Kreg has a (newish, I think) dust separator that fits on a 5 gal bucket.  $60 sounds like a good deal.   I made my own Thien separator from parts off a Rockler Dust Right a few years ago and it keeps a lot of stuff out of the vacuum bag.

 

dust separator

I'm like you and made my own separator from available fittings and the Thein design I found on line. It fits a metal trash can. I don't think I've emptied the dust collector bag in over a year and there only a couple of inches of dust in it now.

1 hour ago, lew said:

I'm like you and made my own separator from available fittings and the Thein design I found on line. It fits a metal trash can. I don't think I've emptied the dust collector bag in over a year and there only a couple of inches of dust in it now.

Yes, my main dust collector is a Thien on top of a 30 gal garbage can.  Depending on what I'm doing, it fills about every 4-6 weeks.  And there is very little in the dust collector bag, and most of that is from the miter saw that does not go thru it.   I made the collector using some leftover particle board, some dowels, a trimming of Lexan, and a couple of coffee cans.

 

For another option at $40, the Bauer one

 

 

Not having a dedicated shop space or place for a permanent dust collection system, I have (2) of the Dustoppers (old version). I bought them directly from Dustopper including shipping on a promo for slightly more than one from Home Depot. Work well; only complaint is a little noisy. I also have the Bauer that was purchased on a special Inside Track Club price when they first came out; Life happened so it's still in the box.

 

FWIW, Kreg site shows theirs is Out Of Stock. The Kreg version looks alot like the Dustopper II.

I made one from ply years ago , a Shop Notes plan. It is still in line for large chips . I added a Dust Deputy with 6 inch hose connection a couple years ago and love it but I do wish The

 

was 55 instead of 30.

what does the spectate do for you?

Sorry… What does the separator do? Benefit?

The separators remove the larger particles/dust from the air prior to the main dust collector. The main benefit IMHO is that you don't need to empty the main dust collector bag/receptacle as often. Most of us have small dust collector systems that have a bag/container that holds the captured debris. That bag/container is often a pain to empty due to location and/or the way it is attached. The smaller separator is located at a more convenient location and designed for easy emptying. The only stuff that ends up in the main collector is usually just sanding dust sized particles

The only time I’m constantly cleaning my dust collector is when I’m planing a lot. This isn’t often.  
 

When I’m just running the shop with sanding, sawing etc I find I can long times in between cleanings.,

 

Im not trying to be negative, but the gain doesn’t seem to be worth it to me nor the space.

 

It’s kinda like do I need a jointer when ai buy S3S

If you buy 3S3 or 4S4 lumber, there's not as much need for some shop modifications/equipment. I buy all my lumber from the mill unprocessed. It's less expensive and I am not restricted by the "standard" widths and thicknesses. Having and using a planer, a lot, I find the separator a necessity of convenience. 

 

I guess it all boils down to how much wood processing is necessary for the type of woodworking you do.

Just got a note from Kreg that it's back in stock.

 

Three reasons I use a separator:

* it's easier to empty the separator bin than to remove the lower half of the single stage dust collector or to buy and replace the shop-vac bag

* if I suck up something by accident that I didn't want to, it's easy to find on the top of the separator barrel and I don't need to cut open a shop-vac bag

* it keeps the filters cleaner

For me the larger chips (especially from the lathe) drop in the home made box. Almost all the fine dust is in the Dust Deputy. 

On 3/13/2025 at 10:58 AM, lew said:

If you buy 3S3 or 4S4 lumber, there's not as much need for some shop modifications/equipment. I buy all my lumber from the mill unprocessed. It's less expensive and I am not restricted by the "standard" widths and thicknesses. Having and using a planer, a lot, I find the separator a necessity of convenience. 

 

I guess it all boils down to how much wood processing is necessary for the type of woodworking you do.

Why  would I/we be restricted by a standard? Boards are the maximum size they can be and then you buy the sizes you need. You don’t gain enough on storage, tool wearing or time to generate a good point. I call this “playing with your wood”  

I don’t find dumping the bag a lot of fun, but I’m glad  I don’t have to dump from rough sawn boards., but you have to choose your demons in the  shop. I do plane boards to dimensions quit s bit, but unless I block my DC in , it’s easy to dump and replace the inner bag. 

19 minutes ago, BillyJack said:

Why  would I/we be restricted by a standard? Boards are the maximum size they can be and then you buy the sizes you need. You don’t gain enough on storage, tool wearing or time to generate a good point. I call this “playing with your wood”  

 

13 minutes ago, BillyJack said:

I don’t find dumping the bag a lot of fun, but I’m glad  I don’t have to dump from rough sawn boards., but you have to choose your demons in the  shop. I do plane boards to dimensions quit s bit, but unless I block my DC in , it’s easy to dump and replace the inner bag. 

 

 

I guess that's where the difference lies between the typical woodworker and the artist.

6 minutes ago, lew said:

 

 

 

I guess that's where the difference lies between the typical woodworker and the artist.

Who’s a typical woodworker? 

Edited March 18, 2025Mar 18 by BillyJack

1 minute ago, BillyJack said:

Who’s a typical woodworker? 

 

Well, I consider myself an artist.

I’m a production shop Guru, but I’m open minded. I build wherever my thoughts take me. I’m only limited by my dreams..

 

An artist creates from a blank canvass. Another name I guess a I’ll be called, but there are a lot of starving artists..

 

Edited March 18, 2025Mar 18 by BillyJack

I apologize to the forum for jumping off track. 

One other advantage of a separator when using a single-stage dust collector is that if sucks up a big chunk of something, it's not going to hit the impeller blades.