The Dust Level Window is made from 1/4'' Polycarbonate. Dimensions are 1-1/2''x 11''. The back of the plastic is cut like a miniature raised-panel door; the panel extends about 1/16'' through the 1/2'' slot in the trashcan. The back side of the window is painted Black. The window is secured...
The plumbing follows the design illustrated in the Woodcraft article ''Adding A Pre-Separator To Your Dust Collection System'' derived from the book Controlling Dust In The Workshop. The exception is that I used 4 inch PVC pipe. The center pipe extends 10 inches.
The upper pipe joints are...
Templates for cutting the 4-3/16''D PVC holes. The templates were cut with a fly cutter in the drill press. It only took to tries to get a nice snug fit.
The edge of the lid has been filled for painting. I was premature with this step as I later decided to round over the top and bottom of the edge - top with 1/2'' bit and bottom with 1/4'' bit. When applying the filler, wet your finger to smooth out the filler; works good!
As an afterthought, the lid slot was rounded over to make it easier to install the lid. The round over bit was an old 3/8'' HSS bit with the guide pin ground off; there's no room for a guide pin or bearing in the narrow slot - the circled cutting template was used to guides the bit.
The center of the 5/16'' slot is positioned 10-3/16'' from the center of the trashcan. The dept of the slot is 3/4''. It was not easy to obtain this measurement; the can was slightly out of round! The perfectly round grove in the lid pulls the top into shape, and makes a nice snug fit.
This is the first picture of the work-in-process. The 3/4'' x 2-5/16'' outer rim is glued and clamped to the 5/8''D top. (I actually used two pieces of 3/8'' stock to obtain the 3/4'' rim piece)