I know this is a fairly simple question but thought I would throw it out there anyway. I made a downdraft sanding table and it works great, however the surface is fairly smooth and the parts tend to ride around on the table as I am sanding. Without reducing suction by covering the holes does anyone have some suggestions to make the surface less slippery? I need something that doesn't impede suction or that is not rough so that it scratches the surface against the table.
From contributor Br
I use floor pad. The kind that is intended for a floating floor. Contact glue it in place and cut out the holes.
From contributor Bi
What did you use as a surface for the table?
From contributor Br
MDF
From contributor ca
Rockler woodworking sells some things that look like hockey pucks. They have rubber on both sides that is similar to a diver's wet suit. For some reason they keep things from vibrating all over the place.
It might be worth seeing if you can source some material like this and punch some small circles out of it. If you could glue or epoxy the rubber circles onto your MDF surface you might fix your problem.
While we are on the topic I would be interested in how you handle your filtration and what you use for the vacuum. Could you post a picture of this?
From contributor Br
I used a product similar to rhino bed liner on one I made years ago. It's similar to bed liner but wihout any grit in it. It had a soft rubbery feel and didn't mar the back side of whatever I was sanding. I'll see If I still have the product and post it back on here if I find it.
From contributor Jo
I made a table similar to what you are describing with a MDF top. I use some pieces of carpet pad cut into various sizes. Just throw a couple on the table under what you are sanding. My table is 4 x5 with 1" holes drilled on 3 or 4" centers. I then rounded over the edges of the holes with a 3/8" round over bit. Old furnace fan pulls air through a couple of 2" 24 x 24 pleated furnace filters. Works great.
From contributor Pe
RV shelf liner might work...
From contributor ca
We used to use something like the shelf liner Peter recommends except that we bought it from a carpet store.
So that it wouldn't bunch up we would stretch it over the table top. It didn't have a very long lifespan.
What I think you are looking for is something similar to truck bed liner but with more resilience. Imagine coating a piece of plywood with 1/8 of rubber cement. You couldn't get anything to slide across that.
From contributor Ge
Lee Valley sells 12" x 36" and 24" x 36" High Friction sheets which can be cut to size with scissors and are backed with a high-shear, pressure-sensitive adhesive to let you quickly secure them to just about any surface.
Go to their web site and look for Bench Pucks, which is another option and was also mentioned above.
From contributor La
We've used something like the grip liner but cheap & thin. Buy it at a grocery store or Wal-Mart. It doesn't need to be fastened down and the dust goes through it. Actually lasts quite awhile.
