I have a PC 7518 with a bull dog lift mounted in an extension table on my table saw. I’ve built a decent router fence with dust collection that mounts to my fence. Recently I’ve been rebuilding my kitchen/laundry room cabinets and since they are painted, I built the raised panels from MDF. Well…using the panel raising bit most of the dust, etc. goes down, not in the fence dust collection. After 26 panels I am tired of the mess. The MDF dust goes everywhere! I’ve thought of building a box to go around the router with 4″ dust collector connection, but it would have to be easily detachable to reach the lift and router. Any suggestions?
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John White had an article in FWW #153 that shows some strategies for under-the-table dust collection. If you have an online subscription, you can see the article here. Otherwise, you can order a back issue (it's worth it just for Christian Becksvoort's article on his tool cabinet).
-Steve
For a quick-fix, fasten your dust collector hose to the underside of the extension table with the end of the hose as close to the router base as possible. This should capture the majority of the dust.
The router table featured on New Yankee Workshop addresses the below-table dust collection issue. Plans and a video are available from Rockler. The collection box, which includes access to the router from the front via a door, could be attached to the underside of your extension table with threaded knobs. In addition to providing dust collection, the enclosure with a connection to your dust collector system will provide additional airflow past the router for increased cooling.
I have the 7518 mounted in a woodpecker PRL. I built the table from Norms plans. If you don't want to build a seperate table woodpecker offers a box that could be mounted underneath the table top you have. Take a look at this and there is a second option.
http://www.woodpeck.com/downdraft.html
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If it moves, tax it. If it keeps moving, regulate it.
And if it stops moving, subsidize it.
I have the Woodpecker's under-table box. One thing to remember is that you need to supply an "opening" for inlet air. I was used to using inserts that were a close fit to the router bit - but there was not enough airflow to extract all the dust. Now, if possible, I work without any insert and there is enough airflow to remove the dust.
P.S. I HATE MDF dust!
Frosty
"I sometimes think we consider the good fortune of the early bird and overlook the bad fortune of the early worm." FDR - 1922
If you close in the top i.e. opening close to the bit, you could have an issue, but thats easily solved. I have dust collection at the top via the fence and at the bottom of the box with air inlets on the bottom that allows cross ventilation to the rear and it gets 90% which is ok for me. I mean as long as it does not build up and the moter stay's free of dust which it does for the most part. The holes at the bottom can be added with a 1" hole saw. I still give it a shot (the motor) of compressed air occasionally through the top while the dust collector is running just for the heck of it.
Here is a link to mine.
http://forums.taunton.com/tp-knots/messages?msg=20473.1
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Government's view of the economy could be summed up in a few short phrases: If it moves, tax it. If it keeps moving, regulate it. And if it stops moving, subsidize it.
Beautiful work. Isn't it a pleasure to have good tools and a great set up?Frosty"I sometimes think we consider the good fortune of the early bird and overlook the bad fortune of the early worm." FDR - 1922
That's for sure! I have really loved the woodpecker lift & Incra fence set up. The big surface area is a huge help. Government's view of the economy could be summed up in a few short phrases: If it moves, tax it. If it keeps moving, regulate it. And if it stops moving, subsidize it.
Ah yes, MDF dust...On Monday, I tested two local shops for dust emissions, using an insanely expensive (need I say borrowed?) laser particle counter. It said that I was exposed to 0.492 milligrams per cubic meter of respirable dust in one shop, and 1.347 in the second.
This is supposed to be well under OSHA's Short Term Exposure Limit (10 milligrams per cubic meter for 15 minutes of exposure). Here I am, sneezing still.
(for something quick and easy) -- I made a simple plywood box to surround my router. It has legs, but could be adapted to just hang beneath a wing-mounted table. The door attaches with small rare-earth magnets and pops off quickly to acccess the router.
On the backside, there is a 2.5" port, eventually to be converted to a 4" hose. You need some air space in the front to provide flow to the DC. Below is a picture (sans door) and here is a link to more info and pictures. It works reasonably well with the 2.5" port; it would really suck with a 4".
View Image
forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)
Edited 10/8/2007 9:49 am by forestgirl
<<It works reasonably well with the 2.5" port>>Please define reasonably well. Dust removal was so poor with a 2.5" port on my enclosed cabinet that I ran some hose from the inside port hole right up to the router -- still tons of dust in the cabinet. I've pretty much resigned myself to cleaning the cabinet frequently which is not a huge deal, but with a 1 HP, 2-stage collector only a few feet away, I was hoping for better.Mike
"Dust removal was so poor with a 2.5" port on my enclosed cabinet..."
Are you providing a means for make-up air to get into the cabinet? A dust collector can't move dust if it can't move air.
-Steve
Edited 10/8/2007 12:58 pm ET by saschafer
<<Are you providing a means for make-up air to get into the cabinet?>>Steve,Yes, maybe too much -- seven 1" holes in the back and vents where the sides meet the table top.Mike
"Reasonably well" meaning that there's dust left in there, but it doesn't pile up real fast. At least three factors influence how well the DC will be with your set-up: (1) the air flow of your dust collector; (2) the location of the port in the box around the router and (3) the amount and source location of replacement air.
forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)
Edited 10/8/2007 5:13 pm by forestgirl
FG,The DC works well with my radial arm, not so well with the table saw (long run). Plenty (maybe too much) of replacement air flow. I may be obsessing a bit. I worked for a short time in a shop where dust collection was almost a non-issue -- I was coughing up finished bird houses every night after work. Mike
"I was coughing up finished bird houses every night after work." Very funny (not!). Bummer, as we used to say in the early '70's.
"Yes, maybe too much -- seven 1" holes in the back and vents where the sides meet the table top." Holes in the back? Where is the DC port located??? Think about the current of the airflow and how it would be most effective at carrying the dust to the port. I have much to improve about mine, but the replacement air comes in the front at the top, sweeps across the router to the port, which is about 2/3 of the way down in the back. The design wasn't really thought through all that much (I think to some extent it depended on the last piece of scrap plywood I had at midnight on Sunday, that kinda thing) but it gave me a starting point. Got lots of tips in a thread, somewhere, I'll see if I can dig it up.
One thing for sure, if it was a 4" hose rather than 2.5", there wouldn't be much sawdust lingering inside that box! forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)
<<Holes in the back? Where is the DC port located???>>FG,The holes in the back were included in the cabinet to provide a way for heat to escape. Looking back, it was probably overkill as the cabinet is quite large and I've never noticed any significant heat buildup. I extended the hose into the cabinet and positioned it near the front of the router (where most of the dust seems to enter the cabinet) so it is effectively drawing replacement air as you describe. The problem for me with dust collection is that if I think about it too much, I start to believe that I can get it all, which probably will never happen. And, as you point out, if I were using a 4" hose, we wouldn't be having this conversation. Mike
I think you could get the vast, vast majority of it. Am wondering if a round insert in the cabinet (to eliminate corners) wouldn't help. Ya gotta lose some of those holes, though, LOL!forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)
Thanks for all the great ideas. Since I really don't have room for a separate router table (maybe one day) I think I'll build a box with a 4" collector and door and maybe drill a 1" hole or two up toward the top on the opposite side of the collector port to give me some air flow.
I buy a few inexpensive shop vac attachments, cut them as necessary and screw or bolt them where I need them. I carved one to fit the base of my PC. I bent a piece of sheet aluminum to form a shield on one side and used some foam under the vac end to seal up the cracks. Just make sure it can't get loose. This puts pretty good suction right at the bit and keeps the motor out of a dusty cabinet. Mine is hooked to a dust collector. It works well for many types of cuts. There are always those cuts that fill the groove with dust, that my set up misses. I don't use a lift so I'm not sure if it will get in the way.
Beat it to fit / Paint it to match
I had the same problem. I cut a 4" hole in an empty JC bucket, shoved my dust collection hose in the hole, and used a bungy cord to hold the bucket in place. I know, sounds like sh*t but works like a champ. I don't think you need a picture.
Mr Gray,
You got some great responses.
Now you have mine. It is not meant to be facetious. It mirrors the direction my woodworking has taken over the past few years.
Why not do away with most dust, and thus with the need for a dust collection system. Use hand planes rather than a handplane and a router and a jointer and a planer. Use solid wood rather than plywood or MDF.
As I said, I am not trying to be difficult or obtuse.
I hope my suggestions don't cause you to split your sides laughing.
Mel
Measure your output in smiles per board foot.
"Use hand planes rather than a handplane and a router and a jointer and a planer. Use solid wood rather than plywood or MDF...." On 28 "to be painted" panels? Sorry, if it doesn't have a motor I don't use it! :) Just kidding. This was a "I've got to get finished with this job so I can move on to the bunkbeds for the grandkids" project. I'll use the hand tools on the beds. Thanks for the advice though.
Mr. Gray,
You thanked me for my "advice" on using handplanes to reduce dust.
I wasn't actually giving you advice. I just thought that you'd get a kick out of an off-the-wall response. I'd use a router too.
Enjoy.
MelMeasure your output in smiles per board foot.
Just an update on how I fixed my dust collection problem for the router. Attached are a few pictures showing the collection box I built from scaps. I left a small space around the top to improve the airflow. Thanks for all of the suggestions.
OK..let's try that again. Maybe they attached this time.
Well crap....maybe this time they'll be a size someone can see.
Man do I know how you feel trying to resize and attach...sometimes it works and sometimes...
Nice job. Similar to mine. Couldn't tell, is your hose attached to a blast gate on the side? I thought of putting one on the opposite side to control inflow air but figured I had enough with the various gaps for the cord etc.. I have a blast gate on the hose back at the DC since it's not dedicated to the router cabinet. So far so good.
Brian
Thanks. It has really helped with the MDF dust while doing raised panels. No blast gate. I have the 4" hose going into a Y with the 2 1/2" hose from the router fence then directly to the portable DC. After I build a new shop and have central DC, I'll probably redo the piping and add a gate.
Yep, we have practically the same setup. 4" to cabinet side and seperate 2.5" to second small DC from the fence. Works great. If you haven't already, play with the inflow by masking those gaps at the top of the cabinet. You can really tune it in. Always going to be a little that gets away but I don't even feel the need to vacuum it out till after a lot of wood goes through. This stuff is fun huh?
Brian
Woodpeckers has an under-table box with a door. It also has a dust port and an entry for the power cord.
Frosty
"I sometimes think we consider the good fortune of the early bird and overlook the bad fortune of the early worm." FDR - 1922
Hartville Tools has an undertable box w/ doors also. I have had one on both sides of my double router table table for about 1 1/2 years now. They are a huge improvement for dust collection.
Someone asked about my setup; hope I'm not repeating here. Insert & base pop out and most dust is sucked out.
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