Here’s my own homebuilt booth, nearly complete, subject to changes/upgrades, and best of all…it cost me little to nothing for materials. Virtually everything used to build it was already in my possession, left over from other projects and such. I guess all those years of being a pack-rat are paying off! (click on images for larger view)
Lighting has yet to be dealt with, but I think I’m almost to the point of doing some test spraying to see if I need to make any changes or do any tweaking. The exhaust will be 6" flex hose that will only have to go to the window you see in the pics. The blower seems to pull plenty of air, just hope it’s not too much.
Hmmm…I’m not sure why it’s not linking to the full size image. The pics are hosted on Imageshack, and I’ve used them on other boards without problems. Being somewhat computer-illiterate doesn’t help matters. Ideas anyone?
Looks nice. You could probably add an 18" under counter fluorescent fixture in the top of it for some nice light.
The photos appear full size if you click to the right of the photo. If you look in the status bar, when the pointer is over the photo, the URL displayed has a .th just befor before the .jpg extension indictating a link to the thumbnail, but when you move the pointer to the right of the photo, the .th goes away indicating a link to the full size photo.
Interesting. I only get the .th version right to the edges on all sides of the photo. If I right click and open in a new window and delete the .th I get the full size pic.
The fixture ABARNE mentioned would probably do the trick. I have one in my homebuilt and it’s quite bright. I put one warm and one cool bulb in to get a fairly balanced light. If both are cool, then everything gets a bluish tinge and if both are warm it shifts to yellow.
I like your design. Good job. Just 2 quick thoughts:
I would consider placing a baffle several inches beyond the duct intake. That will even out your airflow, so that velocities are not stronger nearer the intake. In addition, I’m not sure what you’re going to set your kit on while painting, but I don’t think the filter is the way to go. Something along the lines of a piece of pegboard, or other board drilled with lots of evenly space holes mounted above the filter would work. A denser paint prefilter may also be used…
Consider caulking around the fan intake opening, and all wood joints. Airflow should come from the booth face only, not from every nook and cranny in the booth. There can be a significant velocity loss at the face if air is being drawn in from other locations.
Thanks for the input Gip! A baffle may well be in the future. I haven’t had time to do any test spraying yet to see how the air flow will actually be, but it will be easy enough to add a baffle if needed.
As far as support for the painting subject…I’m working on an “idea” for that. I’ve added a small beam across the the center of the frame (the one that sits on top of the filter) that will support a vertical center post of sorts. On this center post will be a rotate-able “device” that will secure the subject. I don’t have any pics to post of this yet. It may be overkill, or I may be crazy (I am on my second week of not smoking!! lol) but it seems like a workable thing to me. And a better quality filter is on the list, too.
Doesn’t block any airflow underneath the device, (ie, Don’t use a Lazy Susan to sit your kit on while you paint.) and
Doesn’t suspend your kit above the level of the surface that it would normally sit on (where vapor capture occurs).
As good as downdraft booths are, they can be easily compromised in terms of airflow, capture, etc. I can remember when we used to paint F14 aircraft (1:1 scale) on a rather large downdraft system, and simply painting the tops of the wings and fuselage blocked the airflow enough to cause vapor and particulate rebound, and completely eliminate any immediate capture ability in the system. Granted, the variables are different, but the concept/theory still remains.
By the way, congrats on quitting smoking [#toast]; I hope your withdrawal goes smoothly. I remember my dad was a 3 pack/day Lucky Strike (filterless) smoker who quit cold turkey one night, and he didn’t have the benefit of any of the non-smoking aids that are available now. For about 6-8 weeks he was a bear to live with before calming down and re-discovering food (I think it started tasting better); consequently, his weight went up. But I digress…
