Finally building my new downdraft/out feed table

Alan Bienlein

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Well I finally got off my rear and got started building my downdraft/out feed table. I had enough of all the dust from sanding and am not ready to take the plunge yet on a mirka ceros sander just yet.

I built it with left over plywood from some jobs I had. The squirrel cage furnace fan Norma got for free from one of her co-workers that does hvac on the side. I re-purposed anything I could use from the old out feed table such as the casters, drawers and definitely the 3/4" phenolic top. The top is hinged and will allow me to change filters. The blower will be connected so that I can run on high speed for sanding and either low or medium for just general air filtration.

I'm actually gonna have more storage room in this out feed table as I'll be able to store my battery chargers for my cordless tools so that they are ready to go at all times and even store my nail guns here also within easy reach.
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I'm tempted to get a little fancy and do some pullls like this I just did recently for a client.
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I haven't gotten to the part of cutting in the access for the filters yet. They will mount behind the blower and be removable from inside when you lift the top there will be a removable piece to get to them.

The area around the exhaust side of the blower will be closed of with a piece of plywood that will have a grill mounted on it to cover the opening.

I'll post more pictures as I progress.
 
Thought I would update this as I got it to the point of being able to use. I still need to do the drawer fronts and the extention between the table and the saw. The holes are 3/4" in diameter and so far seems sufficient when doing some test sanding.
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Just a shot of the inside showing the electrical. I have 3 outlets, one on each side and one additional one where the chargers will be. The two switches you see on the end next to the outlet control the fan. It's a combination on/off and three way switch. The three way switch lets me choose between "hi" speed and "medium".
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And a couple more of how I did the filters. I have a coarse one and a pleated one.
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I should have done this a long time ago.
 
Looking good Alan. Having the electrical outlets handy like that is a nice touch. :thumb: I use the same size filters on my shop-made ambient air cleaner and they catch a lot of stuff when I am doing things that create the kind of spoil that the other systems don't catch well. The filter size seems common and I frequently come across filters on sale or clearance at various stores. Whenever I find them for a buck apiece of less I just grab all they have. I've got quite a cache out in the shed and so don't feel bad about changing them out.
 
Very nice Alan. Just catching up here. This has always been something i have wanted to make and incorporate as outfeed. Maybe not as large as yours but similar idea.

I am struggling with what Larry is worried about. If i understand the flow the air is going through the table and being drawn out through the filters into the shop past the fan. That air is now supposed to have been scrubed clean by the filters correct so the "exhaust" is at the fan where the screen covers it correct?

If not then i got the wrong understanding.

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The air and dust is drawn thru the holes in the top, then the air and dust pass thru two filters and is exhausted back into the shop thru the white grill you see on the side.

The reason mine seems so large is I redid my existing out feed table because when I originally made it I used nothing but scrap I had on hand. I usually do this for things I'm not sure about how I'm gonna use. This allows me to cobble something together quickly and cheaply to see if it functions like I wanted or if it needs changed in some way to function as I intended. Sometimes I end up using these pieces for years just because they do whats needed at the time I built it.

I did use it for the first time today and am very very pleased with the results. You could literally watch the dust get sucked down inot the table while sanding.
 
good deal alan.. i had thought of doing something similar with my assembly table but it got put aside because of other uses.. a outfeed table this size is nice for sure and dual use is even better:)
 
Just a little update. I finished the drawer fronts and installed them. I used only scrap I had on hand for this project and the pulls for the drawers were no exception. I might even put a coat of finish on them.:rofl:
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I also added an extension between the out feed and the table saw to close up the 9" gap between them. I did it this way so I could open the down draft table without having to remove the fence on the table saw.
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And a couple more shots of the 1-1/2" square steel tubing I used for supporting the center of the table. These are removeable for getting to the filters as they just lift out.
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