So, I’ve had my suckit dust boot since it’s creation all those years ago for my shapeoko 3 XXL and although it’s had it’s quirks - semi (imo) design flaws- it’s always worked for me. I’ve always just had the bigger opening shroud attached to the underside but it finally cracked. (photo for reference) I’ll attempt to repair it.
MY QUESTION:
What exactly is the other shroud for? (see photo) When I purchased it all those years ago they gave me two of the smaller opening shrouds and only one of the larger opening.
As you can see they do fit but if the cut goes pretty deep you can see how the collet of the makita router will rub into that shroud with the smaller opening.
I cannot answer your question about the Suckit dust shoe. Suckit was bought out by oneinfinity. They no longer make the Suckit for the Shapeoko machines. The arms on the Suckit dust shoe stick out beyond the sides of the Z. That reduces your X maximum to avoid the Suckit from running into the side rail of an SO3.
Unless you can 3d print a new part it may be time to upgrade. The C3d dust boot seems to work well but has its own quirks as well. On Ebay there are a lot of 3d printed dust boots for the Shapeoko but if you have a Dewalt router be sure to get one that fits the 69MM barrel of the Dewalt. The Makita/C3D one is 66MM.
I designed a larger Suck-It dust boot that uses a 4" hose for more flow. If you have a 3D printer, you can give it a shot. I designed it for an 80mm spindle.
If you do end up printing it and need different width spacers, just let me know.
You can use the undamaged one to make a template for cutting new ones.
Trace the undamaged one with a 0.3mm or 0.5mm pencil and then scan it (preferred) or take a picture from directly above it with a small ruler so you can get the proper scale.
Then you can use CC to trace it and then modify it to have any size opening you want.
EDIT: I use the small opening for longer 1/4" bits where the spindle doesn’t drop down through the hole. The smaller hole keeps more wood chips inside the boot than the large hole.
I use the larger hole for my small bits because the spindle needs to get close to the wood when the end mill is only 1/8 shank and 0.0150" cutting diameter.
EDIT 2: You must have a newer version than I had, since mine was 3D printed and used 4 fasteners for the clear plate. Your boot is definitely more refined than the one I had.
