Thread: Sturdee’s main dust collection system. or The Sturdee Midi Cyclone.

When I designed the Sturdee mini cyclone I did not follow these ideal measurements. Yet it still worked very effectively with at least 95 % of wood dust falling into the drum and only a minimal amount going through to the vacuum cleaner’s dust bag. So I looked at ways of building something similar on a larger scale, hence the Sturdee Midi Cyclone. It uses ideas from both a full scale cyclone and the mini cyclone.

As my metal working skills are minimal, I can’t solder or weld very well, let alone form a metal cone, I built mine using only a tin snip, drill, self tappers and sealant as well as the ever useful duct tape.

The basic idea is to use the 2 bag system of the DC as the final filter and the motor/blower mounted on the wall between the filter bags and the Midi cyclone. The cyclone top is made of tin with the inlet duct leading into the air ramp and the outlet duct adapted to minimise height requirements and going to the blower with a short flexible duct. The cone is made of an old plastic bowl type light shade of the 80’s and the dust receptacle is adapted from an old wheelie bin.


Peter.

The cone is made from an old plastic bowl type light shade as was fairly common in the 80’s. It is the type that had a light globe in the middle and hung from a short cord from the ceiling and had an exposed globe. I found 2 of them in a local Op-shop for a dollar each. It has a diameter of approx 400mm and depths of 200mm.

The photo shows the components needed to make the bottom cone being the light shade, the large chipboard rim to hold the top of the cone and to allow it to be fixed to the top cylinder and the bits and pieces needed to make the outlet.

First attach the top of the light shade to the inside of the large chipboard rim by using some cement sheet nails and using the chipboard forms mark out the opening on the light shade. Use a drill and a fine toothed jigsaw cut out this opening. Take care not to break the plastic.

Next clamp the metal hose fitting between 2 pieces of chipboard to make the outlet for connection to the receptacle.

Then using the shaped chipboard piece (bottom left), shaped to the shape of the bowl with a drum sander, clamp it all to the light shade. Do not over tighten this; instead use plenty of gap sealant, as over tightening will break the plastic. Just as well I bought the two.

Seal all gaps with a good sealant and give it a coat of paint. This completes the cone.


Peter.

The cyclone construction was fairly easy. The diameter is 400mm same as the cone and 500mm deep. The inlet and outlet are 100mm diameter as this is the ducting used in my system. Instead of fancy welding or clamping the sheet metal I opted for a wooden frame to hold the metal in place.


Photo 1 shows the parts used being four chipboard outer rims, same as the one used for the cone and four uprights.


Photo 2 shows the completed frame.


Photo 3 shows the sheet metal inserted into the frame. Before doing this mark and cut out the opening for the inlet duct. In making the opening cut out a small circle and then cut the edges and bend them over to help secure the inlet duct. The sheet metal is fixed to the frame by nailing, again with the cement sheet nails, on each of the circular rims. The edges overlap and is sealed with sealant, avoiding problems of joining them together.


Photo 4 shows the inlet pipe which is secured to the bend over edges with self tappers and then sealed with sealant and finally wrapped with duct tape.


Photo 5 shows the inside again sealed with sealant to make a nice joint.


Peter.

The air ramp is designed to push the airflow into a cyclonic direction and is a sheet metal circle fixed above the inlet duct at one end and finished below the inlet duct after one turn.


Photo 1 shows the air ramp, again with edge lips folded over to help fix to the cylinder. I used self tappers for this, but pop rivets could be used as well.

Photo 2 and 3 show a view of the inside, the air ramp is in and the outlet duct. The gap between the outlet duct and the air ramp is sealed with a small plastic tube cut along its length and slit over the edge.


Photo 4 shows the top of the cylinder closed with another piece of chipboard.


Peter.

In my case, because of the limited head room the cyclone is fixed to the bottom of the floor joists. Hence the outlet duct had to be adapted to fit between the joists and over the adjacent bearer before it could be fixed to a short flexible hose going to the blower and motor.

The solution I adopted which is based on the details provided a few years ago by another member. I made a rectangular box into which the inlet and outlet ducts are fixed.



Attached photos show the details.




Peter.

As I’m retaining the 2 bag filter system as the final filter and use the existing blower and motor they needed to be rearranged to provide easier access to the filter bags and reduce the flexible ducting run.



I lined the back of the workshop wall with timber and fixed the blower and motor about half way up against this wall in the corner. See photo 1. I mounted the bag system to the left of it making lifting the bags out easier. See photo 2.


Photos 3 and 4 show the hose connected to the cyclone outlet duct and connected to the blower. This system reduced the flexible duct needed by 1.5metre and fixed duct by a metre.


Peter.

The top of the cyclone is screwed onto the bottom of the floor joists and the outlet duct spans over the adjacent bearer. The inlet duct is connected to the workshop duct with a short piece of flexible duct as per photo 1.


Photo 2 shows the cyclone with the bottom cone connected.


Photo 3 shows the bottom receptacle which is made of an old wheelie bin, which had a crack in the lid and back.

I didn’t need the lid, as I made my own and the crack in the back of the bin was fixed by cutting out the long section and replacing with clear perspex as a viewing window, to see if it needs emptying. Note the stump to the right is now removed allowing easier access.

Final photo shows the bags in relation to the cyclone.



Peter.

The time taken to build and install the cyclone was about 4 days. Cost was minimal as I had some left over pieces of chipboard, perspex and pipe fittings. Sheet metal was $ 18.00 from a plumbing store. As you can see I did not need any metal working skills, apart from using tin snips and self tappers, well within the skills of a simple woodworker like me.

In use it is awesome, so far all the sawdust seems to go into the wheelie bin and none in the filter bags, and the suction has also improved. Even if some of the dust goes through to the filter system, the bags are now easy to get at for cleaning. Emptying the wheelie bin is also easy; I can wheel it out to the chook pen and empty it by upending in the pen.

Peter.

Bloody hell Peter, bloody hell. That is something amazing. I like it.

Why do you like orange so much? Is it because you are a Hollander?

best of the best?

Originally Posted by Wongo

Why do you like orange so much? Is it because you are a Hollander?

Partly that and also the drum was painted in my Triton era. Gone to blue now.


Peter,

Fantastic conversion Peter

Damn and Blast!!

Now you've got me thinking about my ducting again!


Well done,

P

G'day Sturdee,
In the nicest way...........You Suck!!!