Router dust is a nuisance. On a
remodeling job, it can strain customer
relations; in the shop, it's a respiratory
hazard and a nasty underfoot
lubricant on a slick slab. It blinds you
while you work, fouls up pilot bearings
and fences, and provides kindling for
scorches on the edges of a router cut.
For all these reasons, routers are perfect
candidates for dust control systems,
even with a low-volume collector
like a shop vac. Surprisingly, though,
dust collection on a router is a rarity,
even as an option. Most of the
available add-ons feature bulky
adapters that draw dust and
chips through extra-thick, oversized
baseplates. These clumsy
configurations seem to be designed
as an afterthought, and typically
curtail visibility