I use a vacuum to keep my CNC bits cool and clear of sawdust in addition to vacuuming up the dust. The vacuum I use is a little shop vac that is really loud and as I explained in the previous Vacuum Upgrade post the exhaust was too powerful. I just wasn’t getting enough negative airflow for the suction at the back of the hood.
I hoped to solve both problems with a sound baffle that I could mount to the top of the vacuum housing. I decided to add a 2 inch baffle to the lid of the vacuum enclosure.
Some weather stripping and caulk sealed up some air leaks and a couple of coats of paint finish the project.
I took some measurements along the way with a decibel meter app proving this project was worth the time and effort put into it.
The shop vac outside of the enclosure was particularly loud even for a shop vac at 93-95dB.
With the enclosure but before the baffle it was 80-83dB.
With the enclosure and the new baffle it dropped to 63-65db.
I consider this 30dB drop a major success!
Note: I realized long after creating this post that I never discussed the vacuum I was using.
Well here is a separate post about it.