Vacuum Pump Gloat

[Matt Meiser]

My dad and I were talking about veneer one day a few weeks ago and I mentioned something about needing a vacuum pump. He gave me the one pictured below. A friend of his had given it to him a number of years ago and my brother used it as an airbrushing compressor his last two years of high school (during which time I was away at college.)

It is a Gast and looking at the specs I've been able to find online it will be perfect for vacuum veneering. I've looked at the JoeWoodworker.com site and it looks like I still need to spend about $200 to get going so it will probably be a while, but at least I'm part way there.

[Jim DeLaney]

While you're saving up for the expensive equipment, you can do some basic vacuum veneering with maybe a $10.00 investment.

Get a "Space Bag" vacuum storage bag (I use the large size) for about $8.95 at Bed, Bath & Beyond, Linens & Things, etc. and a 1½" PVC pipe cap from your preferred hardware source for about a dollar.

Drill the pipe cap to accept the vacuum hose from your pump. The pipe cap will fit perfectly over the vacuum fitting on the Space Bag.

Load the Space bag with your project and seal it. Attach the vacuum pump to the valve and vacuum away. Just be careful of any sharp edges on your project that might puncture the bag. BTW, it's been my experience that the Space bag won't hold the vacuum well, so either just leave the pump running (It's rated for continuous duty) or check it every half hour or so and re-vac it.

This won't replace a 'real' vacuum bag, but it'll make do until you can get the real thing.

[Barry Londrigan]

Matt, what are the specs required for a "heavy duty" vacuum press pump? What are the specs on your pump?

[Matt Meiser]

Get a "Space Bag" vacuum storage bag (I use the large size) for about $8.95 at Bed, Bath & Beyond, Linens & Things, etc. and a 1½" PVC pipe cap from your preferred hardware source for about a dollar.

Thanks Jim! I'll have to run over to Linens & Things at lunch time one day this week and pick one up.

[Matt Meiser]

Matt, what are the specs required for a "heavy duty" vacuum press pump? What are the specs on your pump?

Its a 110V pump that draws 26" of vacuum from what I've found. My dad's friend worked on Xerox (or some other brand) equipment and it was from one of those machines.

[Barry Londrigan]

Matt

Is that a Gast pump? All I see on Gast's site is that they have specs measured in inches of water (H2O) and I might be doing something wrong....as I have a big pump but it appears that 60 inches of water (which is what the label states) equals only 4.4 inches of mercury? On JWW site he mentions 21" Hg as being ideal. If I am not mistaken...that equals 285 inches of water! www.anver.com/document/company/Reference%20Guides/vacuum.html So I am wondering if my pump will not work? Anybody have any insight on this?

[Dev Emch]

Hey Matt...

You done good! That looks like the same pump used by the vacu-clamp guys out in CA.

Couple of things. First, you should order a poly bag from these guys as you will need one. The base for these is a section of melamine MDF in which a grid of saw kerfs have been cut on both sides. The vacu-clamp guys can help you out and tell you how to do this. It is customary for the customers to make their own. I think they call it a vacuum platen.

Second. See if you can find an old 20 gallon compressor tank esp. if it has the handle and wheels. Then you can attach the pump onto this tank and use the tank as a vacuum tank. I have a similar setup and its nice. With the tank, you can evacuate the bag in seconds! Almost instant! Then, once under vacuum, the pump does not have to work for hours on end. Only if the vacuum leaks enough to warrant the tank comming back on.

I use my set up from vacu-clamp for gluing vertical formica laminate onto birch ply for use in building kitchen cabinets. I dont use contact cement. I use resourcinol on recommendation of the folks at formica and it does a wonderful job. These are extreme high end cabinets.

Once you use this system, you will be hooked. Its totally trick!

[Barry Londrigan]

Hi Dev. Is there a link to the "vacu-clamp" guys?

[Jamie Buxton]

$200? No, not at all. You've already found the key component. Everything else is much easier.

First, lose the controller. Run your pump at a 100% duty cycle. In theory, this reduces the lifetime of the pump. However, the usage in a hobby shop is so low that you're reducing the lifetime from a zillion hours to a million hours. Some time down the road, if you get to agonizing about this, you can buy a controller. In the meantime, don't let budget issues prevent you from making furniture.

Second, make your own bag. Mine are made from clear sheet vinyl. I just made a new one yesterday, so I know eactly what it cost: $16 for the sheet vinyl, $4 for some vinyl tubing, and a few squirts of vinyl cement from a tube I bought years ago for $5 or so. That's it -- less than $25. The bag is big enough to veneer a full 4x8 sheet of plywood. The sheet vinyl came from a yard-goods and crafts shop. It is 20 mils thick, 54" wide, and it came off a roll which must have hundreds of yards on it.

[Dev Emch]

Barry....

The tool free is 888-342-8262 and the web site is www.vac-u-clamp.com. First I have to say that I am just a customer. I have nothing to gain by pushing these folks other than I bought one and it works for me. Here is the picture of my vacuum pump when I unpacked it.

[Dev Emch]

Oh ya, notice that the nipple with the gauge is broken off. UPS did that. The guys at vac-u-clamp told me to take a picture and email it to them and they would pack up a new guage and nipple and send it to me. I was just barely done sending them this picture when UPS brings the replacement parts. No cost to me. They really are nice folks to deal with.