Dust collection vacuum table?

[Radio Ron w4ron]

Does anyone have any ideas for a vacuum base to sand over
that could be attached to my shop vac?
I sand wood and shackling and the dust makes a heck of a mess.
I'm thinking about a thin wooden box with holes, maybe pegboard
as a top surface for the dust to be collected through.

Any good ideas???

.

 

[shoot summ]

Look into a home built down draft table, way more effective than your shop vac could ever be.

http://www.workshopaddict.com/forum/dust-collection/43-homemade-downdraft-table.html

 

[ddawg16]

The issue with any table that has holes is that it will quickly fill the holes with dust. Keeping clean is going to be a b!tch.

I agree with shoot that a down draft hood to one side is your best bet.

 

[MFolks]

www.rockler.com has plans for making one, and www.grizzly .com sells the complete box, ready to go, just connect to your shop vac:

# T10115 has a 2 1/2" port.

 

[zkling]

What you want is called a downdraft table. Find an old furnace blowr, the large squirrel cage type, build a frame around it, make the top with holes in it and one or two sides of the box attach a furnace filter for filtering the air. If you use it for metal work like I do, you will want to slightly prefilter the "sucked" air and take provisions for grounding to prevent fires.

Do a google search on homebuilt downdraft tables. You will find a bunch of ideas.

I don't think you want an actual vacuum table, those are typically used for holding parts for machining, not dust collection.

EDIT, if you just want a small table, I forget who, but one of the hobby wood working supply stores has small bench top tables that connect to a shop vac. Example

http://www.woodworking.com/forum/showthread.php?57323-Bench-top-Downdraft-Sander-Table

 

[machine_punk]

The EAA site has a video on making one. I have not used this personally, but I get ideas from the EAA site all the time...

http://www.eaavideo.org/video.aspx?v=77813814001

 

[E.rodz]

I made one for my miter saw table with a couple of layers of plywood and topped it with peg board.I routered out some slots to direct the dust to some ductwork it works pretty good.I just take an air nozzle to it while the vacuum is running when I am done to prevent plugging.here is a link to my garage build thread there are picts. on here showing more details. hope this helps.
http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=48204&page=10

 

[Radio Ron w4ron]

The EAA site has a video on making one. I have not used this personally, but I get ideas from the EAA site all the time...
http://www.eaavideo.org/video.aspx?v=77813814001

I looked at a bunch of photos and videos and I think I like the EAA
version the best.

Thanks for the tips.

GJ is the best for sure.

 

[72Anthony]

Another option is to collect dust at the source; the Festool sanders and vacuum are expensive, but it results in nearly dust free sanding.

 

[Radio Ron w4ron]

The sanding project that prompted the question is almost all
hand sanding.
I'm sanding the spackling I've used to repair the surface damage
to this 20s horn speaker.
Sanding the spackling makes a really big mess.
I wish I had a downdraft box now, but I'll likely get past the
need for it on this project before I get one built.
I'm going to look around this week for a furnace blower so I
can build one when I get to a stopping point.

I just wish it wasn't so damn cold, it's hard to get much done
in my unheated workshop when my hands get so numb I can't
hardly feel them...

 

[Fizbin]

Heh, I'm almost done building my downdraft/storage cabinet. I'll be putting the top on it tomorrow and hooking it up to my dust collector.

Here's a tip that I found rather helpful:
When you build your table, make the inner slanting board in two pieces to form a "V" shape. That way the dust doesn't pile up on the back outer sides. You can kind of see what I'm talking about in the attached picture.

Good luck

 

[Wood'nMetal]

Sorry I don't have a pic of mine. I made a 2x4' box then topped with pegboard (smooth side towards inside of box so work doesn't slide off). I put a piece of ABS on the bottom that my dust collector hose fits. It actually works pretty well and cost about $5.

 

[fitz11]

I use two things. First a homemade downdraft table, just a 2" high box with a pegboard top and attached to the shop vac. Second a box fan with a furnace filter attached to the backside. Between the two of these dust is not an issue.

 

[Whiskeymike]

http://billpentz.com/woodworking/cyclone/downdraft.cfm

http://www.homemadetools.net/vacuum-sanding-table

Might be useful.