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I’m wondering if anyone has seen a dust shoe that would be able to accept 4” hose right at the shoe base (i.e. a 4” opening)?
My entire shop system is 4” dust collection and stepping down as close to the shoe possible, you still lose suction. Plus, I do a lot of long rough runs on redwood and the little pieces jam the hose up quickly.
I don’t 3D print so that’s out of the question for me. I measured and the existing plate would support a 4” adapter with only slight extension forward of the current set-up.
Any thoughts or references would be extremely appreciated. (And Inventables, if you are reading this, I’m sure I’m not the only one.)
I made one from HDPE cutting board and a length of shoe bristles I got off Amazon.
If u Google basic CNC dust shoe there’s a couple different plans for this same style.
Well, after looking around at all the third-party options and how much they would cost, I thought, “If only there was a way I could carve my own out of acrylic.”
NOTES:
I opted to bolt the 4" Dust Gate to the Acrylic Dust Boot that I carved, using orange ThreadLocker.
One side of the gate is flush and that faced the acrylic. I used a 1/4" roundover bit with bearing in the router to round the top side of the acrylic so that the gate would fit flush. I then used a Sawz-All to cut off the part of the gate flange that extended through the bottom of the acrylic.
The opening that the router comes down through I opted to cut in half, so one half stays in the holder all the time, allowing me to pull the dust boot off without raising the bit. (Can pull it off mid-carve, if needed.) I used four magnets where the new faces meet, to help in holding the 4" hose portion in place.
I had a slight variance in my router so the section that carves out the pocket for the dust brush insert was a tad too narrow. The brush is plastic so I just took it to the sander and knocked it down so it could slide right in.
The only glue in the whole set-up is to hold the magnets. Easier to repair/replace any thing if needed. Completed in one afternoon and it worked like a champ. I did decide to remove that thin piece of plastic on the boot, right where the router drops down. The plastic would restrict airflow through and in tests it worked better removed, especially with the new suction from 4" hose back to the dust vac system.
PARTS:
12"x12"x3/8" Acrylic SimbaLux Clear Acyrlic Sheet (Amazon)
4" Dust Hose Gate (Amazon)
One strip of Dust Brush (Inventables)
Four small bolts and nuts
8 round 1/4" magnets (same as the ones in the native boot and holder)
More photos from the build. You can see the roundover to fit the 4" gate, and you might notice the four holes for those tiny screws that hold the thin plastic plate that I ended up removing. Also how the underside (seen before the brush is attached) with the 4" gate cut back flush.
Really easy project and I’m very happy with it. Now I want to add a track for the clamps on the back, since this boot does extend out further.
There were a LOT of option online to buy for a 4” hose system. They were all just too pricey for me, when making one cost me less than $40. Just make sure to read the descriptions to know all the parts that are needed to convert, as some aren’t a kit. Lots of options out there.
I actually just got off the phone with PWNCNC. They told me they do not have a solution for the 2023 XCarve Pro yet, and the photos I sent them, are the first they have seen of the machine. I’m feeling quite discouraged with my new machine already, and I haven’t even turned it on.
I’m EXTREMELY new to the ‘makers world’ so the idea of making my own boot is already daunting. It’s frustrating Inventables went with a design that doesn’t go along with a single other CNC machine out there. Woodcraft look at me like I was insane, and all the other accessory stores have no options.
I was EXTREMELY excited to find this company and the boots they had. Unfortunetly, when I called and spoke with them, they said they didn’t have a solution that would work for the 2023 XCarve Pro.
Sorry, I have no idea if it would work as I don’t know how the shoe is set up on the pro machine. But I just used the machine to carve a new one. That’s what the machine can do really well.
I took the existing shoe, took measurements and made up a new one that would accommodate a 4” hose. I imagine you would do the same with the Pro shoe.
For the magnets, I drilled holes in the acrylic and epoxied the magnets in place. Just be sure about the magnetic polarity so they hold and don’t repel.
