Blasting Cabinet Clean Air Vacuum

I couldn't see spending 600 bucks or so on a canister vac for my blasting cabinet so I built one. I used a couple of kitty litter buckets, a shop vac filter and a Harbor Freight dust collector vac.
http://images15.fotki.com/v235/photo...MVC013F-vi.jpg
I use one of my shop vac hoses to hook the cabinet up to the top bucket of the collection stack.
http://images12.fotki.com/v197/photo...MVC012S-vi.jpg
The hose simply plugs into a close fitting hole I cut in the bucket.
http://images55.fotki.com/v648/photo...MVC011S-vi.jpg
The upper bucket has a shop vac filter bolted into it.
http://images59.fotki.com/v255/photo...MVC010S-vi.jpg
The air is drawn through the filter out of the bucket through the big flex pipe. Any dust is collected on the filter and doesn't get through to the vac.
This setup works very well to keep dust down in the cabinet. Well worth the 120 dollars I have into it.
Plus, it all breaks down and stores inside the cabinet when not in use.
Mark

Thanks astroracer! We've added your Sandblaster Dust Collection Canister to our Cleaning category, as well as to your builder page: astroracer's Homemade Tools. Your receipt:

<div id="blocks"> <div class="block b1 pngfix"> <div class="bimg"> <div> <a href="http://www.homemadetools.net/sandblaster-dust-collection-canister"><img src="http://www.homemadetools.net/uploads/139859/sandblaster-dust-collection-canister.jpeg" /></a></div> </div> <div class="head pngfix"></div> <div class="left pngfix"></div> <div class="right pngfix"></div> <div class="blockover b1 pngfix"> <div class="title"> <a href="http://www.homemadetools.net/sandblaster-dust-collection-canister">Sandblaster Dust Collection Canister</a> <span> by <a href="/builder/astroracer_2">astroracer</a></span> </div> <div class="tags">tags: <a href="http://www.homemadetools.net/tag/sandblaster">sandblaster</a>, <a href="http://www.homemadetools.net/tag/filter">filter</a>, <a href="http://www.homemadetools.net/tag/dust-collection">dust collection</a></div> </div> </div> </div>

One question, how are the bucket tops held together? I mean you must be able to open it to empty, clean filters right?

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Originally Posted by Al8236

One question, how are the bucket tops held together? I mean you must be able to open it to empty, clean filters right?

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The upper bucket was trimmed so it slips inside the lip of the lower bucket. It's a pretty tight fit but, if you look at the last picture, you can just see a sheetmetal screw above the handle that screws the two buckets together through the lip. One more screw on the opposite side.
I will take them apart and get better pics of the filter and how they go together.
Mark

how do you have the filter install

Very nice job, K.I.S.S. at it's best. Could be done with round buckets too. Where did you get the vac filter, recovered from a scrap unit?