Downdraft Spray Table

[urumomo]

With all the talk about spray booths ,
I figure I'll share what I built around 9 years ago .
I know this is more elaborate than most people want to involve themselves in ( possibly ) , but the suction coming from beneath the work allows me to spray without being encumbered by surrounding bulkheads and a lid , and the 2 X 4 foot size was chosen to accommodate large builds .

Construction pics :

View from beneath .
Basically a shallow , rectangular box with a suction plenum below .



Now flipped upright .
Transverse strips are added . They are free to slide back and forth lengthwise .



Then longitudinal strips are placed over the transverse strips .
They are also able to slide back and forth .
Then , with the transverse strips in the " open " position ( note the wire handles are protruding )
and the longitudinal strips in the " closed " position ( their wire handles , or push rods , are pushed into the box )
Holes are then drilled completely through both layers of strips and the bottom panel of the box



Lots of drilling




With transverse strips pushed in to the closed position :



With some of the transverse strips pulled open and all the longitudinal strips pushed in :



Then with some of the longitudinal strips pulled out , it will close off the corresponding holes that are opened by the transverse strips .
This allows for the suction zone to be tailored for the task at hand .
It allows the air flow to remain high where it is needed most :



Partial openings can be created for fine tuning if needed :



The suction connection and single mounting point to anchor the table in place :








The table can swing and rotate about this single connector . The work top can be level or angled .



Fitted with standard A/C filters :

 

[urumomo]

I have a shopvac up in the attic and this thing is plumbed up through the wall volume and down to it -- it's at the end of the house , over the kitchen so I can't hear it running ,

Under the bench :



Man , This was back when there was a carpet monster . Kinda forgot about that evil .
I put laminate floors everywhere the same year I built this thing .


By removing that one anchor pin I can pick it up and move it out of the way , but it's basically a permanent fixture .
The dogs have always had a dog bed under it . They love that window .

But .
I rarely use the thing . The suction .
I only use the one end of it closest to the bench since everything so far fits down there .
I just spray atop cardboard scrap to protect the filters from continuous acrylic rain .
There are projects in the works that will require the full table though .

Plus , I only use the suction when spraying enamels which is rare . Or coatings using lacquer thinner etc . . More rare .
I have used it the last 2 days spraying Alclad . That's why the filters are exposed below the turntable in the photo below .

So ,
This is what it looks like today and most days . Because of course it does , lol .
I need to clean it up !! :

Nothing but counter space !

 

[Pantherman]

Wow, all that elaborate work for a shelf!! Got to say though it puts most spray booth's to shame. I would love to have that space but I'm lucky to get the dressing table space from the wife. She's still not happy.
Can't wait to see the bigger projects mentioned and the table using it's full potential.
Irishvic

 

[urumomo]

LOL , it did become an extra shelf for piling up all kinds of chit .
I clean it up every couple of months . It's really not as bad as it looks -- mostly rags and cardboard scrap .

It was scaled to accommodate the 1/72 Revell U-Boat that I'm converting into a planetary assault frigate . It's about 40 inches long .
That way it could sit in one position and I could AB on one end or the middle etc and still have full airflow where I am spraying . Otherwise the airflow would be highest down at the end where the hose attaches .

It works really well .
That light switch to the right of it is the control for the shopvac up in the attic .
That switch is on a 6 foot cord and just hung on that door jamb so I can move it around , either to the bench when using the other vac lines that connect to the suction pipe or to any other position along the spray table for convenience .

 

[Marktastrophe]

That is a wicked nice spray table. And attached to a window frame that appears to get loads of natural light too.
I would hate to personally finance all of the materials for this, at this particular point in time though, lol.

I may try to copy this once lumber prices fall (at a smaller scale).

 

[urumomo]

Thanks !
Yeah , lumber prices are nuts these days .
All building material .
Copper wire is going for 4 times the foot price since the last time I stocked up .

This thing would have been a bit bigger but it was built out of what was on hand .
Being in construction , and primarily carpentry , I always have a lot of material around .
Although now being pretty much retired , I've burned through most of it with no new, big jobs supplying fall-off and extras .
I have a lot of white oak and ipe out in the shop and not much pine left around .
A few big sticks of birch .
Lately , when I'm pondering a project , I find myself thinking , " hmmm , do I really want to burn up a bunch of quarter sawn white oak for shelves to pile a bunch of garbage on ? " lol

 

[Marktastrophe]

I get that... "I have an idea! ...But is it worth it?" lol.
I have some wood kicking around, but it's a pretty despicable pile of scrap, lol.
I'm severely lacking in tools though, lol. Probably the biggest cost hurdle for me and the DIY life.
I wish I had access to a planer and maybe a nice splitter. I've got some nice raw Walnut pieces I've been sitting on for close to 10 years now, lol. Poor tree met it's end because of the nastiness of an old neighbor who couldn't help herself from pelting the side of our house with walnuts...
(Mostly unrelated.. but same woman that watched her German Sheppard jump on their 4 foot fence, lean over and bite my wife as she was using a push mower... And then ran out and told my wife "That's why you tell me when you are mowing your lawn!")
I have space and fences enough to only interact with neighbors if I REALLY want to now, lol.

 

[urumomo]

Bad neighbors suck .
There's only 3 of us on my tiny , dead end street , and it's a hundred yards to my closest one to the east .

One of them lets his dogs run amok . I hate him .
he's an ex-squid too . Even worse , lol

 

[Marktastrophe]

Bad neighbors suck .
There's only 3 of us on my tiny , dead end street , and it's a hundred yards to my closest one to the east .

One of them lets his dogs run amok . I hate him .
he's an ex-squid too . Even worse , lol

Haha! That is the worst part of meeting another Vet... if it's someone you wouldn't of had anything to do with anyways, but they just keep trying to hang on because of that commonality of being a Veteran.
Speaking of, Monday is my annual "No social media, and try not to be in public" day! Because I'm more than tired of people arguing with each other about the feelings they should have and communicate on Memorial day...

 

[urumomo]

" Thank you for your service ."

lol , I always say " they paid me and I volunteered for it . Kinda like you working here at Home Depot . "
( when I show my driver's license to get my discount )

 

[urumomo]

I should edit my other post : I have 3 neighbors , that makes 4 of us on this street .

 

[Marktastrophe]

" Thank you for your service ."

lol , I always say " they paid me and I volunteered for it . Kinda like you working here at Home Depot . "
( when I show my driver's license to get my discount )

Considerably different employment contract... but besides that pretty much the same concept yeah. lol.

 

[urumomo]

IDK , it's always annoyed me to hear it .
Maybe It's me being cynical . I think too many people are conditioned to say it but don't really give it any thought . I'm sure some mean it .
No one needs to thank me , that's my own opinion .

 

[Marktastrophe]

IDK , it's always annoyed me to hear it .
Maybe It's me being cynical . I think too many people are conditioned to say it but don't really give it any thought . I'm sure some mean it .
No one needs to thank me , that's my own opinion .

I can fervently echo the being bothered when people say it with no thought or meaning, like it's expected.
And on the flip side of that, it's super awkward when it comes from someone who is being overly sincere, because I'm used to it just falling out like a dead inside "Welcome to Wal-Mart."
Could be a lot to do with people's misconceptions about the military too. I once had someone tell me they never joined because they aren't tough. I was just like "Tough? I don't think I'm tough... Stubborn is more like it."

 

[urumomo]

lol , Lot of military positions that don't require physical " toughness "
Fortitude ? yeah -- a high tolerance for extreme ridiculousness and never ending BS .
My job at sea required never sleeping . Miss that so much .
That last deployment for the first Gulf War was the best cruise I ever did since Fleet wouldn't let us run drills or do most of our maintenance since both have the possibility of accidently dropping a plant .
We were allowed to go to max watch rotation which allowed me to actually sleep more than 3 hours a day .


I'm currently putting together some pix of the base I've been working on for that Armored Core , Sunshine L .
Hopefully uploading to the thread here shortly .
It still amazes me how fast photos transfer from the SD card to the laptop .
47 , 24 megapixel photos in about 1 and a half seconds .
Makes me think of the old dial-up internet connections . Good gawd that was horrible . lol , watching pictures resolving line by line .
Or even transferring pix from my very first digital camera , a 5 mp Kodak .
So spoiled now with modern systems .

 

[Pantherman]

Thanks !
Yeah , lumber prices are nuts these days .
All building material .
Copper wire is going for 4 times the foot price since the last time I stocked up .

This thing would have been a bit bigger but it was built out of what was on hand .
Being in construction , and primarily carpentry , I always have a lot of material around .
Although now being pretty much retired , I've burned through most of it with no new, big jobs supplying fall-off and extras .
I have a lot of white oak and ipe out in the shop and not much pine left around .
A few big sticks of birch .
Lately , when I'm pondering a project , I find myself thinking , " hmmm , do I really want to burn up a bunch of quarter sawn white oak for shelves to pile a bunch of garbage on ? " lol

A fellow wood butcher (carpenter), knew we were kindred spirits. I had to move to management of site's because of knee and back problems and I miss the work, especially the smell of fresh cut pine. But I can still get the offcut material.
Irishvic

 

[urumomo]

Sorry about your knees and back , old man
What kind of company are you with ? residential , commercial ?

 

[Pantherman]

Sorry about your knees and back , old man
What kind of company are you with ? residential , commercial ?

Do a bit of both. Alot of school and local authority work. Nothing over a million though. How about you?
Irishvic

 

[urumomo]

90 % residential , the rest light commercial .
I've had my own business for 25 years . Ground to sky construction for residential with a lot of remodel / additions .
Cabinets , tile/stone , decks etc .
I learned early in to always work for rich people , lol .
The very first framing crew I was hired onto in the early 90's , the first house I framed was 14,700 sq. ft .

My dad was an architect and was always telling me to go into commercial construction exclusively -- all he did was giant high-rise , skyscrapers and tilt-wall . We almost moved to Singapore when I was in elementary school since he was doing big projects over there.
Both he and his father were bad-ass carpenters though .

I had a production shop just north of downtown Houston , 2 blocks from the Saint Arnold Brewery , but I downsized and moved everything here to my home years ago .
Only do custom work occasionally these days . Furniture and what not .
I love being in the field but I couldn't take the driving any more . Driving in Houston , especially in a crew cab truck and often with a trailer , completely sucks to put it mildly .
And I don't miss running a crew . Having employees is always such a joy . not .

Funny you mention doing a lot of schools , a good friend of mine that worked with me over the years got into the glaziers union and he does nothing but schools it seems .
In fact , I need to give him a call today and see what's going on with him . He was supposed to bring me an engine and bike frames that he wanted help with . One of those 2-stroke powered bicycle thingies .

 

[Pantherman]

90 % residential , the rest light commercial .
I've had my own business for 25 years . Ground to sky construction for residential with a lot of remodel / additions .
Cabinets , tile/stone , decks etc .
I learned early in to always work for rich people , lol .
The very first framing crew I was hired onto in the early 90's , the first house I framed was 14,700 sq. ft .

My dad was an architect and was always telling me to go into commercial construction exclusively -- all he did was giant high-rise , skyscrapers and tilt-wall . We almost moved to Singapore when I was in elementary school since he was doing big projects over there.
Both he and his father were bad-ass carpenters though .

I had a production shop just north of downtown Houston , 2 blocks from the Saint Arnold Brewery , but I downsized and moved everything here to my home years ago .
Only do custom work occasionally these days . Furniture and what not .
I love being in the field but I couldn't take the driving any more . Driving in Houston , especially in a crew cab truck and often with a trailer , completely sucks to put it mildly .
And I don't miss running a crew . Having employees is always such a joy . not .

Funny you mention doing a lot of schools , a good friend of mine that worked with me over the years got into the glaziers union and he does nothing but schools it seems .
In fact , I need to give him a call today and see what's going on with him . He was supposed to bring me an engine and bike frames that he wanted help with . One of those 2-stroke powered bicycle thingies .

Very different for me in England, mainly rural so usually no more than 50miles a day travelling. Have 20 crew directly employed and run around 30 specialist contractors. Like you say, such a joy, definitely not. Been doing this 40 yrs and the stress was getting to me when I started the modelling. It's made a huge difference.
Irishvic