Clint Wenthur Posted April 11, 2012 Report Share Posted April 11, 2012 The following posting is a project I started midstream of building an entertainment center for my basement. While assembling the entertainment and cleaning the shop I was reminded of how the dust just seems to find its way to every part of the shop. I then turned to the internet for a few ideas .... and quickly came to conclusion that converting my existing hard maple table saw outfeed table into a multipurpose work station would be ideal. I quickly disappeared to the Home Depot for a few supplies and began crafting this project based off of a few pictures I saw on the internet. I must credit the idea for this project from http://www.fineboxes.com/DowndraftTable.htm. The outfeed table has now been converted into a fully functional downdraft table, outfeed table and storage cabinet. The base of this cabinet consists of 1/2" plywood construction and 2"x2"s with Hard Maple for top. If you want to attempt this project here is a list of supplies: (3) 1/2" X 4' X 8' plywood (9) 2" X 4" X 8' (1) 60min timer switch (1) 120VAC outlet (10) Power cord 10-2AWG (2) Box of Screws (1) Door gasket / weather stripping (to seal the removable fan side) (4) 20" X 20" furnace filters (2) 1" X 1" steel angle iron to improve surface rigidity (6) 1.25" Pan Head screws (1) Hard Wood Top (Size to vary based on your shop) (1) Old Furnace fan or blower The finished dimensions for the base of my downdraft table are 39" X 43". The height of my downdraft table was customized to match the height of my table saw and thickness of the hard maple top. Since the downdraft table in my shop is a permanent fixture I finished the base with a hardwood trim to ensure it remains level with the floor and table saw. See more at http://wenthurs.blogspot.com Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave H Posted April 11, 2012 Report Share Posted April 11, 2012 I like it where did you get the fan? I was thinking of building something similar, but wasn't successful in finding a squirrel cage fan mine was going to be two fold downdraft table/air filtration unit. Nice project it's got me thinking again Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clint Wenthur Posted April 16, 2012 Author Report Share Posted April 16, 2012 I salvaged this old fan from a furnance. Might find an older furnace fan on ebay or craigslist. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mds2 Posted April 16, 2012 Report Share Posted April 16, 2012 Nice table! I had considered building one of these myself and even bought a furnace fan at an auciton for $20. The fan moves the air so well in my shop that I choose not to put it in a table. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tim0625 Posted April 25, 2012 Report Share Posted April 25, 2012 I have a HVAC customer who will save a motor w/squirrel cage for me. If you don't know anyone, go by the local HVAC business and they will have old heat pump units in their yard that (usually) will have a bad compressor or bad electronics. The fan unit (motor and squirrel cage) will still be good - 220v but that's easily wired. Offer them $10 or 15 for one. They may even give you one. Clint, I have a 2 car garage that's my shop. So space is ok but not extreme. I've had the same idea for a downdraft/sanding/outfeed table. I want it flat for assembly too. Were there any problems getting yours flat? Also, I want to add a leg vise and tail vise for clamping small projects as I do not do a lot of hand tool work but need the extra 'hand' helping to hold my work. A Neanderthal may say, 'blasphemy...leg vise on a downdraft table', but in a limited space, each area has to be as efficient as possible. Storage underneath is good too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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