Router table dust collection

[kevin nee]

Hello, I have been using a Bench Dog full size router table for years with a Craftsman 16 gallon 5 HP shop vac. It actually does pretty good. I would like to upgrade to a 4 inch for the router enclosure and branch it off to 2 1/2 on the fence and move up to a 1 1/2 HP Delta 2 bag dust collector
Any thoughts on this. If you have done this photos, Please.
Thanks in advance, Kevin

[Dave Sweeney]

I used this fitting when I made my router table enclosure and it works great, https://www.rockler.com/dust-right-r...able-dual-port

[Mike Kreinhop]

I used a similar method for my router table and the Incra CleanSweep enclosure. The external connection is from this adapter from Axminster in the UK.

This is the inside view showing the 100mm (4-inch) flexible ducting connected to a flange on the inside of the cabinet.





This is an image of the outside of the cabinet showing the 62mm hose for the fence and the 100mm port for the main extraction hose. The 62mm flange in the upper right corner is a dummy port to store the fence hose when not being used or when I'm moving the router cart around.

[ChrisA Edwards]

I have a standalone router table/cabinet, that I made, and a router in the end of my sawstop.

Bothe hook up to my DC with a 4" and 2.5" dust hoses. The 4" sucks debris down into the cabinet and the 2.5" extracts above the table of on the left side when it's more of a Dado cut.

On my SawStop, the box below, houses a Jessum Master Lift II. I made the box out of a Melamine shelf (Home Depot), I had kicking around.

First my standalone cabinet.



This one shows the catch box on the left side of the table and connects to a 2.5" hose.


This is the cabinet without the top showing the router box. it has a removable door, held in place by magnets, and an adjustable air intake to help with the air flow to the 4" dust port




This is the dust box below my router Table in my Sawstop

[Frank Pratt]

I have a 4" flex connected to the cabinet below the motor and a 2.5" flex that drops from an OH duct to the fence. It works very well with no dust accumulation at all in the cabinet. I connected the fence to the OH duct just because it was more convenient. I'm sure what you are proposing would by good.

[Jim Dwight]

I have a 4 inch connection into the cabinet and a 2.5 inch to the fence, both come off a 5 inch run of snap lock then a pretty long 4 inch flex hose. The branching is like Mike K's above. My DC is a 2hp HF. I used my router table today to test the new PC 7518 motor's ability to power a 3 inch panel raising bit with a back cutter. I did the cut in one pass in pine. The DC ate up almost all the dust.

One thing I did differently on my current router table than I did no the previous ones is to include a 4 inch flex in the cabinet so that the suction is up around the bit, not at the bottom where the router is trying to pull cooling air. If you suck at the bottom, I think the DC fights the router fan. If you suck at the top, you aid the cooling fan. Plus the suction is closer to where the chips originate. My current router table has a home made lift which comes close to filling the motor compartment which also helps with this arrangement.

[Anthony Whitesell]

Something to keep in mind when splitting for a two-port machine: You can only collect as much air (dust) as the main line. So if you have a 4" main split to a 4" and a 2.5" port, one of them or both of them will lose. The loser will be based on the resistance (loss) of each line, more loss=loser. A 4" main has 12.56 sq in of opening, a 4" and 2.5" port is 17.46 sq in of opening. You can't fit 17.46 into 12.56, something has to give. Working backwards, 17.46 sq in is a 4.7" diameter or 5" port. If you install a 5" to 2.5" and 4" wye, then you can get 100% collection from both ports.

[Robert Engel]

Kevin,

The vac is the limiting factor, at least it was for me. It collects at the fence fine, but asking it to collect the router box was too much. The enclosure Mike mentioned is an option, but my concern would be heat build up.

My shop vac was 8 yrs old and due for an upgrade anyway so I opted for a 1hp wall mount type blower. In my case I modified it to exhaust outside which improves performance immensely.

All I can say is it works extremely well. I paid just over $200 for it plus some 4” flex and a cheap remote switch. I collect both miter saw and router using gates.

[Mike Kreinhop]

The enclosure Mike mentioned is an option, but my concern would be heat build up.

The choice of 230V 50Hz routers for the Incra Mast-R-Lift II are limited in Europe, but I found a 2.4HP variable speed router from a UK vendor, the AUKTools V3, that fits perfectly in the lift. I bought the version that has the remote power and speed control so I did not have to open the cabinet every time I wanted to turn it on or off, or change the speed. Unfortunately, the 5-conductor power/control cable is hardwired to the control box and router, so added a two quick-disconnect points in the cable so I could remove the router and lift, or remove the router table, without having to disassemble the router cabinet.

I wasn't concerned about the heat buildup in the CleanSweep enclosure, but was curious about the quick-disconnect connectors since I had never used that model of Molex connectors. I borrowed a FLIR T640 from where I used to work (they still trust me) and ran lots of scrap through the router with a roundover bit installed and set for the maximum cut. After about 30 minutes of constant running, I shut it down and opened the cabinet to see if the connectors were hot. They were as cool as the cable, and the router didn't show any hot spots other than the roundover bit. The dust collection was great as well, with only a little accumulation in two opposite corners of the CleanSweep enclosure.

[Jim Dwight]

I don't reach inside to turn the motor on and off. The switch on the router is always "on" but the power cord is plugged into an electrical box (metal) on the side of the router table which has a 20 amp light switch on one side and a couple outlets on the other side. The router motor plugs into an outlet and the light switch turns the router on and off. An extension cord with the female end cut off supplies power to the box.

I do have to reach inside to change the speed, however (I could use an aftermarket controller but I don't plan to with my new PC7518).

I understand the argument about branching. On my table saw I branch off the 5 inch hard line for the 3 inch flex line to my over head collection and then to the 4 inch opening into the cabinet. The total of the 3 and 4 inch openings have nearly the same cross sectional area as the 5 inch line. My table saw (PCS) also seems to need all this air movement. But my router table does not. I neck a 5 inch metal pipe to 4 inch, attach a long piece of 4 inch flex and then branch the flex at the router table to also pull at the fence. That is not ideal for airflow but it works fine. Very little dust inside the cabinet. Dust on top depends on what I am doing but if the port in the fence sees the dust it gets collected too (something like a dado is tough for dust collection).

[Robert Engel]

The choice of 230V 50Hz routers for the Incra Mast-R-Lift II are limited in Europe, but I found a 2.4HP variable speed router from a UK vendor, the AUKTools V3, that fits perfectly in the lift. I bought the version that has the remote power and speed control so I did not have to open the cabinet every time I wanted to turn it on or off, or change the speed. Unfortunately, the 5-conductor power/control cable is hardwired to the control box and router, so added a two quick-disconnect points in the cable so I could remove the router and lift, or remove the router table, without having to disassemble the router cabinet.

I wasn't concerned about the heat buildup in the CleanSweep enclosure, but was curious about the quick-disconnect connectors since I had never used that model of Molex connectors. I borrowed a FLIR T640 from where I used to work (they still trust me) and ran lots of scrap through the router with a roundover bit installed and set for the maximum cut. After about 30 minutes of constant running, I shut it down and opened the cabinet to see if the connectors were hot. They were as cool as the cable, and the router didn't show any hot spots other than the roundover bit. The dust collection was great as well, with only a little accumulation in two opposite corners of the CleanSweep enclosure.

Good to know. I’m going to look into it. I’ve also got the MastR Lift with Jessem 3HP router and remotes it’s a dream to run.

Guess it makes sense the Jessem lift is the same as Incra.