Vacuum Chuck System Finally Completed

[Tony De Masi]

Well I have finally finished putting together my vacuum chuck system. Many thanks go to Steve Schlump for his great tutorial from a few years back, Mike Cruz, for finding a great deal on a Gast pump for me, and him too, and to Faust (Butch) Ruggiero for answering the many, many questions I had for him during this build.

Ended up buying the rotary adapter from JT Turning Tools. Tried making my own, threw it away, and got on line to order one.

So here it is. Compact, on casters to roll out of the way, and extremely quiet too. The gang box on the left side was my neighbors idea. Never can have too many outlets. They are live when the system is plugged in without the pump turned on. Nice idea.

The chucks are 2, 3, and 4 inch versions. Have finished a 9 inch too but it's drying right now.

Not the prettiest version you'll ever see, but it sucks pretty darn good.

Thanks again fellas.




209853209854

[Alan Zenreich]

Looking good. You will certainly enjoy having vacuum chucks in your tool arsenal.

[Roger Chandler]

Nice addition Tony............you will wonder why you waited as long as you did! This is the best way to reverse chuck a bowl for finish turning the bottom in my opinion................good stuff ............waiting to see the results of your maiden voyage with it!

[Steve Schlumpf]

Congrats on getting your vac system up and running Tony!! You will really love using it!!

[Paul Heely]

Nice looking setup Tony. I just ordered from JT, so hopefully I'll have my own setup to gloat about next week. On the chucks you made, how is the wood part of the chuck attached to the lathe? Faceplate or did you tap the wood to fit the spindle?

[John Keeton]

Congrats, Tony!! Looks like a very clean job to me. Those outfeed tables sure come in handy, don't they!:D

[Jon McElwain]

Good looking system there! I agree with Roger, you will wonder what you ever did without it. I was at my Dad's place doing some turnings over the summer, and I had a heck of a time trying to figure out how I used to reverse chuck a bowl without a vacuum system!

What is your source for the pads? Are they pre-cut? Did you use a spray adhesive? In my high desert climate of northern Colorado, the adhesive that comes on the pad I use dries out really quick - a bit annoying. Looking for something better.

[Tony De Masi]

Paul, the plywood chuck was drilled and tapped using the Beale Spindle Tap. I followed Faust's advice and after cutting the threads I soaked them with some thin CA glue.

Paul, the pads are just two pieces of closed cell foam from Holly Lobby. Very inexpensive at 89 cents for a sheet. I first tried the spray adhesive without much luck so I ended up using epoxy to put two pieces together then cut them into circles, then epoxy them to the rim of the chuck.

John, shhhhhhhhhh....don't tell anyone...

[Bernie Weishapl]

Congrats Tony. You are going to love it.

[Faust M. Ruggiero]

No better compliment than when the student out does the teacher. Great job Tony. I look forward to seeing it in person.
faust

[Baxter Smith]

Looks great Tony. They do make life easier. Enjoy!

[David DeCristoforo]

Nice looking system. Mine uses the same pump but it's mounted on a tank like a compressor.

[Josh Bowman]

Tony, great job. You're going to love it.

[Chris Burgess]

That looks awesome. Great job on that.

[Richard Jones]

........

Not the prettiest version you'll ever see, but it sucks pretty darn good.

In this case, major suckage is a good thing, eh? Nice rig, hope you enjoy it. Keep us posted on how it does.

Rich

[Andrew Kertesz]

Looks good. I am waiting to put mine together, time being the most important factor right now. I thought that I read in another thread that someone had issues with the black foam either leaving marks on the blank or deteriorating and creating a fine black dust.

[Tony De Masi]

Andrew, I certainly will keep an eye on that but this stuff seems pretty substantial. They had several colors available but if this one deterioates then I would assume they all would.