Wooden Cyclone Dust Collector

I built this using a single 2x4 for the Summers Woodworking 2014 2x4 contest.

It turned out that it was the perfect medium for this as the widest stave I needed was 1-½" and the skinniest was 5/8"

I put together this spreadsheet a long time ago but didn't want to start it as my old ShopVac just had a 1-¼" hose which I didn't feel would work well. Turns out, my 15 year old shopvac died a few weeks ago so after picking up a nice new ShopVac I decided to work on the Cyclone.

Attached is the Spreadsheet <DOWNLOAD HERE> used to calculate the sizes and angles for the Cyclone. you can also use this to cut staves for buckets, or one of my next project, a decent shop trash can.

One thing I found out while building this is that the spreadsheet is more of a guideline as if you are off by even a fraction of a degree then you may need 1 more or less staves.

Update: After attempting to make a bucket for this to sit on instead of the kitty litter container, I realized a few things about the wood I used for the Cyclone and the junk 2x4 I tried to use for the bucket.

Always try to find Douglas Fir 2x4's. They are slightly Orange/Yellow in color but sadly, at least in my area they are difficult to find and the big box stores only seem to have them a few times a year.

1. They are much stronger and far more stable than the white 2x4's

2. The knots don't open up and crack shortly after cutting into strips

3. The wood remains mostly straight after cutting into strips

4. Making an air tight yet removable lid is extremely difficult with wood

5. They appear to be about 1/8" wider than the white 2x4's. I could only get 10 1/4" pieces from a white 2x4.