# Bosch 1617...WOW...lots of sawdust...



## Nickp (Dec 4, 2012)

Yesterday I tried out my new 1617 in the table making a towel rack out of red oak. What I noticed is it sprays sawdust under the table (RA1181) like crazy. I had the vacuum in the fence, gap was just bigger than the bit. I moved the vacuum to the space where the dust extraction hood would go under the table and still lots of sawdust. Put the vacuum back up in the fence and widened the gap between the two fences and still lots of chips under the table...lots more than the Triton or the Ridgid.

I'm guessing it needs the hood and the hose connected under the table so I ordered the 1173 dust kit in anticipation that it will work better.

Dust collection is with shop vac and dust deputy...lots of suction with 2 1/4 hoses...note that any more CFM will keep the chips going round n round in the deputy instead of dropping...already tried that...

What are your thoughts or experiences with this...? Hooking to the fence has not failed me with the other routers... I do see a difference in the exhaust on the motor with the directional vanes. Is it throwing the chips outward more because of the vanes...? Do you think I will need to hook dust collection to fence and router...?

Thoughts and experiences, please...

Thanks in advance...Nick


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## Stick486 (Jan 4, 2013)

I had the vacuum in the fence, gap was just bigger than the bit. I moved the vacuum to the space where the dust extraction hood would go under the table and still lots of sawdust. Put the vacuum back up in the fence and widened the gap between the two fences and still lots of chips under the table...lots more than the Triton or the Ridgid.
*increase the CFM to the max...
close the fence...
add a 1½'' line to the fence..
install the 2¼" to the box...
''Y'' not ''T'' the two together..
install the router's chip shield and make sure the shield is away ...
fine tune from there with cross airflow gates...*

I'm guessing it needs the hood and the hose connected under the table so I ordered the 1173 dust kit in anticipation that it will work better.
*purchase the router guide (RA1054) for the '17...
the dust collection that comes w/ it is outstanding... *

Dust collection is with shop vac and dust deputy...lots of suction with 2 1/4 hoses...note that any more CFM will keep the chips going round n round in the deputy instead of dropping...already tried that...
*make up a vacuum breaker for the deputy...
that can be nothing more than a 1'' hole or larger if need be drilled in the lid and a swing door for break control....*

What are your thoughts or experiences with this...? Hooking to the fence has not failed me with the other routers... I do see a difference in the exhaust on the motor with the directional vanes. Is it throwing the chips outward more because of the vanes...?* Do you think I will need to hook dust collection to fence and router*...?
*yes...*

Thoughts and experiences, please...


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## Nickp (Dec 4, 2012)

Thanks, Stick...

Seems doable re-engineering...and thanks for hose size recommendation...I would have reversed it...

Have the 1054 but was using the table as pieces were small...

Great solution for the vacuum break...will experiment but sounds like 1" will do and in combination with increasing CFM at the table.

When the 1173 comes in will play with that also. Hoods come with small ports so a box is likely in my future. The 1181 is wide open so I may keep the top and put it on a new base. I smell a cabinet coming... . The things we do to make our toys happy...

One noticeable point on the 17...the speed control seems much more responsive than the Ridgid with the play pieces I put through it. It caught my ear immediately...

Thanks for the ideas...Nick


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## kywoodchopper (Jul 18, 2013)

Hi Nick, I use a product from Keen Products called Dust Router. It fits between the router bit and the router motor and captures at least 80 to 90% of the dust. I have these on all of my table mounted routers. Malcolm / Kentucky USA


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## Barry747 (Jun 16, 2011)

kywoodchopper said:


> Hi Nick, I use a product from Keen Products called Dust Router. It fits between the router bit and the router motor and captures at least 80 to 90% of the dust. I have these on all of my table mounted routers. Malcolm / Kentucky USA


Malcolm - I'm in the same situation that Nick is. I spend more time cleaning up the dust than making the cuts. I have the same router and router table that Nick has. I've tried to capture the dust with an over/under hose setup that I kludged together similar to the Dust Router, without the silicon cup, but it's failed to capture much of the dust. Since you said you have multiple of the Keen Dust Routers, and they work, I'm assuming (there goes that word again) that the dust cup doesn't interfere with the air flow from the vents at the top of the router that's against the Dust Cup. Does your motor heat up more with the dust cup in place? This looks like a very inexpensive way to solve most of the problem.


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## DesertRatTom (Jul 3, 2012)

Sounds to me like the Keen unit would interfere with above table bit changing on a Triton TRA001, limiting the upward movement. A reviewer mentioned that problem with a Kreg lift. Any ideas for solution?


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## GregLittleWoodworks (Dec 9, 2014)

I use a 1617 and have a dust box surrounding the router under the table and also have it Y connected to the fence, I use 4" hose for the router box and 2 1/2" hose for the router fence. Works great.


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## CAD-Man (Apr 28, 2013)

GregLittleWoodworks said:


> I use a 1617 and have a dust box surrounding the router under the table and also have it Y connected to the fence, I use 4" hose for the router box and 2 1/2" hose for the router fence. Works great.


I have the same set up as Greg and I never have a dust problem except for a little dust on the top which I can blow away each time I start a new cut.

Bruce


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## Stick486 (Jan 4, 2013)

CAD-Man said:


> I have the same set up as Greg and I never have a dust problem except for a little dust on the top which I can blow away each time I start a new cut.
> 
> Bruce


I did the same...

the dust box...


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## Nickp (Dec 4, 2012)

Certainly the box will take care of half my desire...keeping the dust out of the work area. But I would also like to keep the dust away from the router.

My goal is to capture the dust before it gets underneath.

The culprit seems to be the angled exhaust vanes creating a natural action to spit the chips through any nook and cranny. The other routers exhaust straight up (in the table) and out past the insert and fence. So, if there is sufficient suction at the fence, dust and chips will not drop. The dust port on the router then acts as a supply. 

Not sure if it's doable with the Bosch but will experiment when the dust hoods get here in a couple of days...

I may have to round up a bunch of ducks and have them contribute to some tape manufacturing... 

My guess is I'm going to try and make the two hose solution work first...then the box with relief holes...

Obviously I'm not the first to deal with this so please keep the experiences flowing...

Much thanks for your responses...Nick


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## Stick486 (Jan 4, 2013)

Certainly the box will take care of half my desire...
*more like 80%*

keeping the dust out of the work area. But I would also like to keep the dust away from the router.
*why sweat the small stuff???*

My goal is to capture the dust before it gets underneath.
*good luck w/ that...*

The culprit seems to be the angled exhaust vanes creating a natural action to spit the chips through any nook and cranny. The other routers exhaust straight up (in the table) and out past the insert and fence. So, if there is sufficient suction at the fence, dust and chips will not drop.
*no...
the work piece negates that...*

The dust port on the router then acts as a supply.

Not sure if it's doable with the Bosch but will experiment when the dust hoods get here in a couple of days...

I may have to round up a bunch of ducks and have them contribute to some tape manufacturing... 

*something to consider....
you see it here all the time...
blow out the motor w/ your air nozzle....
that is some really bad information... as in really really the pits bad...
anyone that has spoken with tech support/repair or has taken the time to RTFM they would know that you vacuum out tool motors and not use compressed air...
compressed air blows the super fines into places you don't want them.... 
the results is brushes act up, switches fail, armatures/fields impact etc...
you get the idea...

if you are getting way too much sawdust to the top side of your table the hole in the hole in your insert is too large for the bit you are using...
get another set of inserts and fine tune them to fit odd dia bits...

Note...
when you box in your router use a polygon and not a cube.. 
a piece of fitted sonotube works great inside of a cube...
do the best you can to make the inserts zero clearance...*


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## AlAmantea (Feb 27, 2015)

I did things a little differently...

I use a shop vac for my dust extraction on the router table, not my D.C., here's why:

I installed a hepa bag in my shop vac, and ran the intake hose to my fence.
i ran a second hose from the EXHAUST port of the shop vac to the router box.

This does two things:
force cools the router
pressurizes the box to push the dust out the top towards the fence collection.

Zero dust issues for my router, and i dont have to have zero clearance inserts for every bit.

Al


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## Nickp (Dec 4, 2012)

AlAmantea said:


> I did things a little differently...
> 
> I use a shop vac for my dust extraction on the router table, not my D.C., here's why:
> 
> ...


Interesting approach, Al...

Any problems when the piece covers the insert like dado or similar cuts...?


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## Nickp (Dec 4, 2012)

UPDATE...the dust extraction kit (RA1173) is in the house...

This weekend I will install the vacuum port on the fixed base and back in the table. Two hoses, one for router, one for fence...really hoping this will do it.

If not, no playing around...right to making a box. I intend to make a fresh air supply in the box direct to router...this should minimize dust getting in the innards...

I hate cleanup...now if I can just find an "Anti-gravity Sawdust Sweepificator" (A.S.S.) to clean up after me my world would be perfect... 

Thanks for all the tips...anybody try what I'm getting ready to do...? I'm guessing you guys that have boxes have already tried everything else...for me, it's the journey, not the destination...

Thanks...Nick


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## GregLittleWoodworks (Dec 9, 2014)

AlAmantea said:


> I did things a little differently...
> 
> I use a shop vac for my dust extraction on the router table, not my D.C., here's why:
> 
> ...


What happens when you don't use a fence but freehand rout instead? It seems like the recirculating air/dust would blow out the insert into your face or into the shop.


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## Nickp (Dec 4, 2012)

'nother UPDATE...

So, I put the dust hood on the fixed base, put it back in the table, routered 6 inches roundover in a 2-by and it looked like a snow-globe scene 

More observations...1617 puts out a lot of CFM's so it overpowers the dust collection. Chips come out of the edge guide holes, space between dust covers and base and everywhere there's any nook and cranny. The culprit is definitely the angled vanes and that it blows air in all sorts of directions. In contrast, the Triton blows air out the sides way under the bit so the same suction works real well just putting it in the fence. I'm kinda limited as I don't have enough room to hook up the 4" collection...small work room in the basement for now.

'nother observation...with the dust hood on it doesn't fit under the 1181 table very well...the dust hood port hits the bottom of the table...CHEEZZZ...

Still not daunted, looks it will absolutely need a box. I'm going to seal the box and feed the 17 fresh air via a hole and appropriate size hose (probably 4 inch) This will let me close the box up completely. At least, that's what's in the plan...

Stick's Pix (teehee) show his box with angled corners to improve chip and air movement so my box will incorporate that...

With fresh air feeding the space in the box I might not need additional relief holes...yet to be seen...

It's still a portable table so the box will be fit with some foam at the top to seal so I can still move the table...

Not a problem doing all of this but I really hoped the dust port would have been enough...I'm feeling like the 17 isn't so much a "take it outtta da box" thing...still happy with it's performance so the extra work seems worth it.

Guess I got my project for the weekend...tomorrow, anyway...today is honey-do stuff...and of course playin' on the forum...

Thanks for the advice and feedback...Nick


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## kywoodchopper (Jul 18, 2013)

Most of my router work is short term & I don't think it interfere with air flow. Malcolm / Kentucky USA


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## AlAmantea (Feb 27, 2015)

Nickp said:


> AlAmantea said:
> 
> 
> > I did things a little differently...
> ...





GregLittleWoodworks said:


> AlAmantea said:
> 
> 
> > I did things a little differently...
> ...


When freehand routing with no fence, it is a very simple matter to switch the hose from exhaust to suction at the shop vac, and extract through the table.


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