vacuum clamp to hold down parts for sanding/routing works well

[marty shultz]

I made some vacuum clamps over the winter and I really like them. It only takes me about 3 seconds to change from one part to another.

Normally when I sand I would hold the parts with one hand while sanding/routing with the other hand. Or, I might secure the work piece between bench dogs with a vice. Or I might clamp the part to the table, but I would have to unclamp/reclamp to get to the entire edge/surface. All these methods take more time than using a vacuum clamp. And the clamp can mar the wood.

Here are some short videos showing a few setups..
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YO782hMVeEs

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UgKcT1wOE-E

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AAFuOulvGM8

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fXWpBNWhsPc

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l3bVVfHYIuQ


Materials: I used 2" alum pipe and these clamps:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00387G1VY/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004STXULU/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

3/4" thick HDPE plastic was used to make various shapes of vacuum fixtures (pods). I purchased the plastic from a local source who had some small cutoffs. . Some pods have foam on both sides with a through hole so the pod vacuum clamps to the table and to the material. Some pods were screwed to a plate with a steel sleeve welded to it so the sleeve could be mounted on top of the alum pipe. I used 1/4" tubing, high density foam for gasket material, foot pedal and check vales from joewoodworker.com. I bought other quick disconnect fittings from amazon. they aren't the best quality though. I also bought a used vacuum pump but you could use a venturi vacuum pump with your air compressor.

BTW - I got the idea from the Barth vakuusyst 3.15. It is really nice but cost over $2.3K. https://rangate.com/products/barth-vakuusyst-315

Enjoy!

[Eric Arnsdorff]

I'd love to see more detail of your fixtures. That's a great idea!

[marty shultz]

Here's another pic. I tried to upload several pics but for some reason it didn't work. Let me know if you need more pics and I'll try again.

435497

[Keith Outten]

Very nice Marty.

Joe Woodworker sells a kit that works with most of the small vac pumps. It has everything you need except a couple pieces of PVC pipe and caps to make the expansion tank. I bought the kit, well worth the money.

I use solid surface material for custom pods and I purchased a couple several years ago.

[Steve Jenkins]

For a gasket I use closed cell weather stripping. It has a self adhesive back.

[marty shultz]

I purchased some of my parts from Joewoodworker. Some of his prices were higher than I found elsewhere.

[marty shultz]

I used the same material. It works well.

[Alan Rutherford]

I ususally don't watch YouTube videos because there's too much video and too little information but you did these right. One of them is 37 seconds long and another is 12 seconds but they showed what I needed to see. Thank you. We need more 12-second videos.