Cyclone Separator Upgrade to my Festool CTL Midi shopvac.
May 24, 2020
While I was emptying the dust bag from my trusty Festool CTL Midi extractor last week, I reasoned - not for the first time - that there has to be a better way to do this. I know the bags are supposed to be single use and that shaking the dust out of the small inlet hole is not recommended. But we all do it as there’s nothing wrong with the bag and they cost money… So do my boots and they’re covered with dust. Again. Time for some research.
After a quick search on Youtube I found the New Yorkshire Workshop channel - he’d solved the problem and even had the same extractor and cyclone. Watch the video as it is very instructive and quite funny too.
I’d bought a cheapo cyclone separator off Ebay years ago and as usual not got round to rigging it up. So I bought a steel drum and a few bits of 50mm waste pipe and fittings and got to work. Basically, you mount the bin on a piece of 9mm plywood that sits on the top of the extractor. The cyclone bolts to the top of the bin. You plump the cyclone into the extractor using 50mm pipe. Your extractor hose fits onto the inlet of the cyclone and you’re done. Simple - it took about half a day of tinkering.
The genius of NYW solution is that it uses the Sustainer mounting clips on top of the extractor to hold plywood base in place. The 50mm waste pipe is the perfect size to replace the Festool hose into the body of the extractor. Watch the video to see a detailed explanation of how it all works - and pit falls to avoid. Pay close attention to the part on earthing and static electric shock!
I’ve been using this system for a few days and the workshop has never been cleaner. Those accumulations of dust and debris under the table saw… the fine layer of ash around the stove… the cobwebs on the windows… all gone. Ok so some very fine dust does make it through the cyclone and into the extractor but nothing compared to before. I’ve kept the extraction bag and filters inside the CTL so anything that does make it through is caught. It’ll need emptying eventually - I might even put a new bag in.
I’ve filled the bin right to the lid and there’s no noticeable difference in suction - using the highly scientific method of sticking your hand over the hose. I’m happy that it works - it isn’t the most attractive addition to the workshop but at a total cost of less than £50 I’d say its well worth it. A clean workshop is a healthier workshop!
UPDATE: Having used this setup for over a year I can confirm that it works very well. Yes the bag does need emptying occasionally as the separator struggles with large handplane shavings. They get trapped in the vortex and sucked through into the dust bag.