My lathe really sucks.. A Big Thanks to Steve Schlumpf and Tom Steyer

[steven carter]

I finally got my vacuum chuck operational thanks to Steve Schlumpf and his great turorial on how to build it, and Tom Steyer for the rotary adapter for my Jet 1642. After I ordered the adapter, I called Tom to check on delivery time, and he gave me some really good advice about making the vacuum drums, and on the use of the rotary adapter. The adapter works like a charm, I just plug it in and I'm ready to go. This took a while to build because I needed a 110 pump, looked for several months until I finally found a Gast model 0532 on Craig's list. It pulls 26 inches of mercury with the bleeder valve closed. I made a couple of drums and one flat plate and turned my first couple bowls yesterday with the bleeder valve slightly open and a reading of 20 on the gauge. Wow I didn't know what I was missing! My method prior to vacuum was with cole jaws, and I hated the time I spent moving the plastic stoppers, and getting the whole thing set up. Instead, I used the dimple left in the tennon for alignment, and was turning the bottom in less than a minute. Another thing I really like with a vacuum chuck is the ablilty to sand the entire bottom and outside of the bowl, with the cole jaw setup, the plastic grippers prohibit this.

Thanks again Steve and Tom!!

[Tom Godley]

I am building a setup also -- I was thinking of also incorporating some extra components to do a little veneer pressing.

Couple of questions:

I also waited to find a 110v Gast 0523 - mine looks just like yours -- and it was my understanding that the extra front section with the two black knobs are filters. I wondering why many find the need for all the extra filters?

I was thinking of maybe placing a small clear bowel filter just before the pump as a kind of separator - but even that looks like overkill.

My 0523 came with a little silencer to be used directly on the open port - depending on the application - I was just going to use this directly on the pump outlet.


Am I missing something???

[Bernie Weishapl]

Looks like a good system you got there and will do the job.

[Steve Schlumpf]

Steve - Congrats on getting your system up and running! Amazing how simple it makes turning the bottom of a bowl! And I agree - the biggest thing I noticed right away was the total access to the entire underside of the bowl! Cole jaws or a donut chuck prevent total access and can create some challenges when sanding!

Have fun with it!

Tom - you can use the silencer directly in the output port if you want. I placed a filter in series with the silencer and output port for two reasons: 1) my shop is located in the basement, 2) the vanes within the pump are graphite and I didn't want graphite dust floating around the shop.

[Tom Godley]

Steve - Not sure if you have the pump with the filters.

I so did you find they did not contain the graphite dust?


Thanks!

[steven carter]

Tom,

I'm not really sure what you mean about the black knobs, but even if you have some built in filtering It seems to me that extra filtering could do nothing but help. As for the silencer, mine had it directly on the output port of the pump also. The pump was used in a printing business, I'm not sure of the environment there, but my shop is a very small room next to my family room and I don't want to take any chances with graphite dust. As you can see I used the silencer after the output filter, I figure better safe than sorry. Good luck with putting it all together, I look forward to seeing the pictures when you are done, and also what you think of the operation.

Steve

[Tom Godley]

Steve C. - I just looked at your picture - yours are not black -- they are painted the same color as the body. They are the two knobs on the front of the housing -- they come out.

Many of the pumps you see as surplus and on e-bay do not have this front section installed and so do not have the filters.

I have not taken mine out to look at them but I know that they are replaceable because they are noted in the very poorly written manual as being so.

I made the assumption that since they are installed on the pump that they would hold in any graphite dust.

But we all know what happens when we assume things :(