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Down Draft Table for Sanding Dust

Ted Calver

Ted Calver

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Anyone have experience building a downdraft table to collect sanding dust? I have a project coming where I need to do some very dusty work on a lot of panels that are 20" x40" and am thinking a downdraft table might do the trick. The dust will be the equivalent of drywall dust. Was considering having a sheet of corian CNC'd with holes in the right spots, and hooking up one of Oneida's high volume super dust collectors to the collector box. Not sure if Corian can be CNC'd? Any thoughts would be appreciated.
 
I am kinda up against a similar situation.

Some time ago I tried a makeshift setup whereas I placed a pleated furnace filter in front of a box fan to suck the dust into the filter. I built a bit of shrouding around it with one end open for me to do the sanding. The fan was opposite the open end. It's NOT a down draft, but I suppose that could be done the same way. It worked, but was not durable.

Now, I am thinking of making one a bit more durable, and with maybe 2 or 3 box fans.

I have a DC system, and maybe I might try that. I just think the box fan setup may work better, as it moves more air.
 
A drum sander, or even better, a wide belt sander would be my choice. Obviously, that is $$$. Perhaps a shop that has said equipment, may be cost effective. Festool is great at dust control, again not cheap, but maybe you need a new ROS. YMMV
 
I have been considering making one. I do quite a bit of sanding, and I hook my Orbital Sander to my Fein vac. I does a great job capturing the dust, but sucks so hard it is hard to move the sander around. Seem like a down draft table would eliminate that problem and may even hold the piece being sanded in place somewhat.
 
It looks like Larry's idea of using furnace fans might work for this, with venting to the outside of the shop being the most healthy option. Venting outside into a catch structure removes the problem of clogged filters and the possibility of microscopic particles being put back into the shop air. In this case the dust is not from wood, it's whiting, which is finely powdered calcium carbonate used in the grouting process of stained glass. Each 20" x 40" panel is composed of lots of small pieces of stained glass, and all 400 of the panels need to be taken apart, each piece of glass cleaned, then the panel re-leaded and grouted. Whiting powder is used to clean the grout from the panel and the process is a messy business. A polisher with bristle brush, followed by a rag bonnet helps with clean up, but it stirs up the whiting powder and possibly particles of lead from the came, and that's what we want to try and minimize. Respirators are mandatory and the downdraft tables will hopefully keep most of the dust out of the air. Meeting the contract means finishing at least 2.25 panels per day for the next six months!! Going to be a lot of work for my daughter's husband and his crew. Told him I would help for a couple of months.
 
Brent Dowell said:
Re-doing the stained glass for a church? Wow, That sounds like a HUGE job!
Click to expand...
The Oklahoma state capitol building is undergoing a major renovation, including the stained glass. From what I understand, he's working on these panels, or something very similar. I'll ask him to send some pics. (Images from the web)
IMG_8519.JPG,
IMG_8550.JPG
 
You have to move a lot of air to make a downdraft table work well. A few thousand on a table of much size is really inadequate. Ours is 48x72 and I think it's 5000cfm? I'd have to look it up to be sure
 
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