Down Draft Sanding Table??

[new2woodwrk]

1 hour ago, kmmcrafts said:

I kind of figured those downdraft tables probably loose suction outside of the area where the hose is attached.. It'd be pretty tricky to get a solid even suction throughout the entire area..  Thanks for the thoughts and the experiment idea.. I've kinda figured that'd be how it would work out..  

The downdraft works more on gravity not so much on suction.

This is the one I built: https://fixthisbuildthat.com/diy-downdraft-sanding-table-box/

if you look toward the middle, you'll the "dust chute" which is the key to the table.

There is just enough suction to pull down the small particles of dust which fall onto the chute and into the dust control

[kmmcrafts]

11 hours ago, new2woodwrk said:

The downdraft works more on gravity not so much on suction.

This is the one I built: https://fixthisbuildthat.com/diy-downdraft-sanding-table-box/

if you look toward the middle, you'll the "dust chute" which is the key to the table.

There is just enough suction to pull down the small particles of dust which fall onto the chute and into the dust control

This is the sander I have.. notice the slotted hole at the base of the sander.. on the other side there is another one like it.. the sander spews dust out that spot on the other side.. a little on this visible side too.. it still getting dust in the canister as well so if it is plugged it's not completely plugged.

So what I gather from your statement is.. the downdraft table isn't going to suction that dust blowing out the side of the sander... only the dust that would drop down onto the downdraft tabletop? Like I said.. I never had much problem with dust like I have right now with these type sanders.. which was why I bought the same sander when the other one gave out.. I've tried a lot of different sanders over the last 15 years.. about 10 years ago I bought the first Bosch.. put two sets o motor brushes in it in those 10 years.. 

Like I said previously.. I'm going to try to clean out the sander tomorrow and see.. maybe it got clogged partly up with caked up dust.. 

In some cases.. ( sanding ornaments ) having a vacuum strong enough to hold those small light weight ornaments down while trying to sand them and be a dust collection would be kinda nice, LOL But sounds like suction from these is minimal..   

Edited October 29, 2020 by kmmcrafts

[Rolf]

For years I used a Bosch RO $5 at a yard sale. It did the job but dust collection on it not so much. A few years ago Festool had a RO on sale for $99 I put it on my Christmas wish list. Well as was expected that $99 was sold out and never repeated. But under the tree that year was a Festool ETS EC 125-3.  A couple of days later I ordered a Festool Midi vac. There is no sanding dust, no vibration. When I am not using the sander I have the vacuum connected to my SS. It comes on with the saw. I had also won a Festool track saw in our clubs door prize raffle $10.  

I did build a little side draft box that I connect to my DC system for when I use a power carver. 

Edited October 30, 2020 by Rolf

[John B]

I put a lot of time and effort into making a downdraught sanding box to fit on my bench and connect to the dust collector. a few years ago.
To be quite honest,it was a waste of time and effort.
I have a Bosh, Ryobi and AEG ROS and a Dewalt and Bosh palm sander. I keep empty the bags on them quite often and then blow the bag out along with the machine with my compressor.
Very minimal dust.

[kmmcrafts]

34 minutes ago, Rolf said:

For years I used a Bosch RO $5 at a yard sale. It did the job but dust collection on it not so much. A few years festool had a RO on sale for $99 I put it on my Christmas wish list. Well as was expected that $99 was sold out and never repeated. But under the tree that year was a Festool ETS EC 125-3.  A couple of days later I ordered a Festool Midi vac. There is no sanding dust, no vibration. When I am not using the sander I have the vacuum connected to my SS. It comes on with the saw. I had also won a Festool track saw in our clubs door prize raffle $10.  

I did build a little side draft box that I connect to my DC system for when I use a power carver. 

This is my ideal set up... and maybe something I'll just have to bite the bullet and buy.. I know quality tools are worth every penny paid out for them... if you use them the way I do...  just hard to spend that money.. You know I spent several years playing around with low to entry level scroll saws.. and other lower end tools.. until you really put out that money for some quality tooling you really don't know what you're missing.. This Bosch sander is the nicest one I've owned.. probably great for the weekend worrier..  but putting several hours a week on it and seeing the dust left behind after a 3-4 hour sanding session... your hands and arms vibrating a few hours after using it still shows that this sander probably isn't best suited for a commercial type of work I throw at it every week..

Probably just need to bite the bullet and buy a quality sander.. LOL    

 

[kmmcrafts]

32 minutes ago, John B said:

I put a lot of time and effort into making a downdraught sanding box to fit on my bench and connect to the dust collector. a few years ago.
To be quite honest,it was a waste of time and effort.
I have a Bosh, Ryobi and AEG ROS and a Dewalt and Bosh palm sander. I keep empty the bags on them quite often and then blow the bag out along with the machine with my compressor.
Very minimal dust.

Thank you for your thoughts... probably just saved me a lot of hours in designing one myself only to be disappointed.. Why I had to post and ask you pros.. LOL 

[ben2008]

On 10/27/2020 at 8:51 PM, kmmcrafts said:

Anyone have / use one that can share how well it works etc.. 

The cause of most airborne dust in my shop and probably any shop is from sanding..  I have a Bosch R/O sander and it has a filtered dust canister... My first one did a great job of collecting that sanding dust.. But it wore out.. I bought a new / refurb. one last spring and it did seep a little more dust that my other one did but was tolerable.. recently ( maybe the colder weather ) this thing is spewing dust out.. Before I bought the refurb.. I bought a HF model and that was was really bad too.. my refurb isn't quite that bad but I'm noticing a lot of dust settling and my air filtration filter needing cleaned way more often..

I'm wondering if a downdraft table would be the ticket.. It seems the dust is escaping the sanders through the vent holes in the side of the sander near the bottom by the sanding pad.. I haven't taken the thing apart to see if there is a broken seal or something.. I just know that I need to get this taken care of in some way... I've often wondered about the downdraft tables.. I've never seen much talk of them so who has one or used one? Any thoughts on them..

Thank you  

I was thinking of buying the small 15" X 25" Shop Fox downdraft table and hooking up my  DeWALT DXV09P 9 gallon  shop vac to it?

 

[kmmcrafts]

1 hour ago, ben2008 said:

I was thinking of buying the small 15" X 25" Shop Fox downdraft table and hooking up my  DeWALT DXV09P 9 gallon  shop vac to it?

 

Yeah me too.. they are on sale.. and this is sort of what sparked my interest in posting about the downdraft systems.. I was kinda wondering how well they work as opposed to the homemade units.. Someone replied earlier about it being " okay ".. so.. are they worth the cost? One could be built relatively cheap.. but is it going to be as effective as a purchased unit.. guess that would depend on how much effort you put into the design... I may still buy one.. going to try to find some reviews etc on them...  

[ben2008]

2 minutes ago, kmmcrafts said:

Yeah me too.. they are on sale.. and this is sort of what sparked my interest in posting about the downdraft systems.. I was kinda wondering how well they work as opposed to the homemade units.. Someone replied earlier about it being " okay ".. so.. are they worth the cost? One could be built relatively cheap.. but is it going to be as effective as a purchased unit.. guess that would depend on how much effort you put into the design... I may still buy one.. going to try to find some reviews etc on them...  

Where did you see it on sale?

[kmmcrafts]

21 minutes ago, ben2008 said:

Where did you see it on sale?

Grizzly website.. They have some of the other brands and sizes on sale too but not all of them are.. Also sign up for email list and get an extra 5% off..

https://www.grizzly.com/products/Shop-Fox-Downdraft-Table-15-x-25-/W1734A

Edited October 29, 2020 by kmmcrafts

[ben2008]

3 minutes ago, kmmcrafts said:

Grizzly website.. They have some of the other brands and sizes on sale too but not all of them are.. Also sign up for email list and get an extra 5% off..

https://www.grizzly.com/products/Shop-Fox-Downdraft-Table-15-x-25-/W1734A

WOW!  It's $119.99 on Amazon with free shipping.

[kmmcrafts]

That's good to know.. I usually shop around by model number to see who has the best deal.. I typically find things cheaper yet on ebay.. but I haven't searched yet.. as i was just posting here to see if they are worth having.. Thanks for the heads up on being cheaper on amazon though.. 

[kmmcrafts]

40 minutes ago, ben2008 said:

WOW!  It's $119.99 on Amazon with free shipping.

$112 and free shipping on ebay

[ben2008]

35 minutes ago, kmmcrafts said:

That's good to know.. I usually shop around by model number to see who has the best deal.. I typically find things cheaper yet on ebay.. but I haven't searched yet.. as i was just posting here to see if they are worth having.. Thanks for the heads up on being cheaper on amazon though.. 

I do the same thing. But since I have Prime on Amazon, I do make most of my purchasing there, especially if I'm in a hurry. I can have items delivered next day most all the time. I have found items cheaper on eBay , but I have to wait, sometime weeks.

[ben2008]

3 minutes ago, kmmcrafts said:

$112 and free shipping on ebay

Thanks, thats even better. How long do you have to wait for delivery?

[kmmcrafts]

For me it says receive by  Nov. 6th most times it's before the estimated date.. Have you read any of the reviews on this? I read several that says the rubber table nubs leave marks on your projects.. They claim it works well with the dust but leaves black marks on the bottom side.. Might be okay for some items I make but not everything has a backer etc.. so it wouldn't work with some of the things I make.. 

I don't have amazon prime.. so I wait either place I buy it.. 

I sell on Amazon.. but I'm not much of a shopper on there.. I don't like the way they cater to the shopper and give very little if any support to the seller.. They treat employees really crappy too.. I prefer not to do any more business with them than I have to.. As a seller that prime can cost you as they take a % of your income if the item is late.. even if you as the seller got it in the mail right away.. if the delivery driver is late.. it's you as a sellers fault and for every day late they take a%.. and not small % either.. after about 3 days late you just gave the item away.. and owe them money on top of that.. as a seller I have no control over the item once it leaves my hands it's shippers fault.. yet the punish the seller.. Go figure.. anyway this is getting off topic.. Let's just say I don't like Amazon for anything more than I have to,  

 

[ben2008]

37 minutes ago, kmmcrafts said:

For me it says receive by  Nov. 6th most times it's before the estimated date.. Have you read any of the reviews on this? I read several that says the rubber table nubs leave marks on your projects.. They claim it works well with the dust but leaves black marks on the bottom side.. Might be okay for some items I make but not everything has a backer etc.. so it wouldn't work with some of the things I make.. 

I don't have amazon prime.. so I wait either place I buy it.. 

I sell on Amazon.. but I'm not much of a shopper on there.. I don't like the way they cater to the shopper and give very little if any support to the seller.. They treat employees really crappy too.. I prefer not to do any more business with them than I have to.. As a seller that prime can cost you as they take a % of your income if the item is late.. even if you as the seller got it in the mail right away.. if the delivery driver is late.. it's you as a sellers fault and for every day late they take a%.. and not small % either.. after about 3 days late you just gave the item away.. and owe them money on top of that.. as a seller I have no control over the item once it leaves my hands it's shippers fault.. yet the punish the seller.. Go figure.. anyway this is getting off topic.. Let's just say I don't like Amazon for anything more than I have to,  

 

Yes, I did read that about the black marks.  Not really sure what to make of it. I can see in your case that may be a problem as you will use it in your business. For me, maybe not so bad.  I'll try and do a bit more research. Besides, I'm in no hurry. I have made all the years without one.

Even if you don't have prime. Amazon has many many items with free shipping. You just have to wait longer.

eBay sounds like the best bet for the Shop Fox downdraft table.

I sold on eBay for quite a few years just as a hobby. Still do occasionally. Their fees are too high as far as I'm concerned. I sold Harley Davidson collectables until Harly Davidson put a stop to it. Dealers complained. Now you have to buy most items at Harley Davidson dealerships. I also sold licensed pro sports clothes and memorabbelia. 

I had my own web site for 12 years and did pretty well until Wallmart, Meijers and few others undercut me. I had to close it down. This was in the late 90s up until 2010.

Sorry to hear about your problems with Amazon. I do understand. On the other hand, where do you get access to millions maybe billions of people for your products. eBay, Etsy are other options.

It's really hard for the little guy to make it today in business.

 

Edited October 29, 2020 by ben2008

[OCtoolguy]

19 hours ago, Garyrenee said:

Thanks for the welcome. 
Cost of the Mirka is high. The desire to continue woodworking was high. In order to continue , I wanted the best long term solution and the Mirka ticked all the appropriate boxes for my condition.  Turns out, the cost compared to my health doesn’t even factor into the end results.  No regrets.

My scrolling is pretty basic. Silouettes, trivets and the likes. Not full time yet. Still doing so many other things. I’m always looking at the pics of what you regulars are doing and I am in aw of the time effort and dedication. I have a lot to learn and in doing so, I would not post a pic unless I thought it was worthy. But “hey” thanks for the encouragement.

 

Gary

 

Gary, don't be shy. Post those pics. If anything you'll get feedback on how others might have done the same project or ideas on how you could have improved yours. Or maybe even you'll be the guy whose is the best. Just post the pics and let us have a peek. Just remember, it's a hobby, it's supposed to be fun and we are all in the same boat. Just some of us have been bailing for a lot longer to keep the boat afloat. Jump in, the water's fine.

 

[OCtoolguy]

On 10/27/2020 at 6:46 PM, trackman said:

Mine has baffles in it like a V to make the dust go into the middle. Hooked up to central dust collection. 

Hey @Trackman, a quick question. And I don't want to hijack the thread but I'm curious. I see you have that Sears rotating table. I've been watching one on C/L for over a year. They guy has 3 tools mounted to it. None of them very great ones. He's been trying to get $500 for the whole thing. I contacted him and asked if he would consider parting it out and selling me just the table. He came back with yes, and he wants $375 for just the table. I thought that was a bit on the high side. But, I'd think about it if I got enough positive feedback from others who have them. What is your opinion of it, and how much is it worth to you? Would you spend $375 for another one? It might serve my purposes in my small area for 3 of my bench top tools to be more usable. Thanks for your input. 

[trackman]

1 hour ago, octoolguy said:

Hey @Trackman, a quick question. And I don't want to hijack the thread but I'm curious. I see you have that Sears rotating table. I've been watching one on C/L for over a year. They guy has 3 tools mounted to it. None of them very great ones. He's been trying to get $500 for the whole thing. I contacted him and asked if he would consider parting it out and selling me just the table. He came back with yes, and he wants $375 for just the table. I thought that was a bit on the high side. But, I'd think about it if I got enough positive feedback from others who have them. What is your opinion of it, and how much is it worth to you? Would you spend $375 for another one? It might serve my purposes in my small area for 3 of my bench top tools to be more usable. Thanks for your input. 

I have a router, 6” jointer and the down draft box on the table. I picked up the empty table at a auction for $10.00 lol. No one knew what it was I guess. No I wouldn’t spend $375 on one. It is nice to have in a small shop. Maybe worth $100 to me. 

[OCtoolguy]

53 minutes ago, trackman said:

I have a router, 6” jointer and the down draft box on the table. I picked up the empty table at a auction for $10.00 lol. No one knew what it was I guess. No I wouldn’t spend $375 on one. It is nice to have in a small shop. Maybe worth $100 to me. 

Thanks, that's exactly what I thought too. I may end up building my own 2 sided one. I have a router table and a oscillating spindle sander that would be nice to have out. 

[Rolf]

I am not sure I would want a down draft table connected to shop vac. One the noise, two, and this just my opinion, I thing you need more volume than velocity in the air flow.  I would also think that some sort of baffling would be helpful for a more uniform distribution of the air flow.

I look forward to some further discussion of actual results?

[Be_O_Be]

 These were fairly inexpensive to built, pick up a used blower from an hvac co. Just vacuum the filters occasionally.

[Woodmaster1]

4 hours ago, Be_O_Be said:

 These were fairly inexpensive to built, pick up a used blower from an hvac co. Just vacuum the filters occasionally.

That's the setup my woodworking club shop has. The down draft table works great. Between that , a dust collector, and air cleaner the club shop has very little dust in the air.

[kmmcrafts]

4 hours ago, Be_O_Be said:

 These were fairly inexpensive to built, pick up a used blower from an hvac co. Just vacuum the filters occasionally.

Now that.. I see working quite well.. I actually have a few of those blowers.. Used to use them for venting my spray paint booth when I was doing autobody repair.. didn't work well for that.. paint never would land on the car.. too much air flow, LOL