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Author Topic: Extractor for router  (Read 1474 times)

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Extractor for router
« on: November 27, 2020, 06:35:58 AM »
Hi guys just wondering what extractor/vacuum you guys use or recommend i do alot of work with PU foam but will be doing more woodworking projects in the future cheers.
Re: Extractor for router
« Reply #1 on: December 04, 2020, 10:31:33 PM »
Well, I actually lost my shop to a fire a year ago. But what I had was a Harbor Freight 2HP dust collector with a 4" dia hose for the vacuum system. The most re-engineered component of my entire CNC machine, was the Dust Shoe. For it is the item that actually allows any vacuum system to do it's thing. Attention to keeping the brush strips of the Dust Shoe "just touching" the surface during use is key. Also, maintaining a good seal around it's perimeter is needed, to keep the dust removed. After MANY iterations of design, I finally came up with one which worked. It involved mounting the Dust Shoe to two vertical steel rods, which were held in place by two sets of pulley bearings (of the type used on sliding glass doors) on each rod. This allowed the Shoe to "float" over the tips of the brushes, while still allowing it to shift side-to-side slightly. Hold-down clamps on the table had to be modified for the lowest profile height as possible (to allow the Shoe to pass over them, instead of crashing into them). Experience, aka School of Hard Knocks, taught me that Dust Shoes can NOT be mounted directly to the Router mounts, because as the machine makes upward Z movements to lift the cutter from the material, it will also lift the Dust Shoe (thereby BREAKING the seal of the brush strips against the table surface, and the Router motor will BLOW DUST EVERYWHERE!). Also, if mounted directly to the Router mounts, it will be necessary to remove the Dust Shoe at every tool change.
In summary, it's not so much the brand or type of vacuum system you use, but rather the efficiency of the design that yields the best results. Hope this helps!