Made up this ring to go around the router to close up the massive space between it and the dust collection plate. Am using a small shop vac and was finding that the dust collection was not all that great. Closing up this space has resulted in a dramatic improvement. I’ll replace this prototype with a thinner material so that the machine does not loose as much vertical travel.
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I’ll run some more tests on our end, maybe we should consider making bases that match the diameter of the router mount ordered. I’ll give it some thought
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@chrismakesstuff might be easier on your end to just add little spacers, maybe 3d printed. I was planning on doing that but did not get to it yet - just a little 3d printed ring that would snap into the hole and take up the gap.
Not sure if hat is easier than having multiple size dust shoes or not, honestly 
You would know more about the logistics of that.
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Or a rubber gasket inside the diameter of the ring so there is no air leak there?
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I thought about that but the rubber would have to be stiff to not get pulled into the gap and jam it up. I figured a plastic ring could snap in the I side of the ho,e of the dust shoes, but leave a much small gap, maybe a hundredth of an inch around the router body. Then it would t be touching and would. It make the a motor work any harder but still block that gap, and allow more of the airflow to get pulled from the bottom
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I was going to go the insert route but thought I’d try the rubber gasket first. So I cut a ring out of an old tractor tire tube, cut the center out of it and then eased the remaining bit to allow up and down movement. Then I used contact cement to fix it in place and viola! It works, at least for now if it jams or seizes I’ll try the insert. I like easy, it works for me.
I’ve been running with this setup and its made a huge difference, the Vac is collecting well over 95% of the dust and chips. It has also reduced the noise level somewhat.
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Hey @br5d. I installed some t tracks and spoil board today, followed by a complete surfacing. The amount of dust that blew everywhere was insane. ( I have a Sienci dust shoe)
The t tracks Serena perfect channel to blast dust across the room. Have you found that sealing the dust shoe resulted in less overall dust, or are you still getting blasted by the tracks?
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I’ve found that by closing the gap between the shoe and the router has increased the suction which then picks up more of the sawdust. I suspect that if I were to use a stronger vacuum it would collect even more. I’m using an ash vacuum that I used to use on my Sanders (orbital belt and pad). Picked it up on sale a couple of years ago and its doing the business adequately.
It’s well able to suck up the sawdust even the stuff in the tracks.
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