Chris,
I’ve used the new magnetic dust shoe a couple times, and have a couple comments:
Fit and finish are what we’ve come to expect from Sienci. Everything fits like it should, the parts work together, the shoe looks like standard equipment, not an add-on, and there are even spare screws included.
The integral hose attachment is a big improvement. It can’t loosen up and flop over and it’s high enough to clear the top of the router. You still need an adapter to use smaller vac hoses.
Mounting was easy. It took longer to take the old one off than to put the new one on. The mounting bracket is very compact so X travel of 30" is better than the original shoe, and it fits around the linear rail perfectly so registration is a snap. It’s pretty easy to locate and drill the two mounting holes.
The window is a great idea, and makes it easy to see what’s going on. It does get covered in dust and needs to be flicked off once in a while, but no big deal. The flap itself is longer than the brush bristles and needs to be trimmed so it doesn’t fold under the bristles or catch when the mill goes off the edge of the work and then comes back. It also gets in the way doing deep Z travel, but is pretty flexible and seems to recover. And a spare was included.
The port in the back that lets you clear the mill when the shoe is attached is also a cool idea and makes mounting the mill in the router a lot easier. The old shoe always seemed to be either too high or too low, and needed to be adjusted. I do think it reduces the suction, at least with my vac, around the router and at the brush edges if the bristles are not touching the stock. You have to raise the router an inch or two for the shoe to clear a mounted cutter.
The clearance between the router and the plate is tighter, so there is much less debris that sneaks out through the gap. It doesn’t require the flexible seal that several people added.
The magnets are strong, maybe too strong. They hold the shoe very well and keep the weight of the vac hose from twisting or dropping the shoe. Mounting the shoe seems to work best by holding it on the stock with bristles touching and sliding it across the surface onto the mounting plate. It snaps in and you’re done. The magnets also make it a little difficult to adjust the shoe height once it’s attached, which you need to do often if you mill jobs with a lot of Z travel. If you don’t keep the bristles right on the work the clearance port in the back reduces the suction enough that some chips get ejected under the bristles, particularly with wide fast tools like a facing mill. If most of the milling jobs you do are basically flat this should be a non-issue. I have been pausing the run, adjusting the shoe, and resuming.
Summary - Very pleased with the design, quality, mounting, and performance of the new mag shoe.
