Ed and Friends,
Got a crazy idea to build a down draft drill press table and it works great! Will post pictures when I get a chance. Have about 75 3/8" holes spaced 1" apart on the intersections of a grid. There's a 4x4 blank under the bit with holes on all 4 sides. Went with 3/8" as opposed to 1/4" holes because I wasn't planning to have many holes and wanted to get larger chips. Ran 4" PVC to the box. I made a bunch of test holes with a 3/4" forstner bit and it sucked the dust & shavings down beautifully.
I was concerned that the suction would not allow me to move pieces across the top, so I put a 2 1/2" blast gate on the opposite end of the box (got to use all that little junk somewhere). As it turns out, this isn't necessary but I now have a great hook-up for cleaning my workbench and attaching to orbital sander, etc. Just block the holes by laying a clipboard on the table top, hook-up the shop-vac hose and it's ready to go.
Here's my question: I'm thinking if I take the 4x4 blank under the bit and drill holes in it, I could also have a mini down draft table for sanding small parts. If I understand Bill's formulas for a down draft table correctly, I think I can add another 30-35 holes without compromising performance. From his webpage, I extrapolated that with a 4" duct and 3/8" holes you could have up to 115 holes. There is room in the box under the table, but wanted to double check before a ruin a perfectly good down draft table. What do you think?
Still loving my cyclone and recommending it to everyone I can. So nice to have a clean shop and be able to breathe while working. Keep up the good work!
Kent
Got a crazy idea to build a down draft drill press table and it works great! Will post pictures when I get a chance. Have about 75 3/8" holes spaced 1" apart on the intersections of a grid. There's a 4x4 blank under the bit with holes on all 4 sides. Went with 3/8" as opposed to 1/4" holes because I wasn't planning to have many holes and wanted to get larger chips. Ran 4" PVC to the box. I made a bunch of test holes with a 3/4" forstner bit and it sucked the dust & shavings down beautifully.
I was concerned that the suction would not allow me to move pieces across the top, so I put a 2 1/2" blast gate on the opposite end of the box (got to use all that little junk somewhere). As it turns out, this isn't necessary but I now have a great hook-up for cleaning my workbench and attaching to orbital sander, etc. Just block the holes by laying a clipboard on the table top, hook-up the shop-vac hose and it's ready to go.
Here's my question: I'm thinking if I take the 4x4 blank under the bit and drill holes in it, I could also have a mini down draft table for sanding small parts. If I understand Bill's formulas for a down draft table correctly, I think I can add another 30-35 holes without compromising performance. From his webpage, I extrapolated that with a 4" duct and 3/8" holes you could have up to 115 holes. There is room in the box under the table, but wanted to double check before a ruin a perfectly good down draft table. What do you think?
Still loving my cyclone and recommending it to everyone I can. So nice to have a clean shop and be able to breathe while working. Keep up the good work!
Kent