david_beede
03-02-2012, 08:33 AM
Made some new Dust Boots for my PRS standard and finally worked out how to switch from the Primary Router to the Aux. Router. I was inspired by Gary Campell, but went the Rube Goldberg meets Archimedes approach with a lever a ramp and a spring.
The boots aren't much to look at but seem to work well so far. Gary C. said "remember the crevice tool" - so I made a narrow "flu" from Baltic birch that accelerates the VAC flow right around the bit. Time will tell if big chunks prove a problem. I made an 1/8" groove 1/4" deep for the brush, which is from Harbor Freight [$1.99] and a longer one from a dollar store broom. [$1.85] Just put some white glue in the slot and cut the bristles and stuck them in.
The 1/4" plexiglass bass is attached using the brackets from the old ShopBot boot. Magnets are from Harbor Frieght. [$1.99] I also used 1/8" alignment pins for positioning and to resist shear force.
Used a thin wall 4" pvc end cap for hose attachment, hot melt glued it in the hole, then used a flush trim router to take out the end.
The A to Z switch might look a little goofy, but it seems to work so far. Two blast gates with their gates connected. A spring holds them in one position, when I "park" the AUX router [near the top of it's travel] a ramp on the AUX carriage pushes a lever that closes the Primary Z gate and opens the AUX gate.
Both Gary C. and Ed Lang were helpful with some files they created to raise their Z's to certain heights. This is an important piece of the puzzle as every time I change a bit or re zero my AUX router the distance to the optimum "park height" changes. I mostly tweaked Gary's as he had a nice section for writing the max height variable to a text file, otherwise I lose the variable value when I close the ShopBot software.
I have a prox switch on order which I'll use ultimately, but I tested the concept by clamping my Z zero plate above the AUX Z carriage so output 1 would close when it hit it.
Time will tell how it holds up. I do wish I had mounted it more rigidly as flex in the lever mount can prevent the ramp from moving the lever all the way over. I sprayed TFE on the Rockler blast gates, pins, and ramp face to make them slide more freely which helps.
Here's a photo with the parts labeled and a link to a short video on both the boots and the switch.
http://vimeo.com/37782382
http://www.davidbeede.com/AtoZswitch.jpg
And a couple of the dust boots...
http://www.davidbeede.com/BeedeDustBoots.JPG
http://www.davidbeede.com/BeedeDustBoots2.JPG
I kept the holes in the plex only slightly larger than the collets so the air from the router fan get's deflected. This keeps that blast of air from fighting with the VAC flow.
The boots aren't much to look at but seem to work well so far. Gary C. said "remember the crevice tool" - so I made a narrow "flu" from Baltic birch that accelerates the VAC flow right around the bit. Time will tell if big chunks prove a problem. I made an 1/8" groove 1/4" deep for the brush, which is from Harbor Freight [$1.99] and a longer one from a dollar store broom. [$1.85] Just put some white glue in the slot and cut the bristles and stuck them in.
The 1/4" plexiglass bass is attached using the brackets from the old ShopBot boot. Magnets are from Harbor Frieght. [$1.99] I also used 1/8" alignment pins for positioning and to resist shear force.
Used a thin wall 4" pvc end cap for hose attachment, hot melt glued it in the hole, then used a flush trim router to take out the end.
The A to Z switch might look a little goofy, but it seems to work so far. Two blast gates with their gates connected. A spring holds them in one position, when I "park" the AUX router [near the top of it's travel] a ramp on the AUX carriage pushes a lever that closes the Primary Z gate and opens the AUX gate.
Both Gary C. and Ed Lang were helpful with some files they created to raise their Z's to certain heights. This is an important piece of the puzzle as every time I change a bit or re zero my AUX router the distance to the optimum "park height" changes. I mostly tweaked Gary's as he had a nice section for writing the max height variable to a text file, otherwise I lose the variable value when I close the ShopBot software.
I have a prox switch on order which I'll use ultimately, but I tested the concept by clamping my Z zero plate above the AUX Z carriage so output 1 would close when it hit it.
Time will tell how it holds up. I do wish I had mounted it more rigidly as flex in the lever mount can prevent the ramp from moving the lever all the way over. I sprayed TFE on the Rockler blast gates, pins, and ramp face to make them slide more freely which helps.
Here's a photo with the parts labeled and a link to a short video on both the boots and the switch.
http://vimeo.com/37782382
http://www.davidbeede.com/AtoZswitch.jpg
And a couple of the dust boots...
http://www.davidbeede.com/BeedeDustBoots.JPG
http://www.davidbeede.com/BeedeDustBoots2.JPG
I kept the holes in the plex only slightly larger than the collets so the air from the router fan get's deflected. This keeps that blast of air from fighting with the VAC flow.