Building new router table cabinet, question about dust collection box under table.

[Larry Rasmussen]

I'm just walking out to get my new table set up, went commercial this time and have a jessem mast-R fence and a typical table top, about 22 X 32, I'm just too lazy to go measure.

I'll be running a collection line into a sealed box under the table. I will either wye off that hose and run up to the top with a 2 1/2" hose or just put another port on the box under the table and run a hose up from that to the collection on the fence.

I think I've reviewed most of the material here. In the past I've just used a collector from above attached to the fence. I have a choice of either using my Jet 1HP collector with cartridge filter or the turbo II vac by Fein I've been using. Both will be hooked up and in good position.

Questions for the panel:

1. I'm inclined to use the Jet, any dissenting opinions?

2. Am going to run 2 1/2 hose to port above table on fence. Should I use 4" into box under table or stick with 2 1/2 all the way from main line (6-8 feet).

3. Any body do this and have trouble balancing the two levels of suction between top and bottom?

4. Any ideas about how big the box should be? Woodpecker's is about 9" X 12" X 11". Seems small. Is this parameter of much importance?

Thanks in advance for any comments.

Larry R.

[Bruce Wrenn]

Norm's first router station featured a fence with a chamber that connected to the box below, via a hole drilled into top. Bill Hylton's version of the same featured a wye in DC hose, with part going directly to fence and part going to " box". Remember that you will need additional holes in box to get make up air through. Volume of air is what collects chips and dust. Right now, I can't remember how John White did his in FWW. I remember he has a small shop vac in base of table though.

[Greg Crawford]

I have a 4" dust collector line running to my cabinet, and it has a 2 1/2" wye that goes to my fence. It all works very well. The box under my router is the full width and depth of my cabinet, and about 16" tall. Some dust remains behind, but not very much, and all that is left stays in the cabinet. One thing I did was to use perfboard for the sides to give good airflow.

[glenn bradley]

Mine is 4" to the box and 2 1/2" to the fence. I run both wide open and have no problem with 'balancing' the RT as I do between the TS lower and TS overarm collector.

[Steven Wilson]

My router table is like Norms first except I have a 2 1/2" DC hose from the fence into a cavity in back of the router cabinet. That cavity connects to the router cavity via a 3x10" (roughly) slot. Anyhow, all of that feeds a 4" fitting. Since I have a plexiglass door to the router cabinet the balence between the cavity and the fence is controlled by how many holes I have in the door. I have 4 and that seems to work real wel.

[Brad Naylor]

I've been meaning to build the ultimate router table for a while now, but just haven't found the time yet!

My idea is basically to use the Norm model with a Jessum lift, but actually to house a shop vac within the cabinet. This would raise the working height a little, but I'm a tall guy so it would be fine.

The advantage of this would be that I could wheel the table around the shop, or even take it out on site, and it would be fully self-contained.

What does anyone think?

[Larry Rasmussen]

Before I got the Fein I was just using a Shop Vac as you describe under a longer table and cabinet housing an oversize router table. For my small area it took up a lot of room and ended up doubling as assembly and work table quite often. A pain to clear to use the router. I'm essentially going in the opposite direction as you describe with a more compact table hopefully kept clear and ready to go. I just planned placement close to dust collection. But your plan, an independent unit just trailing a single extension cord was nice and quite effective even with a shop vac.

Good Luck, Larry

[Phil Thien]

I'm using a Ridgid 1450 vac in a network for all my tools, one of which is my router-table with down-draft box. I don't have to use any fence collection, the down-draft box w/ the Ridgid vac gets it all (even when edge routing). The high static pressure of the Ridgid also provide a side-benefit of holding the material flat to the table.