XX

Xlat

01/03/2005 3:07 AM

Downdraft / Sanding Table Plans or Experience

I have seen the plans for sale from Rockler, and 1 or two "general"
information websites, but wondering if anyone has any links to
websites or businesses or people who have built one, pictures, plans,
etc...

The more information the better. Especially interested in hearing
from anyone who has actually built one, and what they thought, tips,
or more information there too.

I have a pretty heavy duty motor, steel industrial squirrel cage,
thinking about building a table but looking for some more tips or
experiences. Not looking to buy one built, or hear save your money,
so far I've got about nada in this, and planning on doing it!!
Thanks.

Remove the nospam from my address to email me!!


This topic has 7 replies

cb

charlie b

in reply to Xlat on 01/03/2005 3:07 AM

28/02/2005 7:39 PM

Xlat wrote:
>
> I have seen the plans for sale from Rockler, and 1 or two "general"
> information websites, but wondering if anyone has any links to
> websites or businesses or people who have built one, pictures, plans,
> etc...
>
> The more information the better. Especially interested in hearing
> from anyone who has actually built one, and what they thought, tips,
> or more information there too.
>
> I have a pretty heavy duty motor, steel industrial squirrel cage,
> thinking about building a table but looking for some more tips or
> experiences. Not looking to buy one built, or hear save your money,
> so far I've got about nada in this, and planning on doing it!!
> Thanks.
>
> Remove the nospam from my address to email me!!

If you make it the right height it can be an air cleaner,
downdraft sanding table AND an outfeed table. Not a
set of plans but should be enough info to make one.

http://home.comcast.net/~charliebcz/CBAirCleaner.html

Used truck filters can be had for free - blow them out
from the inside and you're good to go.

charlie b

md

mac davis

in reply to Xlat on 01/03/2005 3:07 AM

01/03/2005 9:15 AM

On Tue, 01 Mar 2005 03:07:55 GMT, Xlat <[email protected]> wrote:

>I have seen the plans for sale from Rockler, and 1 or two "general"
>information websites, but wondering if anyone has any links to
>websites or businesses or people who have built one, pictures, plans,
>etc...
>
>The more information the better. Especially interested in hearing
>from anyone who has actually built one, and what they thought, tips,
>or more information there too.
>
>I have a pretty heavy duty motor, steel industrial squirrel cage,
>thinking about building a table but looking for some more tips or
>experiences. Not looking to buy one built, or hear save your money,
>so far I've got about nada in this, and planning on doing it!!
>Thanks.
>
>Remove the nospam from my address to email me!!

I built 2, with ken Vaughn's table in mind...
http://home.earthlink.net/~kvaughn65j/sanding_table.jpg

the 1st one was about 18" by 30" (size of old pegboard scrap) and about 3" deep,
with shop vac attachment..

It worked so well, that I made a larger, nicer looking one with a 4" DC
connector..

I find that I use the small one with the shop vac about 90% of the time... the
bigger one is usually buried because it's a flat surface and therefor a shit
collector.. lol

The old sears shop vac works as well as the DC for my purposes and is a lot
easier to set up and use... and the easier to use, (and find), the better chance
that I'll use it..

They make an amazing difference, especially when combined with a rubber sanding
mat.. (I use a strip of 12" wide tool drawer cushion)



mac

Please remove splinters before emailing

XX

Xlat

in reply to Xlat on 01/03/2005 3:07 AM

01/03/2005 10:13 PM

On Tue, 01 Mar 2005 18:55:31 GMT, Scrub <[email protected]> wrote:


>I've got one of these sitting in my garage for almost 2 years now,
>never brought it into the shop, given to me by a friend. I'm wondering
>about its usefulness. If I hook my shopvac to my ROS and belt sander
>while in use, what benefit can I expect from a downdraft table? My
>shop ain't huge so before I give up the space I want to know the
>payback is there.
>
>Scrub

Welp, I figure it can double as a lightweight workbench, dust
collector to filter what air gets to it, as well as a filter for a
larger area that will get whatever dust the tool you are using on /
around it misses.


Remove the nospam from my address to email me!!

XX

Xlat

in reply to Xlat on 01/03/2005 3:07 AM

01/03/2005 1:34 PM

Thanks guys, for the website link and information. Perfect I think,
maybe a few minor changes for my use, but that is what I'm looking
for. I'd also love to see pictures when you are done with yours, or
even post a few while it is being built. That sometimes is even
better, because you can see the construction much better and it gives
ideas. Appreciate the help!!

Remove the nospam from my address to email me!!

Si

Scrub

in reply to Xlat on 01/03/2005 3:07 AM

01/03/2005 6:55 PM

On Tue, 01 Mar 2005 03:07:55 GMT, Xlat
<[email protected]> wrote:

>I have seen the plans for sale from Rockler, and 1 or two "general"
>information websites, but wondering if anyone has any links to
>websites or businesses or people who have built one, pictures, plans,

I've got one of these sitting in my garage for almost 2 years now,
never brought it into the shop, given to me by a friend. I'm wondering
about its usefulness. If I hook my shopvac to my ROS and belt sander
while in use, what benefit can I expect from a downdraft table? My
shop ain't huge so before I give up the space I want to know the
payback is there.

Scrub

XX

Xlat

in reply to Xlat on 01/03/2005 3:07 AM

01/03/2005 10:11 PM

On Tue, 01 Mar 2005 09:15:16 -0800, mac davis
>
>I built 2, with ken Vaughn's table in mind...
>http://home.earthlink.net/~kvaughn65j/sanding_table.jpg
>
>the 1st one was about 18" by 30" (size of old pegboard scrap) and about 3" deep,
>with shop vac attachment..
>
>It worked so well, that I made a larger, nicer looking one with a 4" DC
>connector..
>
>I find that I use the small one with the shop vac about 90% of the time... the
>bigger one is usually buried because it's a flat surface and therefor a shit
>collector.. lol
>


That is a nice one, but I'm looking to build a larger floor model type
unit, with filters inside, double as a "shit collector" ;) Thanks!

Remove the nospam from my address to email me!!

KC

"Keith Carlson"

in reply to Xlat on 01/03/2005 3:07 AM

01/03/2005 5:20 AM

"charlie b" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> Xlat wrote:
>>
>> I have seen the plans for sale from Rockler, and 1 or two "general"
>> information websites, but wondering if anyone has any links to
>> websites or businesses or people who have built one, pictures, plans,
>> etc...
>>
>> The more information the better. Especially interested in hearing
>> from anyone who has actually built one, and what they thought, tips,
>> or more information there too.
>>
>> I have a pretty heavy duty motor, steel industrial squirrel cage,
>> thinking about building a table but looking for some more tips or
>> experiences. Not looking to buy one built, or hear save your money,
>> so far I've got about nada in this, and planning on doing it!!
>> Thanks.
>>
>> Remove the nospam from my address to email me!!
>
> If you make it the right height it can be an air cleaner,
> downdraft sanding table AND an outfeed table. Not a
> set of plans but should be enough info to make one.
>
> http://home.comcast.net/~charliebcz/CBAirCleaner.html
>
> Used truck filters can be had for free - blow them out
> from the inside and you're good to go.
>
> charlie b

Xlat, I'm just finishing up my air cleaner/downdraft table/outfeed table. It
is based on charlie b's, so that's a good start. I really liked the idea of
the combination. But if you're really after only a downdraft table, you
could still get some good ideas here.

If the primary purpose is the sanding table, you might want to put some
effort into the design to determine what will make it perform well. Good
flow velocity through the top. How many openings in the top are required?
Does the shape of the openings make a difference? Sides that extend upwards
from the table top will make it better by containing the dust, and by
drawing air through a smaller area than a wide-open table, maintaining the
velocity.
Probably lots of things you could pick up just by looking at commercial
units.

Make it easy to clean and replace the filters. I had planned on having mine
completely screwed together and sealed, but changed that along the way and
fastened the blower chamber top with wedges, and sealed with
weather-stripping, so I can take that off easily and have total access to
the filters and blower.

Your access to final filters may be different. I couldn't find inexpensive
spa filters anywhere that looked like they had nearly enough filtering area.
I tried a couple of truck fleet garages, and both of them told me they
replace the filters only when they're clogged to a certain point. They
actually use a gauge and measure. Plus I really preferred to get something
where I'd have an idea of the filtering efficiency (as long as it didn't
cost a fortune).
I finally found my filter cartridges online at www.surpluscenter.com (no
affiliation). Discontinued Donaldson industrial dust collector cartridges
for $6.95. I bought 6 of them. The models that replaced these are 99.97%
efficient at 0.5 micron(!) with 60 sq.ft. of filtering area each, so the
discontinued ones should be close to these specs.

I hope to post some pics soon of my completed unit.


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