Shop Vac for a Router Table?

[Brian Kent]

I am changing around tools in my shop, removing the router table from the main dust collection system. The tool I am moving into that spot is one I use about a hundred times more often than the router table.

Currently it has a 4" duct to the enclosed to the bottom of the box beneath the router, with a 2.5" from the top of the box to the fence.

If I switch to a dedicated shop vac on the router table, how would you recommend I hook it up?

Thanks.

Brian

[Robert Engel]

I would disconnect the duct on the bottom, I find very few shavings go down into the box anyway.

I just collect right at the fence.

[Victor Robinson]

I haven't found a shopvac to collect that well from the "box." That may be because I haven't worked on sealing up the box and making it more conducive to collecting, e.g. angling the bottom, etc.

I collect at the fence and at the router. I have a 2.5" wye fitting just outside the router table cabinet that branches to the fence and into the cabinet - and then to a narrower hose to fit the Triton's port. Combined with Incra Cleansweep rings, this does a pretty adequate job at keeping fines out of the air, but the box does need an occasional cleanout. With any operation that uses a fence, the fence collection is very adequate and performs the bulk of the collection.

[glenn bradley]

I would disconnect the duct on the bottom, I find very few shavings go down into the box anyway.

I just collect right at the fence.

This is not true with any sort of captured cut like a dado, beading and the like. For edge profiles a fence port and a shop vac would do great. Dad collects from his table mounted Triton using their built it vac shroud which collects just under the table for captured cuts and has good success. He uses a wye to feed the fence port. The vac is a smaller Shop-Vac model so, I would say you could experiment a bit and be quite satisfied.

[Joe Jensen]

I'd just connect to the fence.

[Jim Dwight]

I use my shop vacuum on my fence and for edge cuts, it works well. But for a buried cut like a dado, it does very little. I used to use a 4 inch connection that pulled from the collet area of the router and a 2.5 inch on the fence. That got most of the chips. I plan to switch the suction from the collet area to the 2.5 inch shop vac hose. I have the hose but need to spend a bit of time to hook it up. I don't know if I will be able to move enough air to pull from both points at once but I don't think I need to. I can pull from inside the cabinet for dado cuts and from the fence for edge cuts.

[Ole Anderson]

I would use the vac on the fence with edge cuts and on the box with captured cuts, don't try both with just a shop vac.

[Mark Furjanic]

I've got mine hooked up with a Y connector and 2 1/2" hose going to an Incra fence and an Incra box. I used a 4" to 2 1'2" reducer at the box and a shop vac adapter on one port of the Y. It works great with a cheap Rigid shopvac.

[Bill Neely]

I installed a Keen Products dust collector kit, it works well for me but I also have to use an extension collet.

[Bill McDermott]

I pull air from the fence, down a hose to the box, then out of the box. Works great. When the work piece covers the fence port, the table opening does all the work. When the work piece and fence cover the table opening, the fence hole does all the work. Can you connect the fence to the box and convert your 4" box port to the shop vac?
Also, if you have not experimented with the dust deputy between the vac and the tool, I encourage it. Amazing.

[Nick Nelson]

What tool do you use 100x more than a router table?
Unless you anwser table saw I am not only intrested in your reply but also intrested on what you build...