[oldprinter1468]

I'm wondering if anyone with a Kreg table has tried to use Rockler's Dust Right or Dust Bucket (whatever they call it). I have a couple of questions and would love to see pics of your build. Many thanks.

 

[eschoon]

I mounted my router in my table saw outfeed table using the Kreg router plate. I reviewed several dust extractions ideas and discovered the Milescraft DustRouter collection system, available from Amazon (about $30 as I recall) and probably other sources as well. I purchased this item with some hesitancy as the connection on the underside of the router plate seemed wonky to me. I installed this, needing to modify some of the setup instructions to make it fit my situation. The biggest issue was the fence connection as this system runs the fence collection hose over the back of the router table. In my case, this blocked the saw outfeed, but was an easy change to the hose direction. The issue of the wonky under table connection proved not to be a big deal as well. The cup that surrounds the router bit, to provide suction for dust extraction, is held to the router plate via a ring of Velcro attached using double sided tape. This has turned out to have enough strength that as long as the hose connection port is supported, it stays attached. I have used this system now for several months and the dust has been reduced by 95+%, far exceeding my expectation. By the way, I am not associated with Milescraft or Amazon. My dust extraction/collection system is home brewed using a central house vac power head with an internal disposable 5 micron paper filter connected to a Oneida Dust Deputy, all connected by 2-1/2" hose on a portable cart. Nothing fancy, but it does suck. Hope this helps.

 

[yafocak901]

I use the Kreg table and have used the dust collection system on a couple of projects. The build quality of the table is very good, and it is quite sturdy. The dust collection works well enough... I usually use it without the collection bag, instead I use a small ShopVac. I had no problem making the dust collection work, but I really didn't need it for my projects. I just don't like the idea of having a bag of dust hanging over my saw.

 

[DesertRatTom]

Dust collection is a big deal. The most important thing is that you trap and collect the dust at the source, and a simple 2.5 inch port just behind the bit, attached to a decent dust collection system. Here's a picture of the Rockler device for that, but it's the same as ones by several other suppliers.

I have a metal box (Rockler) under my router with a 4 inch connector at the rear. It feeds directly into a Y connector with 4 inch and on the Y, 2.5 inch which connects by hose to the behind the fence fixture shown. A T connector isn't as good because you lose air flow with each 90 degree turn in your DC system.

The box under the table has a simple air flow control valve. You have to allow air in or the sawdust simply packs down without being extracted.

All my dust collection parts are Rockler because 4 inches seems to be different when you try to mix suppliers.

All my dust collection is extracted by a 4 inch flex hose from Rockler. It's about 25 feet long and will reach all tools in my shop. I don't have the space to put in fixed tubing. The hose goes through the wall into a small chamber where I have a 30 gallon chip collection drum with a Super Dust Deputy on top. Almost all dust and debris falls out into the drum. The rest of the air is pulled into a Harbor Freight DC unit with a 1 micron drum filter on top instead of the stock 5 micron bag. The air is filtered, then passes through another filter, back into the shop to preserve the AC or heated air there. Here's a picture of the inside of the DC chamber:

There's almost no dust in the clear plastic bag, in fact, if there is, it means it's time to empty the chip collection drum. This whole setup costs about $600 to set up (Look for 25% off coupons from Harbor Freight). Here's what that looks like in the chamber.

Here is a minimal setup that is easy and fairly cheap to put together. The Dust Deputy cyclone is what separates the sawdust and chips so it doesn't clog your shop vac filter. Get the biggest shop vac possible if you are going to try to collect dust at the fence AND under the router.

Osha did a study that was pretty disturbing to any of us with breathing issues. The average commercial woodworking shop had very low levels of sawdust in the air. Home shops, on the other hand, had dust levels far above the danger level. The problem is the really fine sawdust that once it gets into your lungs, is never expelled. Lots of old time carpenters and woodworkers died gasping for breath because of this.

Spend whatever you can on good sawdust collection, it's as important as keeping your mitts out of the sawblades.

 

[DesertRatTom]

BTW, I spent years in the newspaper game and doing PR, so I spent a lot of hours in print shops, from letterpress, to web fed presses. Went from hot type to cold. Newsprint to high gloss pamphlets. Always loved the machinery. A lot of old time printers lost their jobs during that transition, and now, the high speed color printers using xerox technology have pretty much taken over much of the industry. But I'll never forget watching the 4 story tall web press that cranked out a million copies a day of the L.A. Times. It made the ground vibrate when it got up to speed.