Router Table Dust Extraction

[Chris Parks]

I have never believed it was a good idea to mix a high speed motor with wood dust and I do not want a lot of dust floating around under the table for that reason. I have seen one table here basically enclosing the top end of the router with a cutout barrier that neatly encloses the area between the table and the motor with the dust extracted above this barrier and thus preventing nearly all the wood dust getting down to the motor and it seems to work. My question to those who have made one is how effective are hollow fences in capturing dust and preventing it getting into the under area of the table. This seems to me to be a primary area to begin the dust extraction and if the fence will capture most of it then the under table extraction can be designed to capture the rest. I am inclined to go with a hollow fence and extract between the motor and the table with some sort of circular pick up hooked up to a 100mm line. I have not given the under table a lot of thought but one thing I am not doing is running the motor in dust. Comments please.

[Chris Harry]

I have an Incra setup with the WonderFence. The WonderFence is hollow and has a dust port connection on either end (also wonder if I could hook up to both ends if I bought an extra port adapter).

Its definitely a good idea, but one of the drawbacks I see is that, when using a larger diameter bit, you separate the fence halves to clear the bit and it seems to cut down on dust collection performance. Im currently using a large diameter miter lock bit with PVC trim and the shavings from the PVC trim dont always get sucked in because the fence half with the dust port is so "far" from the bit (because of the bit diameter).

On the flipside I used the same setup with a vertical raised panel bit (much smaller diameter), and the fence dust collection worked very well. I also used a zero clearance aux fence with that bit and it helped "trap" the dust long enough so it gets sucked up by the fence port, so Im sure thats an option with bits of any size. I never did get around to making one for the miter lock bit though.

[glenn bradley]

Collection at the fence opening is great for me despite reducing my cyclone to the 2-1/2" opening. I also draw with a 4" from the enclosed lower chamber. If I am doing something where I want to concentrate the collection at the fence I run a tighter throat plate. When I use a starter pin and bearing guided bit for curvy stuff I use a larger open area around the bit to allow greater collection from below.

Throat opening to bit diameter needs to be combined with the size piece you are routing. Smaller pieces get a tight fit around the bit for safety regardless of collection preferences ;-) Larger or longer pieces allow more flexibility. As to concerns about sawdust in the motor area; I have run my motors enclosed for years (always with good dust collection airflow), the current Mil 5625 for 2-12 years without so much as a blink. The motor stays very cool and the chamber stays near-spotless.

[Scott Rollins]

what you are looking for is the dust collection system from the IWF show.
http://www.finewoodworking.com/item/30750/iwf-alert-router-dust-collector-does-the-job-on-the-cheap
It says its $40??? I have not seen it advertised yet though.

[Bill Huber]

This is what I did with my Bosch 1617 router and my Jessem lift and table.

http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?t=65058&highlight=dust+collector

I have had this system running now for about 3 years now it is still doing fine. I still do have large chips that go down into the box but not the fine dust.

I have had no more problems with the switch on the router, with the old table I had that just pulled the dust to the box I had to clean the switch just about ever 2 or 3 months.

[Alan Schaffter]

About 8 years ago I mounted a 3" diameter piece of really thin clear plastic (a flat section of blister pack from something I bought) to the end of the router (PC7539) using the existing router housing screws. Just about any thin plastic will work unless it has a lower melting point. I originally installed it after I dropped a bearing (or set screw?) into the motor once and wanted to prevent that from happening again, but it has worked great protecting the motor from dust. I still have unobstructed access to the router and collet. I need to replace the plastic because it has warped a little and doesn't sit flat, but that is an easy task.

[Tom Ewell]

Another quick add-on is something like the Rockler dust bucket (http://www.rockler.com/product.cfm?page=22208&source=googleps&utm_source=GoogleBase&utm_medium=organic&utm_campaign=SortPrice&utm_source=sortprice&utm_medium=cse&utm_campaign=V9131) and their 4" Y connector to run a 2" hose to the fence port.

Just remember to turn on the DC system before firing up the router.

Quick puffs of air with the DC running cleans off what little residual dust is left on the router, lift hardware and in the corners of the box.

[Chris Parks]

Thanks for the replies, it all helps. Bill, yours was the one I remember seeing that prevented the dust getting to the motor, to a large extent anyway.

Chris, good point about the clearance on the bit, it could be made to work to advantage I think. A bigger clearance, up to a point, will make sure there is enough airflow. No air in means no air out and zero clearance means no air in. Maybe there needs to be a controlled port to let air into the fence so the debris are picked up in the travelling air stream. The bit drags the debris into the fence and hits the airstream and keeps going. The inlet port can be opened or closed as needed. The inlet port could be a butterfly, simple and quick, open it up for zero clearance and close it for larger clearance around the bit.

Scott the link is down at the moment but I will check it out. I will get back to you when I finished this, sometime in the next year or so. :)

[Jeffrey Makiel]

The good news is that routers generally produce larger chips vs. fine dust like a tablesaw or stationary sander that floats all over the place. The exception is MDF board which generates flour-like dust, no matter what.

You should be able to get your router table nearly dust free. My table is built on a very old design that was in a Wood magazine 20+ years ago. It has dust extraction thru the back of the fence behind the bit, as well as inside the base cabinet. Both are needed to support edge routing as well as making grooves and slots.

Just be careful not to choke the flow of incoming make-up air. That is, in order for air to be sucked away, new air must come in.

-Jeff :)

[Peter Quinn]

I'm getting one of these, just released.

http://www.infinitytools.com/Router-Table-Dust-Collector/productinfo/115-115/

[Alan Schaffter]

I'm getting one of these, just released.

http://www.infinitytools.com/Router-Table-Dust-Collector/productinfo/115-115/

I saw that and immediately wondered why they used a "T" instead of a wye- a good idea that would have been much better!

[Jim O'Dell]

I was in the middle of my RT build when Bill posted his success with his hook up. I changed mine mid stream. I don't have a cutout that the router goes through. I have my make up air at the bottom, and the cyclone hook up at the top, so it draws fresh air past the router motor and out the top side. Works very well. Nothing in the router chamber that I've seen. Jim.

[Chris Parks]

The infinity device looks like it might work. As for the T v's Y connector, if it works so be it. I am thinking that a four inch duct attached to the underside of the table and gotten as close as possible to the hole that the router shaft goes through would be enough, Jim is that what you have done?

[Jim O'Dell]

Yes Chris, pretty much. I used a 90 degree metal 3 X 8 (IIRC) to 6" round HVAC adapter. I do use a 6" hook up instead of 4" though. The bottom of the router chamber has what is basically a 6" blast gate. The door is controlled by turning a threaded rod from the front of the table, behind a door, so that I can control how much air goes in from there, and how much is sucked in from the router bit and trim ring. I use my shop vac hooked to the Incra fence port. I sometimes still get a lot of chips on the table top, depending on if it is an operation where the bit is recessed into the fence or not. So the top could work better, but I'm totally happy with the bottom collection. Jim.

[Chris Parks]

I was going to run two four inch lines from the six inch main duct, one would go to the fence and one into the cabinet.

[Alan Schaffter]

I was going to run two four inch lines from the six inch main duct, one would go to the fence and one into the cabinet.

You will lose a little CFM since the cross-sectional area of two 4" pipes is less than that of one 6" pipe (25 vs 28 sq. in.), but that setup should be fine for a router table.

[Chris Parks]

You will lose a little CFM since the cross-sectional area of two 4" pipes is less than that of one 6" pipe (25 vs 28 sq. in.), but that setup should be fine for a router table.

I have seen that quoted in the past but it is only true if the 6" duct is flowing to capacity (I think??). Me not being an engineer I am taking an educated guess at that so may stand to be corrected. For all intents and purposes I don't think it matters as you say.

[Rob Price]

I did the above/under as well, except I put my cabinet suction near the top- the idea is that the air comes in the door, up through the router (by design the router pulls it in from the 'top' and out by the bit- I didn't want to fight that) and then another standard fence type outlet. I've found that a good tight insert around the bit helps keep chips out of the router below.
http://picasaweb.google.com/rprice54/RouterStation#