I've gotta weigh-in on this item because it seems to be unfairly downgraded by some reviewers. If you read the description for this item, and realize that it is as basic and simple as described, then you shouldn't be disappointed by what you receive. I purchased this item because I really needed to make my dust collector two-stage. It was getting immediately clogged by both my planer and jointer's large chips. I wasn't willing or able to shell out money for a larger unit, and material costs and time to build my own would've added up to more than this item. So I decided to give it a gamble knowing that Amazon would have my back if this didn't work. The item was shipped immediately and I received it within 3 days. It truly is just a large piece of molded plastic/composite that is designed to fit 20" diameter trash cans. Even though I had 3 different style trash cans laying out behind my house, I fully expected to have to go purchase a trash can to fit this unit, based on a lot of the other reviews. But I I tried it on all three cans and it actually fit somewhat on two of the three styles. It was loose, but I decided to bungy it down and give it a shot anyways and see if I could save $20-40 on a new can. Here's my setup: I don't have a professional shop by any means. I have an older style Jet "lunch box" planer, and a newer Grizzly 6" jointer. They do the jobs I need them to do, but both machines have been a huge headache when it comes to chip/dust collection. I have some 4" dust collection hose from Grizzly as well as some of their hose clamps. The planer did not come with any kind of built-in collection port, so I retrofit one of my own from plywood. The jointer has a built-in port. My collector is an inexpensive 1hp shop fox dust collector. My first test was to hook this system up to my planer. I was very surprised to find that it not only worked, but I was shocked and thrilled at how well it functioned. 99% of the chips were in the trash can while only the very fine dust made it through to the collecor's bag. And that was with a loose fit on the trash can, a homemade dust hood on the planer and a 1hp dust collector! When I hooked it up to the jointer it performed equally impressive. I could've continued to use the system like that but I had some extra foam weather stripping laying around so I ran that between the seam of the lid and the can to help fill any gaps. That made the fit pretty snug. I don't know if that improved the performance at all, but I felt better knowing that the lid fit more snuggly. I've run probably around 100 boardfeet of poplar, oak, pine and mahogany through my planer and jointer with this set up. I could not have asked for anything better out of a $38 setup. I have not had a single clog on my dust collector since purchasing this separator and I've not yet had to empty the bag on the collector either (I've had to empty the trash can many times however). Emptying the can is as easy as undoing the bungy cords, lifting the lid off and then dumping the can and reattaching the lid. Good luck to anyone looking for a better, less expensive way to create a two-stage dust collection system. Now, I had a few things already in my possession that made my experience smoother including: a collection of pre-owned trash cans, weather stripping, bungy cords, and dust collection hose/clamps. Without already owning these items, I could've potentially spent another $100+ to get this setup working properly. You'll need to keep that in mind before purchasing this item. It is definitely not a standalone piece. In the end, I'm thrilled with what I got with this separator. Is woodstock charging $30 for a $3 piece of plastic? Probably, but until someone else comes out with something to compete, they can ask what we'll pay, and it's still far cheaper than buying a brand new two-stage system. I'm very happy with this item and would gladly purchase it again.
