I did only a couple of cuts and it became apparent that the dust was going to be a problem for my basement workshop.
So I bought a wall hanging dust vacuum. I quickly found out, however that just getting the tube of the vacuum close with zip ties didn’t capture all the dust and also conflicted with the arms. So I decided to make a fiberglass flange around the router.
I cnc’ed a form I created in sketchup which I turned into two molds for fiberglass layup. I used vinyl wrap for cars, thick beeswax and PVA spray to make the surface of the buck mold not stick. After it cured, I disassembled the sled, placed the fiberglass pieces together around my arm mount bolts and the z-axis hardware and fiberglassed the two pieces together. Finally I used soft caulking to seal the edges to the sled. I designed the flange to suck air from all around the router. The air inlet is also the hole the router passes through. The flange then makes the air go around the z axis and re-converge into a 4” tube attachment point.
I have 0 dust. I can drink an open cup of coffee 3” from the router and not have a problem. So far I’m very happy with my Maslow. I was able to make a custom part in fiberglass that fits within a small fraction of an inch. Pretty cool!
At some point I’ll paint the fiberglass but for now I’m happy with the results and looking forward to a 0 dust machine.
Thanks for sharing! I just got a new dust collector to go with my maslow. I wedged it inside the back frame, but found the lack of properly shaped collection pieces made collecting all of the dust nearly impossible. As it was running I got out my heat gun and put on some “shaped” acrylic pieces to try and direct the air flow, but your idea here looks like what I should have done. A close-up of the router / vacuum opening would be most useful if you have the time so the uninspired like me could flatter you with duplicity.
Looks awesome! I just started cutting with a metal Maslow sled, without any dust collection attached, and realized finding a way to attach it is high up on my priority list.
Today i cut 1.5” thick starboard for a boat project and small amounts of the heavier plastic did escape the suction vortex but it was minimal. The kit sucked shavings out of the cuts too which was neat.
I looked at having the suction underneath the sled but I was wary of losing the HDPE borders that come with the metal Maslow which are fantastic. I plan to cut a variety of materials including composite foam coring so I need low friction and low surface area. Also my dedicated vacuum has a 4” hose so there’s a lot of airflow to run through a narrow channel.
Since installed, between cutting, and doing insets I’ve burned through a bunch of sheets of mdf, ply, particleboard, starboard, 3 bits, and have accomplished roughly half a mile of cutting. No dust on any surfaces in my shop. I’ll try to post more pictures
is there a way to tell this on ground control or is it just an estimate to convey a point? because this could actually be fairly useful for maintenance
the kit does come with a piece of aluminum channel with holes in it which raises up the router about 3/4" so the dust can be pulled through the channel as photo shows.
alternatively one can add 1/2" UHMW full round to the bottom of the sled and suck from underneath.
one does not need to make a fiberglass setup.
I can tell some additional reisistance when the dust collection is on but it still cuts fine.
Dust collection was a weakness at first with the metal maslow sled, now it is as good as good as the standard maslow that uses the router base and oem ducting.
If i had to do it over, my base plate wouldn’t be as big in diameter, and I wouldnt cut all the way through in the slot so the material being cut isnt as exposed to the suction. I would only cut all the way through where the tooling needs clearance.
I have another piece of malamine so I might make a rev 2
