vaccum chuck advice

[jeff oldham]

i have been thinking about getting a vaccum chuck for my lathe,,i know a lot of people make their own but fot the sake of time I just thought I would buy one,,i have been looking at the hold fast system and use it with my air compressor,,can anyone give me some advice on buying one or what they have and how good it is,,thank you

[Fred Belknap]

I had the system you are talking about and it worked to a point. About the most vacuum it would draw is 20hg, if you had any leaks like porous wood or a tiny crack it was very problematic. I got a vacuum system from Frugal Vacuum and am well pleased with it. It will pull 26hg and has enough volume to overcome a small leak. Leaks are pretty much the norm. The cost is very similar. I don't have any affiliations with Frugal Vacuum, just a satisfied customer. It comes as a complete system but the chuck is a make your own, he furnishes the wood and a 4" PVC coupler. I had the chuck from the Hold Fast system so I mostly use them. Hope this helps a bit.

[Phil Rose]

I agree. I started with the Hold Fast, and moved to a Frugal for the same reasons as Fred. Very happy with the decision!

[John Keeton]

I have the Holdfast and get about 23", but I can see the attraction of the Frugal setup. I do like the Holdfast chucks, though, and use them for various things.

[Larry Matchett]

I also changed from Holdfast to Frugal. Couldn't be happier. I use the holdfast vacume chucks with my Frugal system. I like them a lot better.

[jeff oldham]

thank you all for the advice,,i just went with the frugal vaccum system,,,i must admit that I was close to going with the hold fast system but I actually spoke to the man on the phone from frugal and you could not ask for anyone as nice as he was and he went more in depth about his system and answered all my questions,,,i will give a update after I get it,,but im sure I will be pleased,,again,,thank you all for the advice,,,

[Thomas Canfield]

You should also consider making the chucks in different diameters. I have made chucks from 1-1/2, 2, 3, and 4" PVC Couplings to better fit the curvature of small to large diameter pieces, and even made a flat foam faceplate that works well on small pieces with circular rim. I do like my Frugal vacuum.

[Gary Baler]

You made a good decision. Just a tip that works for me. I use a piece of leather taped on to the chuck. It eliminates the little circle the chuck makes in the bottom of the bowl. The leather came from an old leather chair we were disposing of.

[carl mesaros]

I have been using the holdfast system for about a year now. It's the only system I have ever used but am very satisfied. Mine can pull about 23-24" of vacuum.
Have never had a "fly off" yet, but I secure with the tail stock as long as I can. I purchased the large and small chuck with mine.
I'm thinking of purchasing the Hollowfast hollowing system from the same company. Has anyone have experience with one?

[Mike Goetzke]

I had the Hold Fast for a short time but sold it when I came across a CL deal on a complete OneWay system. The Hold Fast worked as advertised - never any issues.

After making the change I was wondering - what if I had a power failure? With the Hold Fast system the chuck would still hold whereas the systems with motorized pumps would not, although, guess good chance the lathe would loose power too. Any thoughts on this?

Mike

[Brice Rogers]

Mike, sure - - if the power goes off (and you aren't using a live center), the part will come off.

I'm trying to recall the last time that I was turning and the power failed. In my case the answer is zero. I have had a whole lot more catches where the part flies off than I have had power fails while turning.

I suppose that if a person was concerned, they could run their pump off of a UPS (uninterruptable power supply). They are not very expensive.

[John K Jordan]

I suppose that if a person was concerned, they could run their pump off of a UPS (uninterruptable power supply). They are not very expensive.

Another option might be to add a tank to make a vacuum reservoir. A large enough tank might let you stop the lathe before the pressure dropped enough to release the piece. It would take longer to build up the needed vacuum pressure.

JKJ

[Brice Rogers]

Good point, John. I suspect that it would be easy to build one.

[Don Nicholas]

I also have the Frugal vac system and love it. Above is a post #7 that Tom Canfield posted on making several sizes of small chucks. Tom, do you have some drawings of your home brew chuck? That you could post? I would appreciate any additional info you could supply
Thank you
Don

[Peter Fabricius]

Don,
Here are a couple of Pictures of my chucks.
I am using ABS plumbing pipe in 1.5" , 2" and 3.5" sizes
I thread the bases with the Beall Tap 1.25 x 8tpi for my Nova DVR.

Peter F.

[Brice Rogers]

Peter, did you buy your silicon seals or did you make them yourself.

By the way, your vacuum chucks look really good.

[Peter Fabricius]

Hi Brice,
I make the silicone seals and sell them for five dollars each. I cannot advertise here but you asked. Send a PM if interested.
Thanks for the nice comment on my Vacuum Chucks. P.S. The largest is 3" ID and not 3.5" as I said in my previous post, just regular ABS plumbing pipe.
Peter F.

[jeff oldham]

you still need the bearing in the bottom don't you peter,,,i just ordered mine and it came with foam,,,i took it to mean that most of the pvc pipe should be covered except for a hole in the middle,,but your seal looks like it is just on the rim of the pvc pipe

[Dane Riley]

Having the bearing on the left side of the headstock has some advantages. Just plug a shaft with O rings into the handwheel. Then no bearings are needed in the chucks, and quick and east to install.

The rim is the only part of the pipe that needs to be covered, the size of the hole does not matter. The craft foam does not last very long The silicon does seem like a good idea.

[Peter Fabricius]

Jeff,
What Dane said! You need a bearing just like the Oneway plug in unit. But you can easily make one using a couple of bearings and have a plug in adaptor for the handwheel side of the headstock.
Not having a bearing and lamp rod in each Chuck is a huge advantage in ease of use.
Peter F.

I made this adaptor for a friend for her Frugal pump, works great. Turned the pieces from Oak, used a bit of 3/8" copper tubing. Plugs into the headstock handwheel and the Frugal hose just slips over the copper.