Design fault with CMS-OF fence?

[Bohdan]

I have just received my CMS-OF router table, set it up with OF2200 and a slotting cutter, connected my CT with a 36mm hose to fence and 27mm to router and started routing.

To my disappointment saw dust everywhere.

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I then had a look to see where the dust was coming from and noticed a gap between the half round dust shroud and the fence.

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The cutter diameter is such that it aims the dust out of the shallow groove directly into the gap behind the fence.

It is not the sort of problem I would expect from a $1000 tool mount.
If the steel fence mounting plate was moved 3mm to the left the gap would be covered and the dust would not escape.

Other than inserting a piece of packing to block the gap is there any other solution that anybody has come across.

 

[mouppe]

The fence is movable and should be slid to with in 2-3mm of the cutter edge. That will solve your problem.

 

[Discap]

Also check your bag to make sure it is not full.  That is exactly what happens when it is.

Bill

 

[Bohdan]

The fence is movable and should be slid to with in 2-3mm of the cutter edge. That will solve your problem.

See second picture.

The gap is between the shroud and the plate that mounts the fence. The gap is there to allow the RHS of the fence to be moved back but it is too large.

The fence was up against the cutter but the gap is unaffected.
I moved the fence back to expose the gap.

Also check your bag to make sure it is not full.  That is exactly what happens when it is.

Bill

Bag is empty, plenty of suction on both hoses.

 

[DB10]

  No solutions I'm afraid but if you are not 100% happy with this, then take it back. That is a lot of money for something that is not living up to your expectations.
Don't forget we now have the 30 day refund policy brought in as part of the recent changes.

 

[Bohdan]

Problem solved! No more dust leak.

Looked in scraps bin, found a length of 3x10mm aluminium extrusion, cut to length, applied 3M transfer adhesive to piece and pressed it into place.

The piece can always be pulled off if required and if it falls off the small piece won't damage anything.

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[AlexThePalex]

and if it falls off the small piece won't damage anything.

Unless it falls into a spinning router bit. That'll be quite the "oopsie".

 

[Bohdan]

No that's what I meant no damage. I expect that being light and soft aluminium the router cutter will just devour it or shoot it up the exhaust pipe.

 

[AlexThePalex]

No that's what I meant no damage. I expect that being light and soft aluminium the router cutter will just devour it or shoot it up the exhaust pipe.

If you drop a solid piece of aluminium into a bit that spins at 20.000 RPM, there's no telling what it will do. It can end up anywhere, in the pipe as you say or lodged deep inside your eye. Maybe I just look at it too gloomy, but I always prefer to avoid this type of oopsies at forehand.

In case of your modification, I would see if there is a way to tap a screw hole in the base to securely fix the piece of aluminium with a screw instead of glue.

 

[NL-mikkla]

If you drop a solid piece of aluminium into a bit that spins at 20.000 RPM, there's no telling what it will do. It can end up anywhere, in the pipe as you say or lodged deep inside your eye. Maybe I just look at it too gloomy, but I always prefer to avoid this type of oopsies at forehand.

hear hear

 

[Stone Message]

I have checked my fence and yes there is a very small gap which does not worry me and does not seem to affect my dust collection. I am in the middle of filming the CMS-OF in use and it is fine. Perhaps there are other issues causing the problem.

I absolutely agree with Alex that adding a piece of metal to the fence using glue is a very dangerous thing to do. If you feel compelled to put something there then try a thin piece of rubber that will not interfere with the operation of the fence.

I had a cheap collet extension fail on me in another (non Festool) router table and I can assure you that you do not want shrapnel in the workshop. I was VERY lucky.

Peter

 

[Bohdan]

Peter the gap on my fence measures 3mm and I found that the cutter diameter affects the angle at which the chips are ejected from the cut and with the larger diameter of the slotting cutter the chips were fired directly into the gap. With a smaller cutter there is no issue.

I thought of using a piece of rubber but felt that the heavy blast of chips would tend to peel it off or erode it rapidly.
I used the aluminium/glue as a quick fix to see if it was a solution to my problem. It worked well and I am now looking at making a permanent fix by, as has been suggested, tapping holes in the plate and using screws.

If you think that my gap is unusually large could you measure or post an image of yours and I will consider returning mine to be replaced.

 

[Stone Message]

Peter the gap on my fence measures 3mm and I found that the cutter diameter affects the angle at which the chips are ejected from the cut and with the larger diameter of the slotting cutter the chips were fired directly into the gap. With a smaller cutter there is no issue.

I thought of using a piece of rubber but felt that the heavy blast of chips would tend to peel it off or erode it rapidly.
I used the aluminium/glue as a quick fix to see if it was a solution to my problem. It worked well and I am now looking at making a permanent fix by, as has been suggested, tapping holes in the plate and using screws.

If you think that my gap is unusually large could you measure or post an image of yours and I will consider returning mine to be replaced.

Mine is exactly the same as yours at 3 mm. I can see what you mean about the trajectory of debris when using a larger bit but again I have not had the same problem. There are other routes for the dust to go and still avoid the dust collection path - if you look at the fence it has a hollow structure.

If you are going to retain your aluminium gap filler I think that it is a very wise idea to drill and tap to keep it in place.

Peter

 

[Bohdan]

There are other routes for the dust to go and still avoid the dust collection path - if you look at the fence it has a hollow structure.

It was one of the areas that I also initially looked at and decided that, just by good luck rather than design, the trajectory of the dust never actually hits those hollows. The quantity of dust on the machine was small compared with what was on the floor next to the router.

 

[Wonderwino]

Perhaps just a piece of tape would do.  Cloth Duct tape or aluminum tape would stick very well and not cause any damage if consumed by a router bit.  Also very easily removed and replaced.

 

[jools]

My gap is the same and larger debris does fly out when using bigger bits. Is it supposed to be like that to allow movement of the split fence? A piece of tape sounds like the obvious solution. I have found when rebating that a clean rebate is best achieved by removing the insert and collecting from the bottom only but this is in MDF. Might not be the same if rebating plywood or solid timber where the debris tends to be larger and could block the outlet on the of1400. The dust collection is very good compared to previous tables I have owned and i think I will have to invest in a long life bag in the future as the midi fills very quickly. UDD not an option for me as used on site only

 

[peter halle]

Personally I would have looked at tape if that was a major issue of me.  But that being said - I am don't have an OF2200  nor one in my CMS, isn't there an additional dust shroud piece that one uses on the router to help with collection in this situation versus just the router supplied piece?  I could swear that recently I read someone (maybe [member=7493]Sparktrician[/member] ) mentioning that.

Peter

 

[Stone Message]

Hi Peter

You may be thinking of the OF2200 specific bit of clear plastic that fits below the collet and protects the top (bottom really) of the router from dust ingress.

Peter

 

[Sparktrician]

Personally I would have looked at tape if that was a major issue of me.  But that being said - I am don't have an OF2200  nor one in my CMS, isn't there an additional dust shroud piece that one uses on the router to help with collection in this situation versus just the router supplied piece?  I could swear that recently I read someone (maybe [member=7493]Sparktrician[/member] ) mentioning that.

Peter

It was not I, Peter.  The enhancement I did uses a piece of truck radiator hose to permit the use of a Woodpeckers router fence microadjuster on the back of the Festool router fence.  I did another mod to permit the use of 3-3/8" diameter bits by filing off part of a flange-like protrusion that hasn't seemed to reduce duct collection efficiency at all. 

 

[sancho57]

Compared to other router tables on the market, that is a very small amount of dust. I personally wouldn't sweat it and don't.

But it seems like you solved the problem.