Hi rprice54:

I agree with you that putting the dust collection port at the bottom of the router compartment is detrimental. The air that is flowing down from the table top to the dc port will be loaded with sawdust. The router will suck it in and blow it through the router motor and back out at the table top.

IMHO, it's better to put the dc port at the top of the router compartment, sucking the dust in before it gets into the router compartment. One needs to deflect the air flow coming out of the router. This can be done by using a bit aluminum flashing to direct the router's exhaust sideways.

Of course, to do all of this requires an air inlet near the top of the router compartment to allow the router fresh "cool" air.

HTH,
Cassandra

 

Great! Looking forward to a few pics of your new table, Also, if you took pics of the build
in progress, thanks

 

I've got some pics, I'll try to get an album up over at my Picasa account. I did the torsion box for the table top yesterday, it's overkill, but I needed some practice making a T-box and this seemed the way to go. I think I could stand on it and it wouldn't flex- much.

 

2 thoughts.
I have a 2.5" hole in my cabinet to plug the fence hose into.
Another hose bringing outside air to a shroud around the bottom of the router will provide clean air for the router body.

 

Your DC system isn't strong enough to create a vacuum great enough to suffocate your router unless you close off "ALL" air ports leading to the router chamber. Your vacuum also draws air from the throat of the RT base plate even though the router blows air toward the throat.

 

i cant think of why anyone would close all of the ports leading to the router chamber? if you do you couldnt even insert a bit. you wouldnt be routing at all. also, if you want a dustproof shop that you can use for other purposes, ive learned that youre just dreaming and will always be afraid to use your tools because you just dont want dust that day. ive seen shops that are painted and pretty, but dont see much work come from them.

it seems very smart to me to put your dc on the fence or top and forget the chamber that starves the router. im not that experienced, but got my information from someone from this forum that in my opinion is the best on this forum, experience and knowledgewise. just my humble opinion.

 

Dustproof shop, are you kidding me? I'm just trying to be sure I don't cook my router. The more dust I collect with the system though, and the less I breath in and the less I have to clean up- and I hate cleaning up.

I'll have to post pics later, but I basically built a shelf where the DC will go and then dropped a wall straight down from the shelf. I created a port with some angled pieces to help with laminar flow. So the air will [loosely] come in through ports in the door, up the chamber (across the router motor) and out the DC. Hopefully some will come through the plate as well.

In my experience, for most operations, most of the chips come through the fence off the bit, I really don't need draft down through the hole except when I'm doing grooves, dados, etc- which I usually do on the TS. It's all about not cooking the router.

 

hey Jerry,

it sounds to me like you got it covered. and im glad to see youre router is like mine , not inside a cabinet.

i think youre shop looks great and i had no intentions to sound negative. you have done a great job!

i am just glad my shop is a place that i can use without worrying about dust. see im lazy by nature and dont like cleaning ,lol!

honestly, your shop looks great and after a few months when you say i will repaint and the heck with the dust, you will really enjoy it, lol!

i think the air filter will help with the small stuff, but think you may need a dc to make a big difference. thats my opinion and with my little woodworking experience know i might be wrong.

anyway dont worry about anything i say, im just learning

 

p.s. Jerry,

i hope youre doing good and i know you will be seeing as good as me before too long.
then we can both see 2 lines lol, just teasin. i do wish you a speedy recovery!

 

A dust proof shop = using your tools outside. :sarcastic:

 

hey Ken,

you should have been a philosopher,lol! but i agree with you! a shop is different things to different people. to me its where i use mostly woodworking tools. my woodworking tools make a mess. im ok with that. if my shop were in a basement or other part of my home, where my wife would raise hell about any speck of dust i would probably think differently.
in that case, i too would probably think it would need to look like an OR. i know that using a dedicated dc and air filtration would help, but there are times i do jobs that cant use some type of vacuum system and spit dust all on the floor and other stuff. but thats ok in my shop!

 

For those of you with DC through the fence only (me right now) how much of the chips and dust is not caught and falls out the bottom into the cabinet or floor? My router hangs free under the table but I could easily build a cabinet around it with a DC port if a lot of dust was missed. I suppose I would put the DC port near the top of the box (bottom of the router) to avoid the overheating problem. What has your experience been?

Dave

 

Hi Dave,

Depending on the job at hand, I get quite a lot in the cabinet. I have the OP vac-u plates so, I can hook up a vac or DC unit at either underneath or, at my fence. Either way, you can't get 100% of the dust and chips.

 

My experience has been that most of the dust/shavings make it to the floor. That's why i'm looking into a new setup. Either a cabinet style table or a metal table from Woodpeckers that includes a dust collection box.

 

In the real world saw dust will drop to the bottom of the cabinet. This is why all the pro built systems have dust collection at the bottom. The fan in your router will keep most of the dust out of the motor but it will not push it above the table top. Be sure you have enough make up air to let the dust collector pull the dust away. Think like an engine in a car; the more fuel that goes in, the more exhaust goes out. Deny either side of this and the balance is thrown off and your performance drops like a rock. As long as your air supply matches the vacuum you will get great dust collection and your router will stay cool.

 

Thank you for the feedback. I just finished making my router table into the extension of my table saw and only have a DC port in the fence directly behind and above the bit. I was hoping to get lucky and have that get all the chips. It doesn't work with the table saw (DC above and below needed) so I should have figured that out. Once I make the under-table box for the router (it won't be dignified enough to call it a "cabinet") with a DC port, how do I know how much air to let in to i) create the right flow for chip collection and ii) to ventilate the motor? Is a pegboard covered "window" on one side too much, three slits in front too little, etc.?

 

Dave, you need the same opening area as the exhaust. 4 2" holes plus the open area around the bit should be good for a 4" collection hose.

 

It also depends on the type of cut being made and wood species, the more material that is removed during a pass the more material falls into the cabinet. I have a 6hp Craftsman shop vac attached to my RT.

Practical experience;
Empty vac tank and clean filter. I duct taped the cabinet line using the fence line only (producing higher vacuum at the fence). Light slow cuts and -0- debris, the heavier and faster the cuts the more the debris in the cabinet even though the router exhausts up. I've also seen chips stuck to the router intake.

Both lines operating and I don't have the vented door in place I get debris of varying sizes on the cabinet floor, no debris stuck to the intake.

Door closed, still get debris but a fraction of the amount and no material on the router intake.

I believe if I invested money in many -0- insert plates and the time needed installing and removing them for each bit used the fence line would be sufficient.

Material blocking the intake is a bad thing, but unless it's wedged into the fins, it drops off when the router stops. what's more damaging is the fines that get sucked up into the router and cake. I lost my 1st PC 694 free hand routing composite decking, the router wasn't inverted but fines still sucked up into it built up and melted in the router.