This is partly just to vent, partly a request for information/advice.

I have two routers I use hand-held, a Bosch 1617 and a DeWalt 621. I
have some of the accessory dust collection attachments for the Bosch,
and the DeWalt comes with dust collection above the cutter built in. I
have a Fein Turbo III that I use with both. I am not very satisfied with
the results.

I just finished routing out the opening for the mounting plate in my
router table top. It is MDF, with HP laminate on both surfaces. I was
unable to use the DeWalt because the template bit I used to cut the
"ledge" is quite short (as it had to be, the cut is only 3/8-inch deep),
and the "reach" of the DeWalt router is limited because the hole in the
top of the dust collection shroud won't pass the collet nut. So I used
the Bosch, with the above the cutter shroud attachment. For that part of
the job, the dust collection was just OK.

Then I roughed out the through-opening with a jigsaw, and used the Bosch
router to clean up the cut. THAT was a mistake. I couldn't use the dust
collection shroud for edge forming operations inside the small cutout,
and the above the cutter shroud didn't really work well at all. I spent
a long time cleaning up the MDF dust that was spread ALL OVER my shop.
It was quite a mess. Fortunately I was using a respirator.

Previously, I'd used the Bosch to cut dados and do some edge forming on
a large piece of Wenge, for my fireplace mantel. I had similar problems
then, but the Wenge produced far less fine dust than the MDF did. The
Wenge, however, is a bit oily, and the fine dust that was generated did
stick pretty well to just about every surface in my shop.

This experience makes me rather leary of using the router hand-held,
except for the smallest operations (e.g., mortices). It seems to me,
there must be a solution to this problem.

What do YOU do for dust collection when using a router hand-held? Are
you happy with the results?

Thanks.

--
Art Greenberg
artg at eclipse dot net