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| Camvac Interceptor Lid |
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| Titan Planer Thicknesser |
The dust extraction port is 100mm (4 inch) and when I saw a used Record Power RSDE2 High Pressure Low Volume 100mm dust extractor listed locally on Facebook Market Place for a good price I called the chap up and we did a deal for the extractor and as many free cooking apples as I could cart away!
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| Record Power RSDE2 100mm Dust Extractor |
So I began to investigate how to intercept this debris before it reached the extractor and found that what I needed was a dust cyclone, which could trap the heavy particles and some of the fine dust by swirling the debris around in a vortex, thus leaving the extractor free to provide the needed umph to pressurise the cyclone and make it all work.
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| Oneida Dust Deputy with 100mm ports |
At the time finding a suitable cyclone was very difficult and only Oneida an American company, were making their Dust Deputy with 100mm ports, but at a cost of over £300 which admittedly did include a cardboard barrel, but to which one would have to add the cost of pipe and fittings, this made the whole thing outside my pay grade!
Whilst reeling from the shock of the cost of the Oneida cyclone I was visiting the Record Power web site searching for a part for the dust extractor, when I happened upon their Camvac Interceptor Lid for a mere £18 and which was claimed to do a similar job.
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| Camvac Interceptor Lid |
Intrigued that this plastic dustbin lid could do what I needed for a fraction of the price of the cyclone I ordered one of these from West Country Machinery4Wood and it arrived a few days later, but as I was to find all too soon, there is no such thing as a free lunch!
The Camvac Interceptor lid will fit a 480mm barrel. So I logged on to Ebay and searched for a used steel drum with a 480mm opening, but found various steel barrels for £20 and £30 but none with the correct size opening. So I then looked at plastic fruit juice barrels, dust bins, trash cans, paint tins etc etc, but all it seemed drums with a 480mm opening were as common as hens teeth.
So I got on the phone to West Country 4Wood and explained my problem and the chap kindly informed me that what I needed was a Record Power CGV386 90L steel drum, available to special order for £99.99! Unsure if the Interceptor lid was actually going to work, I kept looking for a cheap plastic bin so I could try it all out and perhaps order the steel barrel later on.
So with my tape measure in hand I visited a number of local builders yards, farm shops and household supply superstores, but nothing was the correct size or anywhere near close. I was buying some Kreg screws from the last builders merchant on my list, when I spied some very dusty industrial quality plastic bins part buried in the corner of the warehouse and would you know it, one 90L bin had a 470mm lid and the cost was just £12.
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| I glued strips of closed cell foam to form an airtight seal |
In order to get the interceptor lid to make an airtight seal with the dustbin I cut up a sheet of closed cell foam that came in an Amazon box and glued this around the rim of the lid. To enhance the cyclone effect I fitted a stainless 100mm to 120mm connector that I had lying around, to the underside of the in port. The most expensive part that I had to buy was a length of anti static 100mm flexible pipe and some matching pipe clips for £75 making the total cost £105.
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| The Camvac Interceptor Lid stops most of the dust reaching the extractor |
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| 12 months of running the planer thicknesser has only produced this fine layer of dust in the extractor! |
In conclusion, if you are looking for a low cost dust separator for your planer thicknesser, the Camvac Interceptor is an absolute bargain compared to other products on the market!
