Has anyone improved the dust collection on Norm's router table?

[Roy Turbett]

I just made a bunch of MDF push sticks on Norm's router table (version two) and, pardon the pun, the dust collection sucked. I have a 3 hp dust collector with plenty of suction but most of the dust is still in the cabinet. Has anyone improved upon Norm's design?

[Joe Jensen]

I didn't build Norm's table but here is what I did. The dust collection line is moved up high just below the table. I then made a shelf with a cutout the shape of the router to direct the airflow between the router base plate and the motor. It works very well. Here are some pics.

http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w99/AZEngineer/_NIK3378Large.jpg (http://s174.photobucket.com/user/AZEngineer/media/_NIK3378Large.jpg.html)
http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w99/AZEngineer/_NIK3379Large.jpg (http://s174.photobucket.com/user/AZEngineer/media/_NIK3379Large.jpg.html)
http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w99/AZEngineer/_NIK3377Large.jpg (http://s174.photobucket.com/user/AZEngineer/media/_NIK3377Large.jpg.html)
http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w99/AZEngineer/_NIK3381Large.jpg (http://s174.photobucket.com/user/AZEngineer/media/_NIK3381Large.jpg.html)

[Roy Turbett]

Joe - Very interesting. It almost looks like a hybrid cyclone collector. I wonder how you could do this with a router lift.

[Bob DeWolfe]

I have an RT 1000 which was based on Norm's design. The dust collection is very good from most units I have used or seen.
Attached on the back of the fence is a cover that covers a hole in the table. This drops into the cabinet below where a partial cover behind the router has about a 2" gap from the bottom. On the left side is a dust port that goes between the back so all dust get sucked from above the table down into this area and the opening at the bottom of the cabinet gets cleaned due to the gap.

Its hard to explain but I can send some pictures or you can google RT 1000 Woodworking and get an idea what I have tried to explain.

[Roy Turbett]

Bob -

The RT 1000 dust collection system is very similar to Norm's. From the video it looks like it performs about the same. Thanks for your reply.

Roy

[Alan Schwabacher]

What has worked best for me is to use a baffle similar to that shown by Joe Jensen above, except with less clearance around the router. This allows the DC to collect the dust that's pulled down into the table well, and helps pull clean air through the router in the correct direction. I try to keep small clearance around the bit in the router fence. Because of this I want high suction rather than high volume of air there, so the router fence is better attached to a shop vac than to a DC.

I suspect some of the higher end equipment designed with DC in mind works as well or better, but the combination of DC and vac works quite well with a Bosch 1617. For a router whose cross section varies more as it's raised and lowered, a flexible curtain pulled up by the DC to limit baffle clearance may be a good variant.

[Bill Huber]

Not Norms table but I don't see why it would not work for any table. The first thread was when I first made it and then the second one is after I had to change it to fit a different lift.

http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?65058-Different-Dust-Collection-for-router-cabinet

http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?158048-Not-to-drag-up-an-old-thread-but-I-had-to-redo-my-router-table-DC&highlight=different+kidn+of+dust+collection

[david paul miller]

I went with this, works great. http://www.keen-products.com/routertables.htm

[Matt Meiser]

Adding some holes in the door did it for me.

[glenn bradley]

Bill's solution is the sweetest one I have seen. If you don't have the power to just suck from below, some sort of baffling will do wonders. My air enters from the upper portion of the door and exits at the lower rear. This creates a stream that carries things away nicely. It did take me awhile to adjust the entrance air for a sweet spot that optimized the flow. Focusing the target as Bill's examples show can really pre-solve that dilemma.

[Ole Anderson]

Do you have good dust collection behind the fence? Think about where your bit will shoot the dust/chips. Unless you are using a down spiral bit or a few other cutters, it will be ejecting the chips largely horizontally, toward the gap in the fence. To try to get all of your collection below the table is a loosing cause. Sure you need it there too, but concentrate on a good collector with a 2.5" hose behind the fence. I have my 2.5" rear collector hose routed into the lower cabinet which acts as a plenum with a 4" outlet at the bottom of the box. A slot at the opposite end of the box allows an air stream to enter then sweep the chips toward the 4" outlet. My slot is only 3/8" x 4" so I don't loose a lot of air. The top is hinged and the front door isn't gasketed, so some air is allowed to enter the box there also.

[Roy Turbett]

Thanks for all the replys. My current setup is exactly as Norm designed his including the holes in the plexiglass door. I have a 2 1/2" hose that connects to a 4" main to my 3 HP dust collector. This works well for most operations but doesn't collect the dust that is created when making dados. The other day I made some push sticks out of MDF using a pattern making bit and the dust collector picked up very little dust. The other concern I have is the amount of fine dust that got into my router. Of all the solutions listed above, it appears that the Keen-products dust collection system suggested by David will collect the most dust because it has the best seal. But from the reviews at Amazon, it requires some modifications for some router lifts and/or the purchase of a collet extender. That said, it looks to me like Bill Huber's solution is the best overall because it is the least expensive, can be adapted to fit all router lifts, solves the problem of dust getting into the router, and can easily be incorporated into Norm's design.

[Rick Potter]

Try changing out that 2 1/2 hose for a 4. Bet it helps.

Rick Potter

[Dick Mahany]

Try changing out that 2 1/2 hose for a 4. Bet it helps.

Rick Potter

Agree, I have a 4" lower main connected to a 3HP cyclone and a wye that splits another 2.5" hose up to a second port on the router table fence and it works great. I have found that a 2.5" hose works okay on a strong shop vac due to its much higher static pressure capability but used alone it will choke my cyclone.

[Joe Jensen]

Agree, I have a 4" lower main connected to a 3HP cyclone and a wye that splits another 2.5" hose up to a second port on the router table fence and it works great. I have found that a 2.5" hose works okay on a strong shop vac due to its much higher static pressure capability but used alone it will choke my cyclone.


Also, you need the same area in holes in the door as you have on the hose. A 4" hose is 12.56 sq inches, that would require 16 1" diameter holes in the door. With my setup I had no door.

[Roy Turbett]

Rick, Dick and Joe,

Thanks for the suggestion. I'll try that. How well does your setup work with dados?

Roy

[Dick Mahany]

Rick, Dick and Joe,

Thanks for the suggestion. I'll try that. How well does your setup work with dados?

Roy

Roy, Mine works pretty efficiently with dadoes (although not as efficiently as in my table saw). I have used both spiral bits and straight edged bits with good dust collection. When routing groves and dadoes, I make sure to use a relatively large diameter ring on my lift so that there is plenty of room around the bit to release the chips. Obviously in this mode the fence dust collection isn't functioning, so the large aperture also helps in make up air flow in addition to the vent holes in the access door.

[Ole Anderson]

Also, you need the same area in holes in the door as you have on the hose. A 4" hose is 12.56 sq inches, that would require 16 1" diameter holes in the door. With my setup I had no door. Hmm. If you have a 2.5" hose for the rear collection routed back to the box, and an adequate area around the router bit for under-table collection, you sure don't want another 16 1" holes on the cabinet to bleed off any suction you may have left. You need to maximize velocity (inches of suction) in the area of the bit if you hope to catch the dust and chips being flung by a 20,000 rpm cutting bit. Are you more interested in a clean box or dust collection at the bit? You can have both with the proper design of the box (front and rear of the box sloped steeply to the bottom) and some airflow sweeping across the bottom of the box.

[Roy Turbett]

Its been a while since I started this thread but I thought I'd post a solution I came up with by incorporating ideas from others. I never had an issue with dust collection for edge routing with a fence. The issue I had was with dados and edge routing without a fence. The problem I found with Norm's design is in regard to the size and location of the vent holes in the door. Since the holes were located directly across from the Y fitting in the back, the air flow was primarily horizontal and I wasn't getting any downward suction. I solved the problem by copying the design of a weber grill vent and placing it on the back side of the cabinet near the top. I also replaced the plexiglass door with 1/4" plywood and put a similar vent near the bottom of the door. When I'm edge routing with the fence, I close the vent on the back and open the vent on the door. This lets makeup air into the cabinet to keep the router cool and suction is directed to the dust port in the fence. When I'm cutting dados or edge routing without the fence, I close the vent in the door, close off the dust port in the fence, and open the vent on the back of the cabinet. This pulls make-up air from the top of the cabinet to the bottom and suction is directed to the Y fitting on the bottom of the cabinet and the baffle that is part of Norm's design helps create a cyclone effect. I can also control how much suction I get by adjusting the vents.

I'm also considering adding weather stripping on the inside of the inset door to give me even more control over the air flow by limiting the intake source to just the vents. You could also increase suction at the fence by putting a blast gate between the cabinet and Y fitting.

[Paul Wunder]

I am not experiencing the problems that the OP reports on my Norm table. I am collecting dust from both the fence and from the rear cabinet below the router. 2 1/2" collection above and 4" collection below with multiple 3/4" inch holes in the plexiglass door. Both hoses merge into a 6" pipe connected to my Clearview cyclone