Query using a router and amount of dust involved..

[NEW65]

Hi Everyone,
I am using a jig saw and a router to shape and machine a decorative pattern around the edge of a pine board. Then using a orbital sander before applying a finish. I will need to do this on a fairly regular basis but the problem is the amount of dust that I am having to deal with!
Am I facing having to buy a proper dust extractor or is there anything that I can do /use to keep the dust under control?
The only other option is to pay a joinery manufacturer to prepare these boards for me but I know that may be expensive. I am only paying £4.50/metre for ordinary 6'' x 1'' PAR which is the size of board that I am machining.
If anyone could advise I would be grateful.
Thanks in advance for any comments received...

[BobL]

Norfolk, UK, US or Island?

A decent Shopvac should catch most of the visible sawdust

However it won't catch all the fine dust so some sort of additional force ventilation or extraction will be needed.

What size is your shop?

If it's small then some forced ventilation (3-4 bathroom fans) might be enough but if you live in the US or UK my guess is you wont want to be doing this in the winter. In that case you will need a dust extractor with a fine filter on it.

If your shop is large and you are going to be doing a lot of this work then setting up a semi enclosed area that is ventilated with a filtered dust extractor would be one way to go.

[NEW65]

Cheers Bob for your reply. Norfolk UK. No, not a large place i'm working in. I just checked out the Shopvac and it looks very good. I have added details of what I have seen. Hope that is okay and not breaking the rules? Is it straightforward to attach the extractor to the power tools? I have never used one of these. Sorry for all the questions. If I intend doing this job I want to ensure that I do things right and breathing in dust wouldn't be great. Thanks againhttps://media.screwfix.com/is/image/ae235/Great%20Value%20Product_3?$miniIconProdPage$https://media.screwfix.com/is/image//ae235?src=ae235/15408_P&$prodImageThumb$








https://media.screwfix.com/is/image/ae235/?fmt=gif&wid=107&hei=50&op_sharpen=1&layer=0&size=107,50&layer=1&size=107,50&src=ae235/Scheppach
SCHEPPACH HA1000 183M³/HR ELECTRIC DUST EXTRACTOR 240V

[ian]

Norfolk, UK, US or Island?
you left out Canada: Norfolk, Ontario

there's at least 2 Norfolks in the US -- Virginia and Nebraska
plus the one in the UK
and then the island itself


my guess is that the OP is referring to the Norfolk in the UK

[Aussiephil]

:) considering the OP priced his timber in "pounds" then i had by default assume the UK.

Hand held routers are just notorious dust creators and there really isn't a lot that helps.

I wonder if a router table with effective dust collection would be an option.

Cheers
Phil

[NEW65]

Hi Chaps, yes Norfolk UK. I did post a reply with an attachment of the dust extractor which I think Bob mentioned to get, I did this 7 hours ago but my post has not appeared yet. Like I said I hope I didn't break the rules on here, it wasn't intended if I did. Yes, its going to be difficult Phil to control the dust and that is my biggest issue. I am a clockmaker/repairer by trade and have a smallish unit from where I operate. I only did one of these boards and I have never seen as much saw dust lol Dust and delicate mechanical movements don't mix well although I did the machining at the top end of the workshop. I am unsure what to do now, may be best just to let someone else to do them. Thank you for your time and help so far, I do appreciate it. Simon :)

[ian]

Just to follow-up
Simon (New65) sent me the following PM

"Hi Ian,
Just to let you know that I have submitted at least three posts in response to the replies that I received on the thread regarding 'saw dust' but none of them have been submitted.
I cannot think why this is unless its normal when a new member starts exchanging posts?
Anyway thanks for your help.
BTW, Norfolk UK.
Cheers :)
Simon"

[BobL]

Just to follow-up
Simon (New65) sent me the following PM

"Hi Ian,
Just to let you know that I have submitted at least three posts in response to the replies that I received on the thread regarding 'saw dust' but none of them have been submitted.
I cannot think why this is unless its normal when a new member starts exchanging posts?
Anyway thanks for your help.
BTW, Norfolk UK.
Cheers :)
Simon"

I got the same message and forwarded it up the chain.

[NEW65]

Thanks.
I wasn't sure whether my replies were going to appear on here and I didn't want you folks wondered why I hadn't replied hence the pm's. However my replies have been accepted and published now!
I have asked around to have these boards machined by a joinery manufacturer but they all want way to much money which just kills the profits. I have therefore decided to do the job myself. I'll probably do the machining outdoors and by taking other safety precautions, I should be fine.
I once made a router table - it was easy to construct and I just bolted my router beneath the table and used a bearing guided router bit to do the job. I did find it much harder that way as I had to keep raising the height of router bit from underneath lol (although I did set a max position). Using the router (hand held) is much quicker!
Thanks Chaps :)

[clear out]

Using a router table you can possibly capture most of the dust with a shop vac.
A shaped box around the router underneath with a hose to the vac from the bottom and a top shroud over the bit from back of the fence again connected to the vac thru a “Y” connection.
There are router lifts available to make raising the bit easier but they’re expensive.
As a thought could you creep up on the cut using a fence, that would be adjustable from the top sideways not from underneath.
The shop vac will handle the dust from an orbital sander also especially if using mesh discs.
H

[Aussiephil]

I am a clockmaker/repairer by trade and have a smallish unit from where I operate. I only did one of these boards and I have never seen as much saw dust lol Dust and delicate mechanical movements don't mix well although I did the machining at the top end of the workshop. I am unsure what to do now, may be best just to let someone else to do them. Thank you for your time and help so far, I do appreciate it. Simon :)

Simon, my bolding not yours but these are the critical points. Unless your working in a sealed booth like they use for spray painting some dust will escape any dust collections options and most likely be that super fine stuff that likes to settle on everything and wouldn't play well with delicate movements in watches.

I do a lot of 3D printing in my double garage and have had to take proactive steps to clean the filament before it gets to the extruders since getting back into woodworking.

Doing the routing part outside if you have the option would be good. The vacuum you posted would be excellent to connect up to your sander though.

Cheers
Phil