When I moved into my current shop I decided I was going to have a half decent dust collection system for a change. At the time, there were few options. Your typical bag type roll around unit was about it. I wanted something better and that was a cyclone system but there were none on the market for a small shop yet.

Bill Pentz’s website came to the rescue.
http://billpentz.com/woodworking/cyclone/cyclone_plan.cfm

He designed a system and had some sheetmetal fabrication shop produce some kits to build your own cyclone. It was kind of a pain in the ass to be perfectly honest but I got it done and was very impressed with the results. If I were in the same situation today I would be looking at what Oneida has to offer. Just the same, the low ceiling in my shop would make installing any ready made system difficult so I would likely have to do a lot of customization as well.
What I like about my system is the primary chip separator. It’s not without its weak points but for the most part it makes cleaning out the sawdust relatively easy. This could be added to any dust collection system.

I wish I could recall where I got my airfoil impeller but all I remember is that it came from a small manufacturer in Ontario.
This is an important component because it is key to the performance of the system and allows me to get the same pull from a 2HP motor as a regular impeller driven by a 5HP motor.

The biggest hassle of this system is cleaning off that impeller which loads up with fine caked on dust over time. I have to start tearing things apart to get at it. One of these days I’ll add a clean-out door.
The condition of the filters are all important and I don’t replace them nearly often enough. In this video you’ll see I came up with an idea to make them last longer.
Time will tell if I was successful.

I get my filters from Camfil Farr.

I ask for these:
TK FLTR ELEMT HMPTXL-177 34″ hemi pleat
Send purchase request to: salesvancouver@camfil.com