Dust collection on a router table and a template guide?

[Wade Lippman]

I have a box built around my router with a 4" hose going to it. The last time I routed with a template guide the restricted air flow got my router hot enough to fry an egg on. It didn't hurt anything, but obviously isn't something I want to do again. I can open the box to allow airflow, but then I won't get any dust collection. But of course there won't be much dust collection through the template guide anyhow.

I am thinking about drilling some 1/2" holes in the Woodpecker plate that holds the template guide and leaving the box closed. I figure that will allow airflow and catch at least some of the dust. It seems like a good thing to do, but they don't make it that way; maybe there is a good reason for not doing it that I am overlooking.

Any ideas?

I bought a Leigh RTL400 6 months ago and am finally going to give it a try.

[John Donhowe]

I recall reading on a ww'ing forum (sorry, don't remember which one) just a few days ago about somebody who clamped a 4" flex hose to the top of his enclosed router as an inlet vent. He says he gets good dust collection from the table, and the air coming into the enclosure through the router motor keeps dust from getting into the motor, and helps to keep the motor cool. Can't vouch from first hand experience, just saying....

[glenn bradley]

There should be an opening "into" your box at least equal to the 4" hose that is drawing the air out (about 12-1/2" square inches). I found the best spoil removal location for return air openings to be on the opposite side, near the top, for a port exiting near the bottom. This will vary with your exit port location, box shape, etc. If you exit port is opposite your door it is easy to make a dummy door and experiment (which is what I did). Once you find the sweet spot, make a door with openings like that. Suction is useless without airflow.

[Kent Adams]

Have you looked at these? http://www.incrementaltools.com/ProductDetails.asp?ProductCode=INC-CSMLRINGSET

I don't know if they would fit the woodpecker plate or not.

[Wade Lippman]

Have you looked at these? http://www.incrementaltools.com/ProductDetails.asp?ProductCode=INC-CSMLRINGSET

I don't know if they would fit the woodpecker plate or not.

They won't fit, but that is pretty much what I am intending on making.

[Wade Lippman]

I put 12 7/16" holes in the insert that holds the template guide. Altogether they are about 15% of a 4" opening, but the airflow through them is pretty good.
I have a 2.5" hose going to the router fence; opening and closing that didn't seem to make much difference, so I will leave it open a bit behind the work area and hope it sucks up some of the dust.

When I first got the 3hp cyclone a CS guy at Grizzly told me to leave a gate open on another machine as separate from the one I am using as possible; the idea being that just one wouldn't let the impellor get up to full speed. I tried that now and found opening up a second gate actually reduced the suction significantly. Go figure.

[Tom Ewell]

Additional dust collection using one of these for pattern routing 'free hand'

319047
http://www.routerforums.com/table-mounted-routing/31617-safe-free-hand-routing-building-vacuum-bit-guard.html

[Ole Anderson]

Pictures! Do you have rear fence collection as well? I have a 4" to my box and a 2.5" from the fence into the box along with a 5/16" x 4" slit at the bottom of the box plus whatever is coming around the bit. No overheating issues with my 3.25 hp Hitachi. And I disagree with the premise that inlet area needs to be the same as outlet area. Outlet is a hose with a lot of losses, inlet is usually an orifice which has less losses than a hose. If you are going to add holes, at least add them in such a way that they will collect dust.

[Jim Dwight]

I used to run a 4 inch flex hose into the router compartment and onto the top of the router lift. That helped the air move through the router motor. I also had a port on the fence and used my little 1hp DC on both. It didn't pick chips up great but the motor didn't get hot. I also have a setup on the extension table of my TS. I built a compartment to go around the router motor and pulled from below. That setup got my router hot. Currently I use my shop vacuum on the fence port which is 2.5 inches. I had some buildup in the motor compartment but that may have been when chips blocked off the hose from the fence port. The shop vacuum/cyclone combination gets most of the debris. And the router motor stays cool.