Down-Draft Work Bench for Better Dust Collection

I've been power carving a lot lately and in the Winter I need to take it inside. The problem is power carving is messy. So I took a swing at building a down-draft workbench to help cut down on sawdust and woodchips flying all over the shop. The concept is rather simple, but it incorporates a few ideas to make the workbench more versatile.
See how I went about building it and feel free to modify to your own needs for your own design.
#woodworking #dustcollection #powercarving #woodshop #woodcarving #woodart

[@To-Lo77]

Great idea! Yet another example of thinking outside the box 📦 (no pun intended) lol.

[@maplebirchstudio]

😂 perhaps it’s inside-the-box-looking-out thinking? 🤔

[@TheRalnick]

Now this is awesome, I'm not sure this would work but would a short wall on the open side help keep the dust from being thrown out or maybe moving the work piece farther into the box? stupid question from a non-woodworker.

[@maplebirchstudio]

The short wall idea might work in some situations. The angle you're holding the angle grinder will impact its effectiveness I would think. I did go back and forth on ideas that might help prevent wood chips from existing through the front, but I was worried about running into limitations on workpiece size if I put something in the front that attempted to block wood chips. I could have set the work piece further inside to box. In my head the fewer holes I block the better. That's an unproven theory.

[@csbarbourv]

I wonder if an axial fan blowing a curtain of air down at the front of the box would prevent some dust from going in the shop? Kind of like the things they have at the entrance doors of large stores? Also, it looks like some holes around the perimeter of the box might be useful to just suck in some of those chips and shavings.

[@maplebirchstudio]

This is a great idea. I’ll have to try something in the near future and see how I goes.