Bill Hylton vs. Norm router table dust collection
I have decided to finally give my router table a proper base and add some dust collection to it. (Right now the router table base is a bunch of two by fours screwed together). I'm wondering about the dust collection and which configuration would work best. Has anyone built a router table like in Bill Hylton's book? Does it work? From those of you who have built a Norm like table, how well does his dust collection system work? Any other ideas to minimize dust from the router table in my basement shop? I do have a good whole shop dust collection system and a dust depupty/shop vac which I could also hook up to it. Any ideas are greatly appreciated!
I've built a version of Norm's also
and I will say you need a pretty good collector to clear out the bottom box completely but overall it works very well. I've got a 3 HP Grizz cyclone run to this with 4 inches to the bottom and 2 1/4 to the top off a 6 inch near the back feeding both. Almost no dust coming out of it or collecting in the bottom. Also, don't forget to make sufficient holes in the door for air flow to the back. I didn't have enough until I drilled those big holes at the top.
http://pic20.picturetrail.com/VOL77/.../364613327.jpg
Why does Norms have a baffle on an angle below the router table???
Bill - if it works, it's good! I also saw a design by Gordon Sampson (see http://www.woodcentral.com/bparticles/rtabcab.shtml) where the larger dust port is directly below the router. Although this eats up some of the space in the drawer below, it seems like a better design that Norms.