Finally

[bob svoboda]

..got all all the parts for a vacuum chucking system and was able to put it together this weekend. Many thanks to Steve Schlumpf for the ideas I was able to steal from him and also to Tom Steyer and his great quality parts. I used the chuck hub and rotary adaptor from JT Turning Tools and a Gast pump I picked up from the Bay. The rest I got locally using Steve's system as a guide.

[Toney Robertson]

Looks good Bob.

I just have to do that one of these days.

For those of you that have vacuum chucks, how long is it before you are not paranoid about a power failure???

Toney

[Ray Bell]

Looks good Bob. This project has been in the back of my mind for a couple of months now, I think I will call JT Turning tomorrow. When you use this do you center the bowl with the tail stock?

[Bernie Weishapl]

Looks pretty good Bob. Tom's parts are top notch and I bought his entire system.

[Mike Peace]

I got to meet Tom Steyer at the Southern States Symposium recently and saw his rotary vacuum adapter in action. It has two bearings and two O rings.

Wow! My home made adapter could not come close in performance to his. I picked up a couple of pounds pressure but the main thing is that his runs so smooth at any speed whereas my home made tended to wobble a little and needed a velco strap as insurance that it would not come off. I highly recommend his adapter.
http://www.jtturningtools.com/vacuum-adapters

[Ray Bell]

Looks pretty good Bob. Tom's parts are top notch and I bought his entire system.

Hi Bernie,
When you say entire system, do you mean everything? Other than something to mount this on you did not have to buy anything?
Is this on your Nova?
Thanks, Ray

[bob svoboda]

Looks good Bob. This project has been in the back of my mind for a couple of months now, I think I will call JT Turning tomorrow. When you use this do you center the bowl with the tail stock?
That's my plan. I just finished the system last night, so, haven't actually used it yet. I did mount a bowl that I soaked in DO last week and was curing before polishing. I got up to 25hg before I cut it back. When I took the bowl off, it had actually pulled little spots of DO from the wood. I think this thing could suck-start a Harley:D

[Thom Sturgill]

Not to hijack the thread, but I just finished mine and tested it yesterday. I also used JT Turning Tools adapter and a pump I bought over a year ago on the 'Bay. I ordered some of the parts from the salvage place that Steve listed on his build. It pulls 25" Hg but can't handle much leakage, so I will probably buy a different pump.

When I tested, I was holding a piece of mdf up against the chuck and could only get 5" Hg, then tried something that was sealed and got 25".

BTW, Bob, nice looking setup but does that foam leak? I used the thin self-stick closed cell foam WalMart sells in the craft area - handy stuff!!

[Steve Schlumpf]

Bob - congrats on getting your system up and running! You will love using it!

Everyone has a different way to seal the end of their chucks but I found the easiest thing to use is some real thin closed cell packing material. I don't glue it in place - just cut an X in the center to allow for air movement and then hold it in place while placing the bowl over the end of the chuck. Works great and you don't have to worry about how to glue it in place!

Nice work on your system!

Thom - congrats on getting your system up and running also!

[bob svoboda]

Thanks Steve. I found this foam with an adhesive back. It sticks like crazy to the PVC, yet can be removed if necessary. You can just wrap it around the perimeter and fold it over the rim and it makes a great seal.

[Ryan Baker]

Nice setup. I have a bunch of stuff on the way from JT right now too. I've had his rotary adapter for a while and it works great. I'm replacing my HF pump, because I am tired of the oil it pumps out. The chuck adapter should be equally nice ... I just need to find a 2" to 4" coupler somewhere (nobody around here has one).