I used a downdraft blower from an old Sears cook range to help make this downdraft sanding table. Three easy-to-find 12" x 24" furnace filters collect the dust. For the working surface, I arranged six pieces of 12" x 12" rubber mat (the kind used in commercial kitchens) supported by an "eggcrate" grid made of 1/4" oak. The holes in the grid match those in the rubber mats.
The bottom third of the unit has a drawer for keeping sanders and sanding supplies. Locking casters allow me to move the unit around the workshop - and it is built at the same height as my table saw, so I can use it as an auxiliary table when cutting. Even when I'm not sanding, I sometimes run the unit to filter the air in my shop.
- Peter Dulak
This article originally appeared in the Woodworker's Journal eZine.
Click here for information on this free, twice monthly online publication.
Copyright; 2010 Woodworker's Journal
All rights reserved. No part of this article may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval devices or systems, without prior written permission from the publisher.
|