Vacuum improvement

[Ron Ga]

Does anyone have any ideas on improving the vacuum on the Digital Wood Carver.  The shop vac works, but it would be nice if it did a better job cleaning up. 

Thanks in advance for any ideas.

[Butch Elrod]

I've switched to a larger (also quieter) vacuum with a 'dust cyclone'.  Seems to be working better.

[Rick]

I tried using a flexible door sweep rather than the plastic skirt and that did not work .
I am thinking of constructing my own Plexiglas  platform to surround the bit to hold the plastic dust skirt. I would add a short 2" diameter PVC pipe to the bottom, put Velcro around it and Velcro around the top of my plastic skirt.
The idea is to confine the area to the immediate area around the bit.
Some of the problems to overcome include keeping the PVC high enough so that it doesn't interfere with changing the bits (I use the MuscleChuck system so I don't have to fool around with the wrenches at all, just a simple allen wrench with a long handle) and finding the right material that is flexible enough to ride over the carved areas and strong enough to not collapse due to the vacuum. When and if I get this project underway, I'll report my frustrations, findings and success if any, here in this forum.

[fwharris]

I was able to find some door sweep brush material https://www.fastcap.com/estore/pc/viewPrd.asp?idproduct=53770&idcategory=28 to make up my dust shoe. The rubber is a bit stiff to work with but does hold the brush material well. I bought the 4" but after testing things out (see pictures )  I suggest the 2" unless you want to trim it down for your own set up.

I also changed over to 4" hose. The dust pick up was way better than the shop vac hose.

I used 1/2" plywood for the bottom plate so that I could attach the brush.