# Router Table Dust Collection Box Design



## davelame (May 15, 2014)

I am designing custom, shop made router table. Planning on dust collection box in cabinet to catch dust/chips not caught by above table dust collector. Would appreciate advice on size of dust collection box.

I will be using a standard 9 1/4 x 11 3/4 router insert plate. I will be using a 5" diameter router with above the table height adjustment. May later add router lift.

Back of the box will have 2 1/2 in dust collection port. Front of the box will have plastic door for router access.

I will use a single Festool or Fein vac for both above table dust collection and below table dust box.

I assume the smaller the box the better in order to increase air velocity. Am I correct?

What distance must I allow between the edges of the plate and the edges of the box?

What distance must I allow between the bottom of the router and the bottom of the box?

Anything else I should consider?

Thanks in advance for your suggestions and advice.


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## old55 (Aug 11, 2013)

Welcome to the forum Brooks.


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## difalkner (Jan 3, 2012)

Welcome to the forum, Brooks. 

I am considering building a router table/cabinet and one thing I have read often is to be careful about the router getting too hot. If the only opening is the throat around the bit then that's normally where the router is trying to exhaust air it pulls through the top of the router (now mounted upside down). If it can't push air from the inverted top of the router through toward the bit then it will get hot quicker than normal. Based on this I will plan to add fresh air intake for the router cooling and that will mean extra ducting but I don't have any designs yet, just a light list of what I want.

Hope this helps,
David


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## woodknots (Mar 7, 2012)

Seems to me someone on here had designed/built something similar to what you are considering - a box within the table that barely surrounded the router. I can't put my finger on the thread, so if anyone knows what I'm talking about or remembers the thread, please let us know.

BTW, Brook, a belated welcome to the forum - your first post since you joined a few years ago.


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## hawkeye10 (Jul 28, 2015)

D Brooks L said:


> I am designing custom, shop made router table. Planning on dust collection box in cabinet to catch dust/chips not caught by above table dust collector. Would appreciate advice on size of dust collection box.
> 
> I will be using a standard 9 1/4 x 11 3/4 router insert plate. I will be using a 5" diameter router with above the table height adjustment. May later add router lift.
> 
> ...


Hey Brooks and welcome. I think this is a popular wood working question. I know I ask the same question here some time back. Here is what I did to collect dust on my router table. Keep in mind that most dust comes from cuts that you need to collect with a vac port on your fence. Also there are many answers to your question. I will post some pictures of what I did.




























Be sure and keep your router clean. Some of the dust and chips that go down gets in your router motor and it's height adjustment.


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## MYB506 (Dec 5, 2012)

If you search on the Lumberjocks site and search for Norm Abram router table you will see how he did it. There are free plans there as well. I had to register as a new user here so can't post any url's yet but I think you will find it. The free plans there are from Randy Sharp.


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## woodworker47 (Dec 19, 2008)

Brooks,

I just posted this yesterday in another thread. I think this cabinet was a Norm Abrams design. I just completed the dust collection last year by adding the Plexiglas front door. You have to put the holes in the bottom to allow air flow. I also drilled a 4" hole to accommodate my shop dust collection system. You can see from the second picture that I am using 4" for the bottom and 2+ for the top. It really works well, but I just realized that if I am using my Ryobi router that has a long cord, it messes with the air flow in the box and a lot of sawdust remains. If I am using my PC690 with a short cord, there is very little sawdust in the box.

Frank


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## woodknots (Mar 7, 2012)

vchiarelli said:


> Seems to me someone on here had designed/built something similar to what you are considering - a box within the table that barely surrounded the router. I can't put my finger on the thread, so if anyone knows what I'm talking about or remembers the thread, please let us know.
> 
> BTW, Brook, a belated welcome to the forum - your first post since you joined a few years ago.


Did a search on the forum and found this thread that talks about router table dust collection. The original discussion took place on the Sawmill Creek forum some time ago. You may not be able to see pictures on the Creek's forum unless you have an account but I'll post the link to the Routerforums thread anyway:

http://www.routerforums.com/tools-w...ble-dust-collection-location.html#post1414314


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## Cherryville Chuck (Sep 28, 2010)

I used a router that was mounted inside a box at a mantle factory I worked at once. The box was roughly 3 feet square and I could feel the heat through the walls of the box. For that reason alone I've never wanted to mount mine in a box. If you do, and quite a few have, you MUST have incoming fresh air as mentioned by David. The router's built in cooling fan is trying to push air from the box up and out past the bit so there has to be air to replace it. The intake holes in the box have to be at least as large as the area of the pipe sucking it out.


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## DesertRatTom (Jul 3, 2012)

The folks have pretty much covered everything. I use a metal box from Rockler under my table. A 4 inch port on the box with a 2 1/2 inch hose split (as above) going to a port behind the fence. Most of the dust really comes from above the table. You also need to trim a 45 degree, 1/8th inch cut off the bottom of the changable fence so sawdust has a place to go, otherwise it will get under and raise your workpiece a bit, sometimes enough to make the piece unusable (splines for example). 

Depending on the router, the other issue is your router mounting plate. I started with a standard Rockler aluminum plate, but recently switched out to a Woodpecker plate with a twist lock mount for the inserts. The twist lock makes it far faster to switch bits.

I used a Bosch 1617 in the table for years, but a couple of years ago went to a Triton TRA001 that is permanently in the table. Here is a link to Mark Sommerfeld's 4 part videos on building the router table he sells and uses. His are really good instructional videos on using the router for a variety of uses. Part 1 of 4:


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## DesertRatTom (Jul 3, 2012)

One last thing, my table allows setting height, so I have adjusted it so it's the same height as my table saw, so I can use it to support larger material I'm putting through the saw. 

If you want the table portable, but also height adjustable, you might install both levelers on the corners so you can set the height precisely, and then some fold up casters you can kick in place when you need to move it.

I think it is important to have the table solid on the floor, however regular locking casters seem to handle this, but you have to get your foot under the table edge to lock them, which is not nearly as convenient as the retractable casters. Although this is a little beyond your question, it was something that made my table work better, hope it does the same for you.


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