With the spoilboard surfaced, it was finally time to make those parts for the dust shoe that I designed a while back. My design integrates an exhaust deflector, but rather than deflect it out into the surrounding air, it deflects the router exhaust into the vacuum. The thought being that the vacuum might improve cooling through the router, and the additional velocity of air could improve the suction around the end mill. I also incorporated a magnetic removable brush so that I can easily switch between different lengths depending on the length of end mill installed. A little cam lever was added to the side of the mount to enable activation of the spindle lock button to change bits without removing the whole dust shoe. This was the design concept.
Since I have no idea how well this dust shoe will perform, I’m making a prototype first to test it out. In order to save on cost, I split the parts up into two 0.5” high sections and one 0.75” section. I first tried to cut parts out of MDF, but it was too weak and some of the smaller details broke off during milling. The 0.5” parts are cut from 0.5″ HDPE sheet and were epoxied together after being cut out. The brush holder and the 0.75” thick section that clamps onto the router are made from wood since that is what was available around the shop here in the proper thicknesses. Epoxy was used to hold the magnets in place and to attach the brush. Here is a quick video of the build and test fit.