Ok, so I got the top section sorted in Pt.1 now on with the separator chamber itself…
-I knew I wanted a rectangular side inlet and had worked out the size and aspect ratio so I proceeded to cut the inlet hole (Forstner bit and chisel) and drop slot (Router) into the outer/lower bucket. The idea here is to make the airstream entering the chamber hug the outside wall to help induce the vortex action which separates material from the air. This effect is increased by making the area close to the inlet a rectangle taller than it is wide to squeeze the air against the wall. The area of the rectangular section is a little bigger than the round section to balance out the lower efficiency of a square pipe.
-I then mounted the bucket to a scrap circle of ¾” MDF I had from a speaker cabinet build. It was the perfect size to just add an edge rabbet to make a tight pressure fit to the top of the Ridgid drum :) I routed out a bucket size hole for a push fit and clearance for the drop slot, leaving support below the baffle but leaving the its thin edge about an inch clear all round.
-Next up was the inlet assembly. I needed a good fit for the vacs hose here so I chose to hack up the vacs floor sweep fitting as a starting point.
-I built up a wooden “box” to couple the buckets inlet and the adaptor. Here you can see it before fitting the top panel. All sealed with plenty of silicone. i was more concerned about getting it all properly sealed than making it look pretty, as you can see.
The transition from the round to square section is quite short but I tried to smooth it as much as possible by sculpting the pieces to avoid any obvious bulge or constriction.
To be continued with the last part of the construction and the finished unit in part 3….