# Router cabinet dust collection size???



## scribble79 (May 10, 2014)

I am building a new Router table based on NYW plans and am trying to decide between doing a 4" dust port or a 2" dust port in the main cabinet. I am going to do a 2" port on the fence dust collector.
What say the community?


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## Herb Stoops (Aug 28, 2012)

scribble79 said:


> I am building a new Router table based on NYW plans and am trying to decide between doing a 4" dust port or a 2" dust port in the main cabinet. I am going to do a 2" port on the fence dust collector.
> What say the community?


4" and 2" are good.
Herb


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## twmv86 (Oct 14, 2018)

i'd think 4" if you got it. im closing in an old open wood frame table soon but only have a shopvac and am stuck with a smaller hose for both for now


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## Stick486 (Jan 4, 2013)

Herb Stoops said:


> 4" and 2" are good.
> Herb


yup...
and 4 and 2½ are better...
2 and 2 will be lacking by a wide margin...


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## Herb Stoops (Aug 28, 2012)

twmv86 said:


> i'd think 4" if you got it. im closing in an old open wood frame table soon but only have a shopvac and am stuck with a smaller hose for both for now


Have you got 2 shop vacs?
Herb


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## Stick486 (Jan 4, 2013)

Herb Stoops said:


> Have you got 2 shop vacs?
> Herb


he's really gonna need to vent the motor...


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## Herb Stoops (Aug 28, 2012)

Stick486 said:


> he's really gonna need to vent the motor...


I agree,fresh air through the motor is a good idea.
Herb


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## twmv86 (Oct 14, 2018)

Quote:
Originally Posted by twmv86 View Post 
i'd think 4" if you got it. im closing in an old open wood frame table soon but only have a shopvac and am stuck with a smaller hose for both for now
Have you got 2 shop vacs?

nah just got one a 9 gal rigid. maybe the best thing to do is hook up to the fence and let the floor have the rest until I can get a HF collector and a big filter before I close the stand in. 


Stick486
Quote:
he's really gonna need to vent the motor... 


I was gonna use a round vent from an old weber grill or make something like it but that snorkel stuff looks great


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## WurliTzerwilly (Jun 9, 2013)

I used a 2" line with a high speed vac and it was only part successful.

I now use a 4" line to the collection box (Incra) under the router and a 2" line to the fence.
With the Incra Clean Sweep/MagnaLock system, I get virtually no dust on the table or on the floor.


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## DesertRatTom (Jul 3, 2012)

I have the Rockler DC box, which collects from the back through a 4 inch port, with a variable air intake on one side. There's a Y splitter with 4 and 2.5 inc on it, with the small port going to the dust intake on the fence. I'm thinking Stick's idea of running a 4 inch fresh air port up to the bottom of the Triton is a great idea. I'd have to remove the box and put in some half inch ply to contain any dust that falls through. The 4 inch DC port can remain in place through the ply at the back of the stand.


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## Cherryville Chuck (Sep 28, 2010)

twmv86 said:


> Quote:
> Originally Posted by twmv86 View Post
> i'd think 4" if you got it. im closing in an old open wood frame table soon but only have a shopvac and am stuck with a smaller hose for both for now
> Have you got 2 shop vacs?
> ...


Tim as explained in another similar thread about a week ago, a vac works by floating the dust particles in an air stream. The dust you get under the table is mostly random particles. There is usually very little room between the bit and the table insert (by design as we change inserts to closely match bit diameter). Remember that all the dust (as in 100%) gets created above the table, it's just that a few collisions among the particles cause a few to head downward past the bit, through the narrow insert opening. So obviously the most effective location for a DC pickup is as close to the bit as you can get above the table. You can also put a pickup under the table to try and catch those random particles that head down too if you want. Also keep in mind that you need an opening leading to the DC hose that is at least equal to the cross sectional area of the hose or you won't have a sufficient air stream to float the particles in. So for a 2" hose you need 3.15 square inches of opening and for a 4" hose you'd need about 13 square inches of opening.


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## Lappa (Feb 5, 2015)

I have a 5” hose to the cabinet (from my 2hp DE) that draws fresh air from a slot at the front of the cabinet,across the underneath of the cabinet top and the router head, to the 5” outlet at the back. I also have a 2” on the fence to a separate ShopVac.
No dust at all in the cabinet.


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## Stick486 (Jan 4, 2013)

Lappa said:


> I have a 5” hose to the cabinet (from my 2hp DE) that draws fresh air from the front across the underneath of the cabinet top and the router head. I also gave a 2” on the fence to a separate ShopVac.
> No dust at all in the cabinet.


no cooling fresh to the motor either...


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## Cherryville Chuck (Sep 28, 2010)

Stick486 said:


> no cooling fresh to the motor either...


Correct. The Venturi Effect of the air crossing from one opening to the other causes the box to be at negative pressure. The principle is what makes a carburetor work or that tee that is used to empty water beds by pumping water through a garden hose. The water flowing past the tee opening causes a vacuum just inside the tee opening which pulls the water out of the water bed.


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## hawkeye10 (Jul 28, 2015)

I put the latch on the door on the inside and that opened the door about 1/2". I have a 4" hose connected to my big DC and a 2.5" hose connected to my fence connected to my shop vac. I pulled my router Monday to clean it out but there was nothing to clean. If all my tools were as easy to control the dust as my RT I would be in hog heaven. :wink:


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## Lappa (Feb 5, 2015)

Stick486 said:


> no cooling fresh to the motor either...


The slot at the top of the door directs an airflow across the router base, where it connects to the underneath of the table, to carry the dust out but there is still sufficient air to, and around the router body to cool it. It’s all about directing the air to where it is required.


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## DaninVan (Jan 1, 2012)

This concept of _almost closing off the cabinet_ is a mystery to me. Obviously there has to be replacement air into the cabinet (and a lot of it!) or the suction is drastically hampered. 
I think folks are concerned about dust escaping into the room unless the cabinet is essentially sealed up(?)...
This is basically the same issue that affected condos and homes in the '80s. Homes were so tightly sealed up that kitchen and bath fans were almost useless. Same thing applies in reverse in a heating system; if you close the door to an area and there's no cold air return, the forced air furnace will heat wherever there is lower pressure and the sealed area will get little or none. 
if you're worried about dust getting out, cut a big vent and install a furnace filter. Maybe low down on the back or side?


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## Stick486 (Jan 4, 2013)

Lappa said:


> The slot at the top of the door directs an airflow across the router base, where it connects to the underneath of the table, to carry the dust out but there is still sufficient air to, and around the router body to cool it. It’s all about directing the air to where it is required.


I'm talking about providing outside air to the motor for cooling interdependently of what the DC is doing......
see the PDF...

.


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## Cherryville Chuck (Sep 28, 2010)

Lappa said:


> The slot at the top of the door directs an airflow across the router base, where it connects to the underneath of the table, to carry the dust out but there is still sufficient air to, and around the router body to cool it. It’s all about directing the air to where it is required.


That still puts the enclosure at a lower air pressure than the air outside the box. You may be sucking across the base past the bit but where does the makeup air that is going through the router's fan come from? Air is being sucked out of the box with no intake near the fan inlet at the other end of the router. 

Also, the router's heat is exchanged to the air molecules passing through the motor. The lower pressure in the cabinet is caused by fewer air molecules on the inside than the outside. Fewer molecules mean reduced heat transfer.


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## twmv86 (Oct 14, 2018)

Stick486 said:


> I'm talking about providing outside air to the motor for cooling interdependently of what the DC is doing......
> see the PDF...
> 
> .


the main reason I want to close up the open stand is for bit storage and shelves for other routers ect. would this pass muster for a snorkel if I box it in? I want it to pivot out of the way when I open the door to get to speed controls on the 1617 now and the 7518 should i ever go mast r lift.
excuse the lousy image. I don't speak sketchup. that's just the router area with a baffle and that's supposed to be the door left of the box.


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## Cherryville Chuck (Sep 28, 2010)

I just made a tunnel down the top center of my stand Tim with banks of drawers on either side and all the way across the bottom. My plate is offset closer to one side so that I can work close or have a wide side for panel support. A tunnel open on either end allows me access from either side of the table.


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## twmv86 (Oct 14, 2018)

sorry if im being dense I get that way sometimes about things. I don't always visualize well. I saw this page 17 of your uploads. so the floor catches what the fence doesn't or is this an old table? I knew I had seen your fence but it was on your workbench so I dug a bit deeper


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## Stick486 (Jan 4, 2013)

twmv86 said:


> the main reason I want to close up the open stand is for bit storage and shelves for other routers ect. would this pass muster for a snorkel if I box it in? I want it to pivot out of the way when I open the door to get to speed controls on the 1617 now and the 7518 should i ever go mast r lift.
> excuse the lousy image. I don't speak sketchup. that's just the router area with a baffle and that's supposed to be the door left of the box.


see the drawings in the PDF...


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## Stick486 (Jan 4, 2013)

Cherryville Chuck said:


> That still puts the enclosure at a lower air pressure than the air outside the box. You may be sucking across the base past the bit but where does the makeup air that is going through the router's fan come from? Air is being sucked out of the box with no intake near the fan inlet at the other end of the router.
> 
> Also, the router's heat is exchanged to the air molecules passing through the motor. The lower pressure in the cabinet is caused by fewer air molecules on the inside than the outside. Fewer molecules mean reduced heat transfer.


nicely and descriptively said...
thanks...

considered it foot noted to the PDF...


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