diy vacuum table

frame of table and beginning of the structural outline for the recessed area

painted, outlet installed on the outside (for sanders or other tools to plug into), drilled for switches, recessed portion epoxied to eliminate sharp corners for more efficient airflow and vacuum hose attachment installed underneath

top installed, epoxy sanded and painted. rails for shelving installed as well

another of this area

I applied a thick coat of resin to the entire top and inside of the recessed area. This resin is a resin I have been using for years- it's called Max 1618 and it's used in the manufacture of solar panels. It has the UV yellowing component removed, so the resin is crystal clear at any depth and is not as prone to yellowing over time. I resined the surface so it would be much more resistant to abuse.

The vacuum I chose for this was the Rigid 4-gal with 6HP peak performance. I chose this one because rigid vacuums perform best in basically every test for shop vacs, and this particular model had a respectively high peak HP but is still very small. I decided what size the table should be based on this vacuum.

a detail image of the top that will be for the sanding downdraft function of the table. It is plywood with a drilled / routed pattern, painted and covered in a thick layer of resin. This image is of me sanding the sides back to square on the downdraft table in the shop that I am currently using

I installed a Uline fluorescent that is wired to a ballast located in the corridor where the vacuum is located and receives power from the switch on the left

I messed up and forgot that the switches' thread depth was only 1/2", and my plywood is 3/4", so I opened up that area a bit and epoxied the switches in after installing their threaded ring. Also shelves installed in this pic

made some organizational things for the inside like these tool mounts and also a small unit with drawers that come out for router bits (below)

cute ass bonus features (light, outlet, vacuum)

made some noise cancelling panels which line the inside of this area - the vacuum vents out of a tube through the bottom.

All done - I used some 3/8" acrylic that was left over from a freelance project I fabricated parallel to this table for the doors, and some acrylic tube that I bent with a heat gun for the handles. I ended up making a diffuser for the fluorescent tube because of how intensely it reflected off of the shelves. I'm working on the other plates for the different functions of the table now and it's going really well