rainjer Posted February 16, 2020 Report Share Posted February 16, 2020 I decided to get rid of my old router cabinet I had built a few years ago and buy the Kreg base. I am going to to enclose the router for dust collection and add some storage in the base. My question is how big would you make the box around the router for the best dust extraction efficiency? I am planning on having the top hinge open to make it easier to pull to motor in an out as needed. Also the router height is adjustable from the top of router plate (lift base). the front of the box will have a Plexiglas cover that is held on by magnets for access. I do not tend to run my router for long periods of time and I will have dust extraction so I am to worried about the heat on the motor. Here is a rough design I have started on. There will be it drawers on the left. A drawer under the motor storage. The right side will hold the router plate rings, feather boards and stuff like that. I will be adding a full width drawer below the bottom bar for jigs and sleds. I may add some hooks on the face below the switch to have the wrenches for easy access. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave's Not Here Posted February 16, 2020 Report Share Posted February 16, 2020 Judging by your diagram I'd say that it would be alright the way you have it now. If anything maybe make the drawer under the router a little bit smaller and the router compartment a little deeper. My router table also utilizes the Kreg base. For mine, I used the Kreg designed cabinet that included pull out shelves on the right and left sides used for bit storage. The compartment on mine does not include the drawer design and is much larger that yours however the dust collected in it has always been fairly minimal. My router table is hooked up to my dust collector so that is probably why I don't have a sawdust build-up issue. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark J Posted February 17, 2020 Report Share Posted February 17, 2020 19 hours ago, rainjer said: My question is how big would you make the box around the router for the best dust extraction efficiency? I would insure that the compartment was tall enough to accommodate the full range of travel of the lift and router and roomy enough to make installing and removing the router easy. I don't think that the size of the compartment has as much effect on dust removal and motor cooling as does the aerodynamics of the air flow. You want the air to sweep up the dust and flow past the motor housing to the DC hose. To that end I believe the gap around the throat plate and bit should be larger rather than smaller. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
collinb Posted March 4, 2020 Report Share Posted March 4, 2020 When I built mine I did some thinking about how things are stored. Some things store well vertically; others, horizontally. I couldn't find anything with the router that was vertical. So I went with drawers instead of doors and store things flat. That actually allowed for more storage and my bottom drawers now house my hand planes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drzaius Posted March 4, 2020 Report Share Posted March 4, 2020 My router table cabinet is laid out as follows: - center section houses the motor & has a hinged door with an open slot at the bottom for air intake. There is a dust collection outlet at the bottom of the rear of the space. Dust accumulation in here is exactly zero. The door has a magnetic switch mounted in it for the router. - left of the center are 2 narrow drawers that hold small router accessories; wrenches, insert discs, guide bushings etc. - right of center are 2 drawers for router bit storage that will hold more bits than I'll ever have. I just drilled holes in a piece of 3/4 plywood that is removable should I need to change the layout. Some use plastic inserts, but I see no reason for those. Just extra money to spend for no benefit. - below center are 2 large drawers for storage of routers and large accessories. After living with it for a few months, there's not really anything I'd do differently. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post rainjer Posted March 4, 2020 Author Popular Post Report Share Posted March 4, 2020 Here is the finished product. Just need to cut the drawer face for the bottom drawer. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillyJack Posted March 4, 2020 Report Share Posted March 4, 2020 Turned out nice...enjoy.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gee-dub Posted March 4, 2020 Report Share Posted March 4, 2020 Very cool idea with the "cabinet" on the right side for bulky items. I went with a deep drawer and the dimensions always seem just not-quite-right for what I want to put into it. If I rebuild I may borrow this idea. Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rainjer Posted March 4, 2020 Author Report Share Posted March 4, 2020 "Very cool idea with the "cabinet" on the right side for bulky items." It actually worked out that way by accident. I had planned on putting shelves in there but the coping sled fit in there perfectly so I changed my plans. Putting the box joint fixture base on the door was a last minute addition. It just happen to fit.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Minnesota Steve Posted March 4, 2020 Report Share Posted March 4, 2020 I like that. I want to tweak my router table. I just have a enclosure on the top part and a drawer in the bottom... and I use the area with the router in it to store jigs and feather boards because there's so much extra room, but then they get all covered in dust. Want to make the portion with the router smaller and fix the dust collection and then do some stuff on the side. Maybe I can just add some compartments on the side to hang the jigs like you did. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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