Keeping sawdust contained and out of the air of a workshop makes a much healthier working environment. One of the challenges of using a cyclone-style separator and barrel is the risk of the pressure collapsing the barrel. This can be solved by fitting a simple release valve however!
It’s been a few months since I last posted due to various life events, as well as a lot of time actually spent in the workshop making a variety of items. I’ve had my first commission and have another one potentially in the works, so I am looking forward to sharing a lot more of my woodworking with you in the coming months.
As I’ve previously talked about (here and here), I have a simple shop vac connected up to a cyclone-style separator and a barrel to capture the sawdust. I have managed to destroy my first barrel however as the pressure inside caused the barrel to implode when the hose was blocked. After some online research, I figured out a simple release valve should resolve this issue.
I drilled a hole in the lid using the instructions as a guide to the size of the hole. I positioned a piece of scrap wood underneath the lid to minimise splitting.
I marked and drilled two small holes for the screws and then fitted the pieces in place on either side of the lid. I switched the vacuum on and then adjusted the tightness of the top nut to ensure the valve wasn’t pulled open too easily and only released when the hose was blocked; tested by me putting my hand over the end to simulate a blockage.
I have used the vacuum setup several times since fitting this valve and the barrel is still very much intact! Seems a simple solution to a problem and will make it much less of a concern that my dust collection system will fail if the hose gets blocked for any reason. Now to fully test it out for my next project! 🔨
The Woodworking Scientist 