Downdraft table made from MFT

[Rick Caviglia]

Hi,
Has anyone out there tried to make a downdraft table using an MFT? Even with the Festool sander and dust collector I still end up with some dust and quite a mess when I'm hand sanding.

Rick

 

[jhark123]

That would be interesting to see.  A downdraft usually has a LOT of CFM that precludes portability.  Are you going to be using this on a jobsite or in a shop?

 

[Dan Clark]

Rick,

I'm surprised you have excess dust with a Festool sander and CT vac.  I sanded the subfloor of a 10 X 13 room with my Rotex hooked to my CT22.  When I was done, there wasn't enough dust left to fill the palm of one hand. 

For hand sanding, you might want to try one of the Mirka Hand Sanding Blocks: http://www.mirka.com/accessories/handsandingblocks with Mirka arasives (I have one of the small ones and the hose).  Some better pics here: http://www.mirka-usa.com/downloads/pdf_files/9A-SSK3_shopflier.pdf . Their dust hose plugs into the CT's inlet port.  The hose is very light weight and doesn't get into the way.   

http://www.amazon.com/Mirka-91490-4-Inch-5-Inch-Abranet/dp/B001BKXWEE/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=hi&qid=1271448747&sr=1-1
http://www.amazon.com/Mirka-91500-4-Inch-2-Inch-Abranet/dp/B001BKT5DQ/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=hi&qid=1271448747&sr=1-2

These folks sell a kit: https://www.woodessence.com/Abranet-Hand-Sanding-Starter-Kit-P128.aspx .

Regards,

Dan.

 

[Rick Caviglia]

That would be interesting to see.  A downdraft usually has a LOT of CFM that precludes portability.  Are you going to be using this on a jobsite or in a shop?

I would be using it in my shop. It seems that even with the Festool sander and dust collector there is still a cover of really fine dust that builds up around the shop.

 

[Rick Caviglia]

Rick,

I'm surprised you have excess dust with a Festool sander and CT vac.   I sanded the subfloor of a 10 X 13 room with my Rotex hooked to my CT22.  When I was done, there wasn't enough dust left to fill the palm of one hand.   

For hand sanding, you might want to try one of the Mirka Hand Sanding Blocks: http://www.mirka.com/accessories/handsandingblocks with Mirka arasives (I have one of the small ones and the hose).   Some better pics here: http://www.mirka-usa.com/downloads/pdf_files/9A-SSK3_shopflier.pdf . Their dust hose plugs into the CT's inlet port.   The hose is very light weight and doesn't get into the way.   

http://www.amazon.com/Mirka-91490-4-Inch-5-Inch-Abranet/dp/B001BKXWEE/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=hi&qid=1271448747&sr=1-1
http://www.amazon.com/Mirka-91500-4-Inch-2-Inch-Abranet/dp/B001BKT5DQ/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=hi&qid=1271448747&sr=1-2

These folks sell a kit: https://www.woodessence.com/Abranet-Hand-Sanding-Starter-Kit-P128.aspx .

Regards,

Dan.

Thanks for the information Dan. These look similar to the ones Festool has in Europe. I'll be buying them soon. It seems that even with the Festool sander and dust collector there is still a cover of really fine dust that builds up around the shop. I also just added the Onieda Dust Deputy to the Festool Vac, but I don't think that's going to make a difference in the shop dust that covers over everything.

 

[WarnerConstCo.]

That would be interesting to see.  A downdraft usually has a LOT of CFM that precludes portability.  Are you going to be using this on a jobsite or in a shop?

I would be using it in my shop. It seems that even with the Festool sander and dust collector there is still a cover of really fine dust that builds up around the shop.

That usually happens over time.

 

[jhark123]

That would be interesting to see.  A downdraft usually has a LOT of CFM that precludes portability.  Are you going to be using this on a jobsite or in a shop?

I would be using it in my shop. It seems that even with the Festool sander and dust collector there is still a cover of really fine dust that builds up around the shop.

It should be pretty easy to do in a shop setting.  I assume you have a high cfm dust collector already?  just make a box out of plastic sheet goods sloped towards the center with a 4" dust port (make sure to use a blast gate) and install under the mft.  One thing that should be noted is that a true downdraft table vibrates to move dust towards the holes, so it wont work quite as good as a dedicated table.