Have you used a sanding table?

[Dick Snyder]

I am continuing to attack dust in my basement workshop. My current target is my random orbital sander. The filter attached to the sander gets some of the dust but a bunch more spinsoff uncollected.

In the book "Controlling Dust in the Workshop" by Rick Peters he talks about building a downdraft sanding table (pegboard over a box with a dust collector attached. He also talks about a shopmade air cleaner placed near the sanding process. I kind of like the sanding table idea but before I spend the time making one I'd like to hear some feedback from those of you who might have used them.

TIA.

Dick Snyder

[Leon]

I believe Tom Plamann likes his. His own design. Take a look here and all through his site. Truly, time well spent looking at his site.

[Todd Fatheree]

My Dewalt 5" ROS has a port (1"?) that the bag detaches from (can someone tell me what the bag is good for, anyway). I bought a special hose that attaches directly to my ShopVac canister and connects to the port. I find that it works pretty well.

todd

[dondone]

From the looks of Tom's shop, I would guess that he is excessive compulsive (and well off).

[mp]

Have you tried a shop vac hookup instead of the filter? My setup seems to get 99% of the dust and the sandpaper seems to last longer.

[Bob G.]

I built my "Sanding Table" years ago and yes I did use pegboard over a box (about 3 inches tall)... with dowels (plenty of them) raising up from the bottom of the box to support the pegboard...

It works...BUT I have had to "slightly" enlarge the holes in the pegboard as over time they clogged up ...

My Table is almost 2x4 foot.. and is attached to a workbench with hinges that allows me to swing it up and use it very quickly...BUT I have to crawl under it to atach the 4 inch Flex hose from the DC when I want to use it... somewhat of a pain ...

BUT ......IT IS WAY TWO LARGE... suffers from lack of suction near the edges.. One of these days I will make another ...smaller 2x2 maybe ...and just store it on the floor next to the workbench.. DC port would be on the side (not the bottom) ...

Bob Griffiths

[RKG]

I built one the same as Bob 2 x 4 foot and agree with him it is to large, I did put the DC port on one end though and it works well at that end. I tend to throw a piece of plastic over it to block the holes where I am not working and that improve suction. I should just rebuild it smaller.

Rick

Bob G. wrote:

[Andy Dingley]

Power sanding machines need power dust collection IMHO.

Sanding tables are great if you have space, otherwise just make a table-top box that can be stored away. It only needs to be 3-4" deep. Put a hanging hook on it and store it hung up, as the top is fragile and doesn't like getting thumped.

The top shouldn't be pegboard. It's too soft, too easily damaged, and the holes aren't big enough. I've seen one table made with laser-cut MDF (radiator screening) that was neat, but for the rest of us just bite the bullet and drill those holes yourself. Use a hexagonal grid for best void / strength ratio, or an Archimedean spiral if you want it to look prettier.

My box is cheap plywood, with a drilled MDF top. There's a hole in one side where the DC hose plugs in. The top is 10mm MDF laid over an egg-crate construction of 6mm MDF - typical torsion box construction. Drill big holes through all the egg-crate webs to let the dust flow through.

In use I feed it with 2" hose into a home-made cyclone powered by a workshop vacuum cleaner.

[Phisherman]

I built one from ShopNotes plans (sorry I don't recall the issue). It is made from MDF and has a door that opens from the side. It uses three furnace filters in series, a squirrel type 1/4 HP fan motor, rubber locking casters, and a convenient electrical outlet. The top is pegboard. I sealed the door with weather stripping. This downdraft table can be used as a sanding table and/or shop air filter. It works exceptionally well at clearing the air of airborne dust. I've even used it to dry items.

[Bob]

says he uses a shop vac on the table. It must be huge. The combined cross sectional area of 152 3/4" holes is equal to an 9" pipe!

Bob

[Bob]

Was that 1/8" or 1/4" pegboard?

Bob

[Andy Dingley]

Most of those holes are blocked off by the carcase you're working on, if it lies flat. If you have a problem with too many holes, just cover them with newspaper where you don't need them.

[Ba r r y]

Have you ever tried a Shop Vac hose on the sander? I use one with a HEPA filter equipped vac, and virtually nothing escapes. It's great!

Auto switches are available for ~$20 that'll turn the vacuum on and off as you use the sander.

Barry

[Dan]

On Sun 05 Dec 2004 10:45:24a, "Dick Snyder" wrote in news: [e-mail]:

Haven't built one yet, but next spring I'm planning to make one out of twobyfours and a piece of pegboard that I saw someplace. Looks like a simple solution with a short build time.

[Dick Snyder]

Do you have any pictures of it you could post on alt.binaries.pictures.woodworking? This sounds like an interesting dual purpose device.

Dick Snyder

[David]

I don't have room for a sanding table so I do the next best thing; hook up my sanders to a Fein vac. I hardly notice any sanding dust when using the vac.

DAVID

Dick Snyder wrote:

[Bob G.]

used 1/4 inch pegboard.....

Bob Griffiths

[John McGaw]

I found that the solution was not at all effective. In fact the downdraft table I built was loaded into the back of the pickup today while I was giving the shop a major cleaning and will be left at the landfill the next time I'm out in that direction. Far more effective for me has been a direct connection from my DC to my 5" and 6" Bosch sanders, both of which have perforated pads and fairly effective dust pickup. And in just the last few days I've been able to trump that by connecting the brand new Fein Turbo III vac with HEPA filter. The DC worked pretty well but drawing through the required small hose was a real drag on its efficiency -- but the Fein seems to suck several times more air through the same size hose. And it has the advantage of being able to switch on and off with the sander, a trick my DC never learned. I suspect that if one were to build a big dedicated sanding table with a really powerful blower like the squirrel cage unit from a home furnace and several layers of good filters and more open area than pegboard can provide downdraft might be effective but the halfway solution just didn't work for me.

[loutent]

Hi Dick,

My downdraft concoction: (sp) sits idle in the corner of the shop.

It is 24 x 48 with 1/4 inch holes every square inch - all connected to a central DC via a 4 inch hose.

I get just as good results (if not better & with less set-up effort) with my PC 333 ROS by simply sticking the PC accessory hose into a nearby DC hose & open a blast gate. Gets 95+% IMHO.

Sanded some oak doors today & was thinking how great this works.

Lou

[mac davis]

I use mine whenever I'm using my palm or ROS on small stuff.. Like so many other things in my shop, I copied Ken Vaugn's box..