to go back and do this mod.
Me too! Haven’t even collected dust yet.
I put some old speaker magnets in the bottom of the cyclone bucket. Heavy, so it doesn't tip over, and if you suck up a screw or nail it sticks to the magnet so you can retrieve it easily, and also have clean sawdust for compost.
Cleaning the dust bag is a most odious task, depending on what you have sucked up! Thanks Notap.
Thanks for the update Chris.
Not realizing it also prevented collapse, I used a 3rd bucket mounted to a shelf to get it off the floor while still allowing portability. I couldn't be happier with how well this separator works. Pays for itself by skipping just one filter cartridge swap.
Thanks!
No problem with top bucket?
@@jackiepousson8497 None at all. Don't know if it makes much difference but I used Lowes buckets. I imagine if I used it as a shop vac and the nozzle sucked flat against a surface, the top bucket might buckle...but I hook this up to my table saw, router bench and band saw so that situation is impossible.
Who says common sense is not so common...oh wait..it took a video to put the light on in my head! Thanks - that was an excellent update.
Hi Chris: You are a 100% genius. I may not need to use a shop vac but I really enjoy watching your engenuity. Thanks for sharing.
Thank you so much my guy. I just got the parts yesterday and completed it today. You saved me $109.97. Works just like yours.
Nice work!
I did your first project and worked fine. I faced the same issue when the painting tape blocked it. Not this I wanted to post to ask a solution and you already posted it.
Thanks so much.
Buying 1 extra bucket 5 bucks, Buying 2 extra buckets and a brick 50 bucks!!!!!!, Watching Simple Cyclone Dust Collector collapse ......... Priceless!!!!!!
Great Video.
I did not think you could improve on your orginal design............but WOW !!!!!!!!!!! This is even better !!!!!!!!!! I am going to build one this weekend.......can't wait.
this has got to be the simplest of dust collector that work , and the update make it better , thank you
Glad to help!
This was amazing. I built mine last night, I used a Lowe’s bucket for the bottom and followed your instructions on the top half. thank you for this, I already hit the floors in the shop and the vacuum bucket is nearly clean, but the exception of a couple of pieces of paper.
Love how simple this fix was, use what is cost effective and available :) No need to over complicate things!
Love it! I still have to pick up another bucket (or two), but I was really impressed with how well it works. For now I just tied the buckets to an old cabinet to prevent it from falling over, but still have to be careful not to clog it up, or you know what happens...but still very happy...thanks, Chris
Chris I just built your dust collector based on the original video. I used it for the first time yesterday and I don't understand why I didn't do this 20 years ago. Works great. Thanks for the update I'm going to get another bucket and put a brick in it so I don't have the tip over problem. I put both the vacuum and the bucket on a shelf with casters and now it rolls around the shop nicely. I didn't have two home Depot buckets so I used another bucket until I can get the proper one.
That is awesome!
Thank-you, thank-you for the updates and the central vacuum idea, it does pull stronger than my shop vac.
You solve problems with the greatest and cheapest ways. Thanks!
I try to find the easiest and cheapest method in al my videos. Thanks.
Just finished making a dust collector. Powered first test with a 2.5 gallon Shopvac with about a half full collector bag in it. I'm am impressed no end. Also used the hook carpet blade in oscillating saw...wowsers. Canadian Ingenuity at it's best.
Thanks for that!
I screwed down the part I cut out of the second bucket to a movers dolly. The whole thing sits right on it!
Man! You are brillient!
Easy builds effective communication and excellent and fun camerapositioning!
Thanks for the tips!
Wow! Thanks for that great feedback!
Chris, I made a dust collector for my shop vac using your design. It works fantastic! Thanks very much!
Fantastic!
After watching your original video I built your exact one and it works great on my shop vac. I intend to use it permanently on my house central vac system so I’ll be doing this upgrade too. Excellent update thank you!
Thanks, the second bucket fixed the collapsing. I was about ready to throw the whole thing out.
Thank you so much for this video. I made this today and there is such a tremendous difference in dust collection in my shop now.
You are so welcome!
That very interesting. I’m amazed by the fix considering the extra buckets don’t physically change anything about the internal volume and yet it works!
Here's the secret: When the bucket collapses, its diameter decreases in the collapse direction, but _increases_ in the other direction. (Try squeezing a hula hoop.) The outer bucket prevents the inner bucket from expanding in that direction, thus maintaining the integrity and strength of the circle shape. It simply cannot collapse (as long as you maintain IRL conditions).
Awesome updates, dust collector works great and these hacks will make it even better
Thank you for your 2 videos, well done. Easy to put together system. To make the shop vac and dust collector system movable I went to Lowe's and bought a wheeled wood furniture moving dolly. Placed a piece of plywood on the top of the dolly and screwed the second bottom bucket of the dust collector to the dolly. Your system will not tip over and you can lift up the system from the bottom bucket easily to empty dust from the pail. Not sure if I want to screw the shop vac to the plywood or just let it sit on the plywood loose.
you just keep bringing more and more value to humanity. fantastic update!
And the way you disseminate information is remarkable.
Wow, thank you!
Thank you! I just did this last week and immediately was trying to figure out ways to keep it from tipping. One idea occurs to me after watching this - put the bottom bucket (the one with brick/gravel/water) on a platform with wheels so that it also can be easily moved around the shop if you don't have a long hose.
That's a great idea!
Harbor Freight has a furniture mover that's about 2'x2' for around $10. That's less that buying the casters will cost.
You could probably scavenge a milk crate somewhere to place it in to add stability.
I live in an apartment, I have had to select my tools for portability. Your dust collection system is the best I have seen so far to fit my conditions. I will have to buy it a piece at a time, but it will come in handy for several uses, especially when another upstairs water heater gets broken.
Thanks, Chris
Coolest “in bucket” video cam. EVER. Great real-world solutions! I’m hooked/subscribed.
Welcome!
I don't need the cyclone feature. But you have given me some great ideas for a 'pre-filter' for my shop vac, using a vacuum cleaner bag inside a 5 gallon bucket...
I have had BROWN lung from sawdust, back in 1980 or so. We were working at the Army base Craft shop in Stuttgart Germany and did not have a good filtering system.
On my Chris Notap's design I used 4 buckets. One with a lid upside down but cut 5 inches off the bottom. I then filled it, lid down, with wet cement 1 inch higher than the level of the 2nd bucket when pushed down in to it. Put a contractor trash bag over #2 bucket and shoved #2 bucket down, pushing the cement up the sides a little, the sheeting kept the cement off #2 bucket. Let the cement cure for 2 days. Removed the trash bag.
Bucket #3 I did the PVC piping but put 2 90 degree elbows so the hoses were coming out sideways. #4 bucket was cut like Chris Notap's UPDATED version* to slide over #3 to make it so it could not suck in.
The added weight of concrete and the hoses going 90 degrees keeps it from tipping easier.
I'm late to this, obviously, but I've just realized that you've created not only a dust separator/collector, but also a general purpose shop-vac capacity extender. With a little effort at caulking seals, this or similar could really speed up basement flood clean up for those of us with smaller shop-vacs. Brilliant. Definitely subscribing!
I made another video on one that sucks up water too. Here it is...ruclips.net/video/qr4shF-oOzg/видео.html
That one's great too. I have to say, I'm loving your channel - really great ideas, but also the production values are really high.
I'd guess not caulking enables disassembly (eg to remove contents) though?
Got some routing to do tomorrow, found your 1st vid, great vid, then found this 5 min later, off to the DIY shop tomorrow :-)
Great video It's great to see to the point information , I won't be buying a dust collector now Thanks !
Better every day, thanks so much for sharing your precious knowledge !!
Glad you enjoy it!
I wish you were my neighbor ♥️ your so smart, I had to think a good 30 seconds before I could work out how the top over bucket was able to prevent the collapse of the wall.... Then 💡Just genius 😀
Yup I built this today before seeing the updates. Will have to do a couple mods! Was thinking of just using construction adhesive to glue a couple bricks on the bottom to weight it. But I might as well just add another bucket and prevent the possible collapse issue too. Thanks for the update, Chris!
Troubleshooting the teething troubles shows dedication............... or stubbornness.😁
Thanks for the heads-up on Part II.
No problem 👍
Plastic buckets collapse under partial vacuum because the walls are too thin. The Home Depot's "Homer" buckets have 70 mil wall thickness, as do the buckets sold in most hardware stores and home improvement centers. I found the best way to solve the problem was to use buckets with 90 mil wall thickness. Most hardware stores don't carry them, but if you check local businesses that get material deliveries in 5-gallon or 6-gallon buckets, chances are they'll have 90 mil walls. You may also be able to mail-order them.
CertainTeed premixed buckets of drywall mud are about twice as thick as the HD buckets. I buy a few just for the buckets, then buy boxed mud after so i have the better thicker buckets to mix in.
I really like straightforward fixes that actually work. Thanks
I JUST made mine. Works great. Didn't know about the collapse bit.
Great job on the update. Glad to see you fixed both problems for just a few more dollars.
Thanks 👍
Third! Thanks for the update Chris!
Edit: just watched, nice editing and camera work!
Love the continuous improvement concept. 👍👍👍👍
I fabricated one this past week and it works great. Thank you.
Simple but effective corrections. The bottom weighting reminds me of a toy advert jingle "🎵weebles wobble but they won't fall down🎶🎵"
You are THE MAN. Not only is your initial design better than the others I've seen (for some a maker would be saving time & money by NOT making them and buying retail), but adding these updates shows you view criticism as learning opportunities. Very adult. And that you actually care about what you. 4 buckets instead of two is a drastic increase in materials (by my calculations nearly 100% more in buckets alone) but still manageable considering the cost of commercial units. All that said, how come the sawdust doesn't just come rushing out the hole the shop-vac is connected to? It seems like quantum mechanics, operation at a distance, but the opposite: particles know to not interact with each other.
Thank you for sharing this and the wet vac videos, it's exactly what I was looking for! I may try and design an adapter to hook multiple vacuum hoses in at once to accompany everything in the garage, but I can't thank you enough for sharing this. Building it this weekend!
Dude's a practical genius.
I'm a legend in my own mind! Lol! Thanks!
You very much remind me of my father. He was aways making prototypes.
My Father produced vending machines and washing machines. All trial and error, patient infringement was always a problem.
Very awesome, finished mine about two months ago, and I put a wire mesh over the PVC cutout, and a thin piece of filtering material over that, and now even the fine soot from the wood stove does not get on the filter, and the suction is still strong. Thank you so very much as this is the ultimate answer to vacuuming in the shop. I also cutout a rectangle hole in the flat-wand attachment, and rubber banded a thin piece of plastic to it, which stays in place nicely when vacuuming, and when I bend it back and place the end under the rubber band, I can pick up very fine pieces of dust and debra from the tool box, bench, and shelves, and no small screws or even rubber bands get picked up. Works like a charm, so happy man.
That is great!!
Great fixes! I have learned so much from you, thanks Chris.
Great video, finished my dust separator and it works great!
Great to hear!
for a Lowes bucket I had to use a heat gun to convince the inner lip to move inside the bottom bucket. Worked fine.
This is super slick!
25 years ago I did something very similar with two full sized metal trashcans for my central dust collection system, but I have the filter inside the upper can.
Emptying the shop vac is a bit of a pain, and messy. This looks so much easier!
Thats was cooler than your first video. Im sharing it. Thanks for notifying me of the update. It takes a certain Kind of sense to think like that. Ive been watching videos for years and noone has ever hit my comment on a previous video and asked me to watch their next video. Well played.
Thanks for that great feedback!
Chris, I have to apologize and explain something. It's about my last reply, just below. When I posted I had totally forgotten that I used the best of your ideas combined with the best ideas of someone else on youtube. When I built your vac, I also installed a thien baffle, so in the center of the upper bucket is a disk, (so no collapse) with a two inch hole. In that hole is a PVC tube which goes down to the bottom of the upper bucket, where a smaller disk is installed, leaving a small space between it and the bucket. The bottom disk has no thru hole. Part of the PVC tube is cutout, about two inches long, opposite to the incoming debris tube. It worked great except for some wood stove soot, so I covered the cutout with some mesh, and wrapped a thin sheet of filter material over it, like you would use for duct work. Total success, not even fine dust on the filter, and the material can be rinsed off when needed. I cut out a plywood ring and it fits snug in the center of the bottom bucket, which gets narrower as the bucket goes down, so no collapse. The thien baffle simple makes for a weird path of travel so the debris is not likely to make all the turns. I cut a notch all around the upper disk and fitted it with a large rubber band and the seal is perfect, especially since the vacuum draws it tight, considering that the upper bucket is upside down, so the disk is constantly drawn into the bucket as the bucket gets narrower. I am totally happy as it seems the filter will remain new forever. Just amazing when things are put together correctly, which reminds me of a rocket mass heater that allows for 95% of all the heat to remain in the house, with a side burn, which is a horizontal fire tube, so instead of the smoke just going up and away from the flame and not getting burned, the smoke remains in the tube with the fire, and does get burned, giving intense heat, and no smoke out the stack. Keep up the good work and thanks for those amazingly good ideas of yours.
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Bill Boehmer this explanation is difficult to picture.
Bill Boehmer, thank you, can could possibly post a link to pictures of this? It seems like a good idea, but I too cannot follow the instructions about the pvc pipe and the wood. (I am so totally a visual learner, but I couldn't do a mind picture on this.)
I made one out of a 55 gallon drum I had on casters. My shopvac is 6.5hp. Works great. Also good for leaves in the yard.
Im thinking about doing the same. Did you use the plastic or metal 55gal drum?
Awesome update, Chris! Sand in the bottom works good, too. Thanks for the video....
I forgot about using sand! Yes! Thanks.
Thumbs up. Brilliant solution. Thanks for sharing this DIY dust collector. 👍
Thanks for watching!
I made this last week and actually just built a cart to hold shop vac below and buckets above. Also used PVC between shop vac and bucket. A board with a half cut circle slid into the notch on bottom bucket
That will buff right out with more buckets....nice fix!
Another great idea!
I took your idea a step further. I used 30 gallon plastic trash cans for greater capacity. It works great too. But, good quality cans need to be purchased that have sturdy walls. Otherwise, the cans will collapse much worse than what you showed on your original design with the buckets.
What can did you use?
@charliej494 Used a heavy galvanized 30 gallon trash can, then switched to using a 20 gallon steel barrel I found in a junk yard. The barrel works much better and easier to seal.
finally a use for all those extra HD buckets I bought to shlep plaster and lath out of my old house...great update Thanks!
Very awesome! Smart guy for sure there Chris! Thanks for letting me know about the update too!
amazing! great job. great camera work! lovely ideas! thank you so much!!! I am now subscribed
Thanks for subbing!
My buckets also collapsed.
What I did was to cut the rims out from the 'discarded' lids.
(I removed the inner flat portion of lid thus leaving all of the 'rim'.)
Then fit each rim half way up each bucket and secure them with duck-tape.
They work 'good enough'. They can still collapse but not under normal usage and accidental blockages.
AND yes, I also put a brick in the bottom... Helps save it from tipping over.
I just watched the other video today and bought the parts. Just saw this one now I need to drive back into the city to get two more buckets lol.
Chris, you da man! I made the dust separator and it works exactly as you said!
I used two homer buckets as the bottom of my shopvac... mine fit perfectly then i used the actual bottom with wider base and wheels to hold the collection container.. doesn't tip gives strength for collapse and i can wheel it around. Thanks for the awesome tutorial
So I made one of these last week and I've been saying to myself, "How can I keep this from tipping over?". Well, I guess I must have been thinking out loud again cause here it is!
Hey Chris, I built this, used it with central vacuum and had the collapsing problem. Solution. I cut out 2 rings of scrap plywood, set in each bucket about 8 inches and they hold it open great. Put the central vac and cyclone on a cart and now I have super mobile vacuuming capabilities.
Great upgrade Chris.
Thanks for sharing.
I saw your first video and I star watching some others to do the same work and get more info , because has no way to found same type of buckets here .... then I found one video about avoiding collapsing buckets or tank, a Russian guy explained easier way to no collapse. let me explain .... he installed a spring check valve ( the one used for no return water sistem) and it works amazingly! I did it and it prevents to colapse your deposit tank or to force the vacuum cleaner in case of total blocked air . So no need double buckets. Hope you can try this to. Brgds .
Got to hand it to you.you did it again this is the spitfire of all home made dust collector's great work.ill be watching lol.
You have great videos because they aren't filled with chit chat. 2-3min just topic stuff.
simple yet genius. I love it.
Just discovered your channel. This is a great upgrade to the vac. Also gives me a place to get rid of my Fe wheel weights I cull out of the lead weights I use for casting sinkers and bullits. Earned a new subscriber!
Welcome aboard!
You snapped man! Subscribed!!!! Great 2 videos for this dust collector
Thanks for the sub!
Assuming you have scrap wood (which as woodworker, you more than likely have more scrap wood than project wood,) you could also make feet for it at 12, 3, 6, and 9 on the second bucket for even more stability. Start it at just under 3 inches tall, taper it down to 1 inch. Make 4 of those and you should be good.
Twice in the last year here, Harbor Freight has had a bucket as their "free item with purchase." On special occasions.
People in the paint business throw away those 5gal paint buckets almost everyday, you can get a lot of them for free. Cleaning them will be the messy part.
Car shops and mechanics often buy degreaser in 5gal buckets, they use it a lot for cleaning motor parts and other stuff. I have used those buckets and they are a little stronger than others. Car shops in your area may have some to throw away.
Restaurants like asian food ones, bakeries and pastry shops buy a lot of their ingredients in 3gal and 5gal buckets. I have a store near that buys the sugar and egg whites in those buckets and throw them away almost daily. The only disadvantage is that some of these buckets have thinner walls compared to other ones. Also the cleaning process can be a little messy.
It's been years since I last bought a bucket. It's just a matter of searching around.
Just made mine exactly as specified, except the first 2 holes were cut wider than the pipes, had to wrap tape around the pipes to form a seal, still a small gap , these gaps may prevent implosion. Glad my mistake will result in the fix for implosion
Anything to prolong life in these uncertain times! A great way to prevent kicking the bucket or otherwise getting dusted.
There is one person out here appreciating your clever puns.
@@TheThomaswastaken Thanks for the friendly comment. Appreciated.
Awesome!!
I have a bunch of ~5KG PVC weight plates lying around which would be perfect as a counterweight.
That's a great idea!