Matt Meiser
12-29-2005, 10:57 PM
I finally got a chance to work on a vacuum bag. I was able to find all materials locally:
Vinyl, 4 yards for $10 at Wal-Mart
Bicycle inner tube canibalized for the valve stem, $2.50 at Wal-Mart
Piobond contact cement, $6 at the local Ace Hardware (seems to be similar to the HH66 vinyl cement)
I was able to make a roughly 54" x 54" bag for about $20. I followed the Joe Woodworker instructions and found it was pretty easier, though I made one messy mistake when I spilled contact cement on the bag. Took a lot of paper towel and some acetone to clean it up. :mad:
I cut a section of the inner tube around the valve stem and kept about 2" of tube around the stem. I cut a small hole in the bag and glued the stem through the hole. After removing the valve core, it works great and a 1/4" hose fits perfectly, if not a little tight, over it.
I haven't made anything to seal the open end, but folding the end of the bag over itself and clamping a piece of 2x4 over it worked fine to start.
Vinyl, 4 yards for $10 at Wal-Mart
Bicycle inner tube canibalized for the valve stem, $2.50 at Wal-Mart
Piobond contact cement, $6 at the local Ace Hardware (seems to be similar to the HH66 vinyl cement)
I was able to make a roughly 54" x 54" bag for about $20. I followed the Joe Woodworker instructions and found it was pretty easier, though I made one messy mistake when I spilled contact cement on the bag. Took a lot of paper towel and some acetone to clean it up. :mad:
I cut a section of the inner tube around the valve stem and kept about 2" of tube around the stem. I cut a small hole in the bag and glued the stem through the hole. After removing the valve core, it works great and a 1/4" hose fits perfectly, if not a little tight, over it.
I haven't made anything to seal the open end, but folding the end of the bag over itself and clamping a piece of 2x4 over it worked fine to start.