Evolution of a Dust Deputy Shop Vac Cart

I so needed better dust collection on the Cheap. So this is all about the evolution of a Dust Deputy based Shop Vac Cart. Like everyone I started with 1, 2, 3 Shop vacs strategically placed around my shop. And like everyone I found they were great for general vacuuming but filled/clogged fast, especially when attached to my planer or sander. I just HATED emptying these and knocking out the filter because invariable dust ended up everywhere. So reading through lots posts and articles (and being cheap) I tried the PVC pipe and bucket idea. It worked pretty well for big stuff but the fine dust still clogged the filter and frankly it was a pain to use – especially to empty.

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Again more reading an ended up with a mini Dust Deputy (link below) stuck on a 5 gal pail. The Dust Deputy definitely separated out way more of the fine dust. But it was still a pain to drag around and especially to empty. Disconnecting and then peeling the lid off was almost as much of a chore as popping the lid on the Vac.

Looking for a better way I found several on Youtube but almost all invariably suffered from the same “Peel the top off the 5 gal bucket” issue. Then I stumbled on a great way to use a 15 Gallon Drum.

My cart generally follows a design concept I found online using ¾” Plywood for all the components. The trick to the design is using the toggle clamps which lift the table the bucket sits on then compressing the seal at the top of the bucket. Slick design – just pop the toggles and slide out the bucket.

Adding my own modifications I built the system and … it sucked. Mostly because the 5 gal pail was just too small. When I’m actually working I make far too much dust and chips and over run the pail in a very short time. Oh, and the pail would collapse if anything clogged the pick-up nozzle. That led me to swap the 5 Gal pail for an Eagle 14 gallon drum.

Here are some pic of the design details: