Cyclone Separator Filter for DW735 Planer

I have a Dewalt DW735 planer, which has an internal blower to eject wood chips. It's a very powerful blower and I had trouble with chips leaking out and blowing all over the shop with my prior setup, this new setup works much better.

This video (Not my video - thanks Zoel29 for the original idea) shows the first half of the setup:

My problem with this setup is that the Cyclone Separator (Dust Deputy) doesn't collect 100% of the dust. The really tiny - and dangerous - stuff escapes out the top. A Cyclone Separator is designed to be attached to a shop vac, which has a filter on it as the second stage. My solution is to add an adapter that allows me to stick a shop vac filter on top of the Cyclone Separator.

Materials;

• Cyclone Separator
  such as a Dust Deputy. You can make your own but... The first one I made myself took hours and was not nearly as effective. The dust deputy DIY kit about $50, but you can get a more expensive kit that includes the barrel and accessories.
  
• Threaded Rod
  I think I used 3/32" rod. Size doesn't matter, but it needs to be the height of the filter plus 2".
  
• 2 Nuts and a Large Washer
  That fit the threaded rod.
  
• New Shop Vac Filter
  Get new because otherwise you'll blow stuck debris from the exterior side of the filter into the air. When you use this filter; material gets added to the inside of it so you really don't want to use it on a normal shop vac again.
  
• 3/4" Plywood
  at least 1" bigger than the filter base. For me this was 5.5" square, if I did it again i'd make it at least 7x7"
  
• Superglue
  Just a few drops.

Tools:

• 2" hole saw or Forstner bit
  
• Drill press or a regular drill
  
• Drill bit slightly smaller than the threaded rod
  
• straight edge & pencil
  
• Any kind of saw to cut the plywood to size

Cut the plywood to size: It has to cover the base of the filter. Leave extra room, you can always cut it smaller afterwards.

Mark the centre of the plywood.

Drill the small hole for the threaded rod at the centre point.

Drill the 2" diameter hole for the cyclone separator offset, so it just clears the hole for the threaded rod, but also stays within the interior of the filter.

You could make yours better by adding a lip or guide on the base of the plywood that keeps the vac filter centred on the piece of plywood.

I just threaded the rod into the plywood and glued it in place with superglue. It would be more secure to add a nut to the bottom of the rod and glue the nut to the plywood. The important thing is not to oversize the hole for the rod or air will leak out of the joint.

Place the filter on top of the unit & pass the rod through the hole at the top of the filter. Put the washer & both nuts on to secure the filter down.

Connect the hose from the planer to the cyclone separator. I used 2.5" hose which fits the Dust Deputy, connecting it to the planer was a bigger problem and I used a few plumbing pipes and adapters to make the connection.

All you need to do is place the filter tightly over the top of the separator.