Where to put DC port on router table?

[Wade Lippman]

I am building a new router table. I plan on buying a DC, but for now am using a shop vac.

With my craftman table, at least half of the debris winds up below the table with the shop vac connected to the fence, and of course there is nothing to catch the chips when I am not using the fence.

Accordingly, I am thinking of closing in the bottom of the table, and putting the port below the table, rather than above. Since the largest hole in the table will be where the router bit is, it should catch all of the debris.

Does this make sense to do? Will the DC be okay with the restricted opening for air flow?

[BRuce]

it will only catch half, the half that ends up down there now. the chips on the top will, for the most part, stay above the top.

BRuce

Wade Lippman wrote:

[Unisaw A100]

I'm going to throw up some pictures onto abpf of the sub-assembly I have for An Ultimate Router Table (The Tom Watson Model) that shows how I divided the space front to back. I've got mine fitted out with a ramp (officially, The Saw Dust Ramp of Doom) that can be sealed off and ported for a collector or left open. Anyway, if my arm chair injineering is any good it should stay fairly clean around the router just using gravity and the natural flow of air.

catch all of the

In my head it doesn't want to. I figured I'll start with the shop vac and work up from there. Either way I'm designing it to be flexible.

UA100

[Edwin Pawlowski]

I use a Shop Vac on the fence and it works well for the top. In my case, the base is enclosed and I plan to put a port in the back of the cabinet at some point, but I'm in no hurry. Why? It is not such a big deal to open the doors and use a small shovel to remove the accumulated chips. As long as they are contained, the trade off is cleaning the cabinet or emptying the DC. Ed

[Phisherman]

I have dust collection in the fence AND on the bottom. I think both are needed for optimal collection. Chip buildup can interfere with a good clean cut.

[Greg O]

On my home built router table I bored a hole on the side just big enough to shove my shop vac hose into it. The lower part of the table is a sealed box, with an access door on the side that seals well. I would bet that 90% or more of the dust ends back into the lower cabinet, and 60-70% of that makes it into the shop vac. I doubt a DC would do better because of the higher suction of the shop vac really pulls the dust down thriough the hole. Greg

[Steve]

I agree with Phisherman, you need one on the fence and an enclosure for your router. Also, use a split fence where possible and keep the gap as tight asa possible for better dust extraction.

[OldSalt]