Kreg dust separator

[kmealy]

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

[lew]

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.

[kmealy]

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

 

 

[Grandpadave52]

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.

[Gerald]

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.

[BillyJack]

what does the spectate do for you?

[BillyJack]

Sorry… What does the separator do? Benefit?

[lew]

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

[BillyJack]

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

[lew]

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.

[kmealy]

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

[Gerald]

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. 

[BillyJack]

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”  

[BillyJack]

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. 

[lew]

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.

[BillyJack]

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 by BillyJack

[lew]

1 minute ago, BillyJack said:

Who’s a typical woodworker? 

 

Well, I consider myself an artist.

[BillyJack]

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 by BillyJack

[BillyJack]

I apologize to the forum for jumping off track. 

[kmealy]

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.