# Router table dust collection



## Mike Gager (Jan 14, 2009)

ive made a pretty nice fence set up for my router table and for the most part it does a really good job however ive discovered something it cant handle and i wonder how you guys deal with this

the problem im having is when making a dado in a piece where the opening in the fence is blocked by the piece that you are routering. the saw dust just seems to shoot out the dado as its being cut and flies across the shop. not much chance of really catching it. is this something i just have to live with?


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## jschaben (Jun 21, 2009)

Mike Gager said:


> ive made a pretty nice fence set up for my router table and for the most part it does a really good job however ive discovered something it cant handle and i wonder how you guys deal with this
> 
> the problem im having is when making a dado in a piece where the opening in the fence is blocked by the piece that you are routering. the saw dust just seems to shoot out the dado as its being cut and flies across the shop. not much chance of really catching it. is this something i just have to live with?


Hi Mike - yeah, does that on me too.:fie: So far I've been living with it but am interested in a solution. So far the only effective one I've seen is a 1-1/2" hole in the plate about 2-3" on the outfeed side in line with the bit. I'm loathe to put a hole that size in the plate just yet. I've been toying with the idea of trying to attach a floor attachment for a vacuum cleaner on the outfeed edge just below the table top. Sort of a removable deal that could be attached only for doing dado's. Haven't persued that much beyond the concept stage though. I will be following this thread though to see what gets presented.


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## Cassandra (Mar 15, 2006)

Hi Mike:

A suggestion, if I may, is to use a slightly over-sized insert ring in the router plate and add dust collection under the table, around the bit. 

Cassandra


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## Mike Gager (Jan 14, 2009)

i actually tried something like you mention, i attached a duct to the side of my table to catch the saw dust and while it sort of worked it put a major limit on the length of the piece you could router



im guessing something like this but farther away from the table might work?


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## Mike Gager (Jan 14, 2009)

hey cassandra, i get very little dust inside the cabinet so i never thought to put a collection source there. would this actually solve this problem? i kind of assumed having 2 collection points fighting each other would be a bad idea


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## bobj3 (Jan 17, 2006)

Hi Mike

You can call OakPark and order the Vac.system for the OP router table plate, it takes a hole in the plate right behind the router bit hole (out feed end) , it will pickup 95% of the chips on a dado slot jobs..

=======


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## BigJimAK (Mar 13, 2009)

Hey John...

Some time ago I was looking at the Oak Park web site and it appears they had a slot (versus a hole) for picking up dust from dadoes. It appeared to me to be about 1 to 1-1/2" long by about 1/2" wide. I've thought about that myself and have considered it, but haven't acted.

Most recently here a couple of weeks ago, while cutting about 40 linear feet of 1/2" flutes in some mahogany, I was thinking about how nice it would be. Even with an oversized insert there was a lot of chips thrown out front.

Maybe someone here with an oak park table can tell us what size there is and if they think it's too large or too small.

I figured a slot may be less likely to catch the leading edge of the wood???

Jim



jschaben said:


> Hi Mike - yeah, does that on me too.:fie: So far I've been living with it but am interested in a solution. So far the only effective one I've seen is a 1-1/2" hole in the plate about 2-3" on the outfeed side in line with the bit. I'm loathe to put a hole that size in the plate just yet. I've been toying with the idea of trying to attach a floor attachment for a vacuum cleaner on the outfeed edge just below the table top. Sort of a removable deal that could be attached only for doing dado's. Haven't persued that much beyond the concept stage though. I will be following this thread though to see what gets presented.


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## bobj3 (Jan 17, 2006)

http://www.routerforums.com/jigs-fixtures/4602-oak-park-box-joint-jig-update.html

========



BigJimAK said:


> Hey John...
> 
> Some time ago I was looking at the Oak Park web site and it appears they had a slot (versus a hole) for picking up dust from dadoes. It appeared to me to be about 1 to 1-1/2" long by about 1/2" wide. I've thought about that myself and have considered it, but haven't acted.
> 
> ...


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## Mike Gager (Jan 14, 2009)

bobj3 said:


> Hi Mike
> 
> You can call OakPark and order the Vac.system for the OP router table plate, it takes a hole in the plate right behind the router bit hole (out feed end) , it will pickup 95% of the chips on a dado slot jobs..
> 
> =======


hey bob i didnt find the vac system on their website. is it available separately?


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## jschaben (Jun 21, 2009)

Mike Gager said:


> hey bob i didnt find the vac system on their website. is it available separately?


Hi Mike, I think you have to buy the plate:
Oak Park Enterprises Ltd.: Catalogue

Thing is, it says it needs to be used with additional parts that don't seem to be anywhere. 

:dirol:


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## bobj3 (Jan 17, 2006)

Hi Mike

They are not listed, that's why you need to call them on the phone, many of the replacement parts are not listed..but they have them on hand ,I have some of the parts to the Vac. system on one of my router tables, I have some of the parts as well but I have not used them..they are just some ploy.parts in the shape of a "L" and a hose pickup port that is screwed the bottom side of the L bracket and mounting plate..

Oak Park Enterprises Ltd
Box 280
Elie, Manitoba, Canada
R0H 0H0
1-800-665-0252 (tollfree)
1-204-353-2119 (fax)
www.oak-park.com
[email protected] 


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Mike Gager said:


> hey bob i didnt find the vac system on their website. is it available separately?


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## AxlMyk (Jun 13, 2006)

I don't have a pic of it, but I have mounted a dust pickup at the edge of the table that catches what is shot out of a dado slot. Bj gave me the idea.
I connect a 4" DC hose to the cabinet and plug a 2 1/4" hose into a hole in the back of the cabinet. That connects to the fence or the side pickup.

You could always do what Bob and Rick did. Just shoot it out toward the camera crew.


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## jschaben (Jun 21, 2009)

Mike Gager said:


> i actually tried something like you mention, i attached a duct to the side of my table to catch the saw dust and while it sort of worked it put a major limit on the length of the piece you could router
> 
> 
> 
> im guessing something like this but farther away from the table might work?


Hi Mike - Musta been half asleep last nite. Try reorienting your rig to below the table with the opening pointing straight up. I'm thinking the dust stream, or most of it, should be diverted down into the pickup by the air curtain set up there. Keep it below the top surface so as not to interfere with off feed.


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## Mike Gager (Jan 14, 2009)

jschaben said:


> Hi Mike - Musta been half asleep last nite. Try reorienting your rig to below the table with the opening pointing straight up. I'm thinking the dust stream, or most of it, should be diverted down into the pickup by the air curtain set up there. Keep it below the top surface so as not to interfere with off feed.


i see what you are saying. i think i might give that a try. thanks!


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## Mike Gager (Jan 14, 2009)

thinking about this a bit more taking jschaben's suggestion i just thought about this, doing what he suggested, cutting the top of the duct off so its open straight up, but then adding something flexible on the back side such as a piece of a rubber mat or maybe even a brush. that way chips that fly out hit the mat/brush and fall into the duct and then when the piece you are working on gets far enough out the mat/brush simply bends out of the way


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