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here’s my prototype. need to tweak a couple of things but it’s almost there… took all day since I haven’t touched my machine in almost a year. kept making basic mistakes.
I need to get a longer bolt, but this works well for single sided cut. to note, there will be second bolt in each of them in order to keep everything aligned. The second bolt will be threaded into the part whereas the other will go through for tightening. There were quite a few other changes I made, basically squeezing the design in since I wasn’t drilling through and spacing off. When I finalize the design I’ll post the cad files for whoever wants it.
Hey Phil, I printed out the brackets for your dust boot on a 3d printer and ordered the below extrusion from 80/20, but the slots on the brackets printed are wider than the extrusion slots. Can you or anyone guide me on my solution.
I used sand paper and that did the job. I’m just getting back to using my x-carve. I see you have some upgrades I will be attempting. Waiting for my x-controller and new maker slide to get here. Keep up the good work Phil.
I’ve been wrestling with the best way to approach the DIY dust boot for some time now. I came up with a number of ideas, and I was pleasantly surprised to see that other folks (@PhilJohnson, @AbearDesign, @Millerama) have all tried and tested many of the same things. Deciding to drill into my x-carriage was my most difficult decision, because I didn’t want to lose any z-space. I haven’t gotten to making the dust boot yet, but I set up my rails using 1/2" T track from McMaster Carr, the same stuff from an earlier post that will take 1 hex nut with a 7/16 inch width (this site is very addictive).
To do this, I first made a jig from hardwood and a metal spacer with a 4.3 mm hole. This ensured correct xy placement and straight holes.
I then used the M5 tap included with the Shapeoko 2 kit to thread the holes. I used 1/2" aluminum spacers and 25 mm M5 bolts/nuts/washers. (Perhaps a little overkill since I threaded the holes in the x-carriage, but I tend to over-engineer.) M5 bolts will not go into the T track slot, and I wanted the bolt heads to be recessed into the track. So, I used a larger bit to widen the track above the bolt holes and counter sink the holes.
Here’s the final result. Next? Make the dust boot. I’m sure it’ll be a lot like those shown here, but I have a 4" hose to attach and a laser to navigate around.
Progress! I designed some brackets that are pretty much the same as shown in this post. 3D printed was the way to go. I drilled a 3/8" hole in each bracket, put in a 3/8 O.D. 1/4 ID aluminum spacer, and then used the 1/4-#20 hex bolts for the t-slot. Knobs. 3D print had infill with 1/16" walls; would have preferred solid. Just have to carve my dust shoe, insert the two piece dust plate and put in brush. Magnets will hold front piece in place.
@PhilJohnson Now that you have had this boot for a good amount of time, do you have any thoughts or ideas on the size of the hole in the top of the boot being big enough for the router body its self to pass through VS just big enough for the bit / collet? In your experiences do you feel there is clear advantages one way or the other?
Ahh ok, that makes sense, I have my machine in an enclosure and due to space limitations I do not have a lot of clearance between the spindle and the door for the enclosure when the gantry is all the way forward so the conventional vac port directly out front of the spindle will not work in my case. I have been working up plans for my own shoe, and looking at all the other designs out there I see them being made both ways. I liked your setup and how it mounts so although my shoe its self will have to be quite different I am going to try to incorporate your mounting method. Thanks for the response and input.
Instead of changing design, if you’re not using full size of the work surface, you can change Y limit switch location farther for front clearance. Just say your XY zero goes about 4 inches further in. Also you may have to change your work area size on the firmware for soft limits. If make sense. Otherwise you will sacrifice same amount of work surface on your X size for hose clearance.
First acrylic carve not too bad. 50 ipm. I used makercam.com to generate tools paths. I don’t know what happened but my round holes (all but the first) came out as polyonal edges (flat edges) rather than rounded curves. My pocket holes for magnets were junk, so perhaps I need some calibration. Edges were not bad. Tough to clear those acrylic chips! I’ll glue everything up soon, figure out the best way to secure 4" hose to the plate, and I guess I’ll use the pin appoach to holding the dust shoe on as shown earlier in the post. Wanted to use those magnets!!!
Phil,
I’m happy to offer my machine for field trails.
Great work as usual but I still think your an AI. Thanks again for all the effort you provide us. Got to by the wife a dinner before I can buy you one, website looks great.
