Sawdust... it was a problem. Everything makes sawdust in the woodshop. And it is everywhere. I watched a bunch of different YouTube videos for inspiration. I liked the concept of all the "Harbor Freight 2-stage" collector setups. It seemed simple enough (LOL). I didn't have a Harbor Freight version, but I have a Jet version. I hadn't come across any that used a Jet DC650. Would it work? Maybe there was a reason no one is using them. I was willing to give it a try.

Of all the videos I came across, the setup that I thought made the most sense, looked clean without taking up too much room was from a YouTube channel called PatriotDIY. His setup used a larger cyclone, a removeable chips container, a cannister filter, and a 5 gallon bucket for the finer stuff. That was the one I wanted to emulate. I had the perfect "catch-all corner" in the garage that needed to get cleaned up anyway and would provide the home for all the components.

Here's the link to the PatriotDIY video https://youtu.be/HYTR24EQ8hI?si=McIitD0JyGRV5kiv

I removed the stand from the DC650 and made a plywood shelf with a hole for the inlet. I had to flip the entire dust collector over to get the orientation I wanted. Would it function the same? Would it just blow chips up into the upper chamber? Would the motor not run right? I wouldn't know until further down the road. I turned it on while it was up there.. it seemed to work just fine. I pressed on and purchased the Dust Deputy and 4" DC Kit from Woodcraft that came with a couple 45's, a few blast gates and some clamps. I found out this wouldn't be my last purchase..

The old cloth dust collector bags had to go, I needed an air cannister to let the system breathe easier and filter out the finer dust that would have passed right through the existing bags, a removable bucket for the fine dust that made it through the cyclone to drop into a 5 gallon bucket. This was done with a modified Gamma Seal lid. I also made my collector bin easily removeable with a short section of 6" collector hose a couple of flanges and adapters that I made out of plywood. The cannister was from Amazon, was perfect sized and had a gasket on one end. I made a circle cutting jig for my band saw and made a lid. I used a vertical rod from an old exit device and a section of T-track to securely attach the filter to the machine. https://a.co/d/8YctZhO

I wanted the system to be primarily 4" pipe and have as few 90 degree bends as possible. I chose to use 4" PVC sewer pipe. Its thinner walled, lighter and cheaper. I bought the pipe and started to run it through the shop. I wanted 2 main branches: One that ran to the table saw and the other to run to the miter saw station. I taped up all of the seams with white duct tape. Once I had everything set, the piping ran and the blast gates in their appropriate locations I decided to give it a test run. I fired it up and oh man does this thing suck! No I mean really it has plenty of power and had no issues with picking up the pile that I swept up.

During this phase I learned a valuable lesson, probably the same lesson everyone else whose done their own dust collection has learned: 4" is not 4", which is also not 4"....

This is something I should have done years ago! My worry was that even if the DC functioned after flipping it over that it may not be powerful enough for my layout. This thing performs flawlessly! I have had no issues with lack of suction, it has handled everything I have thrown at it. This was something long overdue. I changed the design at the end for the sub branch off the miter saw run. I wanted a connection for the tools on wheels. I went with a 4" magnetic connector with adapters for both 4" and 2-1/2" with corresponding hoses. This way I can quickly switch tools depending on the port connection size. I needed a way to remotely turn off and on the DC. So I ended up installing a Kasa Outdoor rated 15A smart plug. Setup was easy and the app is very responsive. I would lose remotes but not my phone.

Overall I couldn't be happier with this setup. It should really help keep the dust to a minimum. I have a few more minor tweaks I need to address, but all-in-all this came out better than what I expected.