Never ending dust shoe development

It’s working out great. The suction is directed where it needs to be, at the bit area only. It’s like following it around with the vacuum hose. I did make a completely new boot tho, and have a full 1/2" channel for the suction air flow. I’m liking it!

I like your changes and want to make one for mine.

  1. Do you have a new project file in Easel for this new design?

  2. Could you have the skirt go across the bottom where you covered the bottom to make the area where the skirt covers smaller?

  3. Is that 3/4" or 1/2" MDF for the frame?

Thanks.

Haven’t made a project file but here are the Easel files for the pieces. I wanted to keep the total thickness down to a minimum for max DOC, so I used 1/2" MDF. I guess you could run the skirting material across the middle, I had thought about that also, but that would mean having to make a ledge for the material to attach too and increase the total thickness. The tube is 1" id sch 40 PCV with washers glued to keep it flat against the bracket. It slips in to a pvc coupler cut in half which is a tight fit but allows you to adjust angle. Everything was glued together with superglue.
This is by far the best one yet, and works killer! Not to say there may be continuing evolutions… :grin:

Mdf file
http://easel.inventables.com/projects/Q7MQZ_y3HgHJ7ZmqQbUDHw
Acrylic file

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Thanks. I hope to get my xcarve in the mail next week and this will be my first cut! For connecting the PVC to your gantry, do your bolts go all the way through your pipe? or do you squeeze your fingers down the tube to get a bolt in there?

If you use schedule 40, the thick pvc tube, just thread the holes and you’re good to go.

My latest dust shoe is similar to @JeffParish 's. It’s working really well. So nice to be able to walk away from a job for an hour without concern that the kerf will fill up with chips.

Things I like about this shoe

  • can change the bit without removing the shoe
  • shoe height above stock is easily adjustable, without tools
  • keeps the kerf very clean
  • bit is always visible
  • shoe is easy to remove, without tools
  • shoe is compact and low mass
  • inlet port has a cool looking vortex generator :slight_smile:

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Files? :wink:

I have Sketchup, STL, and nc files. Which ones would you like? But not sure these would be useful to anyone, since my spindle mount is not standard.

Nice job Matt.

Does this dust shoe mount to the spindle or to the makerslide?

It mounts to the z-axis maker slide. Just slides on. It’s a press fit.

Stl would be great.

That’s what I thought. I am contemplating using a similar method. I do not like the idea of the excess weight from the shoe and the hose being attached to the spindle itself. I feel as if This makes for more work on the z-axis to keep things stable.

Thanks for sharing.

Here is an export of the dust shoe to SLT. Looks like there were some problems with the export. I’ll try to find time to fix the file. But at least this file will give you a starting point for your CAD.

X-Carve dust shoe v5.stl (719.2 KB)

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Possible to get the .skp file too? TIA!

Okay, here’s the sketchup file. Again, my spindle is unusual, so modify the CAD as needed.

X-Carve Dust Shoe.skp (562.7 KB)

Thanks again Matt. In regards to the problems with you STL export, you might want to check this out (if you don’t know about it already). Helps catch issues with models when trying to get them to solids for a clean export.

https://extensions.sketchup.com/en/content/solid-inspector²

Hi Jeff,

With my shoe, I am having problems with not being able to suck MDF chips out of deeper cuts, but it otherwise works pretty OK. My shoe is similar to yours with the side mounted vacuum tube. How much did this mod improve the suction near the bit? I wanted to check if you are also using an air diverter or just the shoe?

Are you using a downcut bit? If so you will always have chips, especially in mdf. The bit packs them down in the cut.

Hi Steve,
Since I blocked off the bottom of my shoe except for around the bit, It has greatly increased the suction where it is needed. I must mention, that I also use a 6hp shop vac that is stronger than most, and this may contribute to the effectiveness. No air diverter used, just the shoe. Also use mostly upcut bits so deep cuts stay cleared. I love my dust collector. I can cut all day, and there’s only a few little chips on the table.

I am also using a 6HP shop vac (Rigid 1450), but from my X-Carve to dust deputy, I have a smaller, 1.25" hose. From the Dust Deputy to my shop vac, it is the 2.5" hose.