boggs vacuum box

[Mark Rainey]

I am working on a bent lamination using soft maple. I resawed on the bandsaw at a fat 1/8 inch and needed to plane to just under 1/8 of an inch. I put some new blades in my Dewalt 735. Unfortunately I had a hard time to get to an even 1/8 on the boards - the soft maple grain was up and down and I was getting tear out and the sickening feeling when you hear that board getting chewed up. I do not have a wide belt sander. I tossed together the Brian Boggs vacuum box in a half an hour with particle board, glue, and pin nails, and it did the trick.

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[Paul F Franklin]

Nice trick! Are the holes right under the cutterhead?

[Mark Rainey]

Nice trick! Are the holes right under the cutterhead?

Yes Paul. The suction is impressive -I thought I would have to seal the joints with caulk but no need.

[Frank Pratt]

I've never seen that before. Thanks for posting. Did you wax the top surface?

[John Jardin]

Very clever Mark!
I too am getting ready to do some laminating as suggested by Thomas Moser making a laminated bowback for a Windsor chair using .100 thick veneers.

[Mark Rainey]

I've never seen that before. Thanks for posting. Did you wax the top surface?
You are welcome Frank. I usually wax my planer bed, but I did not wax the top surface because I was worried about fresh wax interfering with a glue up in the laminations. I don’t know if the worry is justified.

[Mark Rainey]

John, I am confident the vacuum box will get you to .100. Good luck!

[Frank Pratt]

I'm gonna build myself one of those. I have a left over chunk of melamine coated MDF that would work perfectly.

[Mark Rainey]

I'm gonna build myself one of those. I have a left over chunk of melamine coated MDF that would work perfectly.
Melamine coated would be perfect.

[Tom Bender]

That's genius. And it could be made longer to provide more support, (umm maybe not needed for thin stock)

Only problem in my small shop is that it would need storage space for use about once a year.

[Mark Rainey]

That's genius. And it could be made longer to provide more support, (umm maybe not needed for thin stock)

Only problem in my small shop is that it would need storage space for use about once a year.

Thanks Tom, I did want the box to be small so I removed the front extended table of my Dewalt 735 so the cleat on front could be right outside the planer.

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[Dick Mahany]

Pretty cool. I've blown up my share of thin boards and might try this. Smaller is better in my shop.

Any idea of how thin one could actually go? I'm wanting to build a few "Scott Lewis" style cutting boards, but want to make my own veneer. I can mill thin slices on the bandsaw, however uniform thickness is key and requires surfacing after resawing.

[Mark Rainey]

Pretty cool. I've blown up my share of thin boards and might try this. Smaller is better in my shop.

Any idea of how thin one could actually go? I'm wanting to build a few "Scott Lewis" style cutting boards, but want to make my own veneer. I can mill thin slices on the bandsaw, however uniform thickness is key and requires surfacing after resawing.

I agree Dick, even though some can resaw very uniform thin veneers, surfacing is almost always required. Supposedly you could plane to just under 1/16 of an inch with the set up. I brought my soft maple to close to 3/32 and it had shifting grain. If you had uniform grain on the edge of the board, it would be helpful to mark grain direction before resawing, then planing in the correct direction afterwards.

[Tom Bender]

If you make more holes and over the full width you could then cover the excess ones with package tape for narrow stock.

[Phil Mueller]

Thanks for sharing Mark. Had not seen that technique before. I don’t do shop sawn veneer much, but the minimal work to put it together would make it worth it even for a one time need.

[Mark Rainey]

If you make more holes and over the full width you could then cover the excess ones with package tape for narrow stock.

Nice modification Tom

[Mark Rainey]

Thanks for sharing Mark. Had not seen that technique before. I don’t do shop sawn veneer much, but the minimal work to put it together would make it worth it even for a one time need.

You are welcome Phil. A cheap substitute for a wide belt sander.

[Bill Carey]

Thx for the info Mark. That's new to me and I'll be using it soon on a dresser project with curved sides.

[Mark Rainey]

Thx for the info Mark. That's new to me and I'll be using it soon on a dresser project with curved sides.

You are welcome Bill, I will look forward to your build

[Rick Potter]

Question: Would guide rails on the edges be necessary, or does the work just go straight on it's own?

I use a melamine surface on mine, but sometimes the work rides to the side....no vac holes. This looks like something I need to try.

Thanks,

[Mark Rainey]

No guide rails needed. The suction is pretty impressive and there is not much movement at all of the veneer/laminate.

[Rick Potter]

Thanks Mark, I will give it a try.

[Lee Schierer]

In his design, Brial uses slots and you used holes. Are there any advantages/disadvantages of one over the other?

Instead of removing the table, a thin strip of metal fastened right at the end of your vacuum box would fit down between the hinged table and the planer bed.

[Mark Rainey]

In his design, Brial uses slots and you used holes. Are there any advantages/disadvantages of one over the other?

Instead of removing the table, a thin strip of metal fastened right at the end of your vacuum box would fit down between the hinged table and the planer bed.

Lee, I am not sure of the advantages/disadvantages of one over the other. The strip of metal is a great idea and would allow me to pop the box in and out almost effortlessly. Thanks Lee!

[Ed Aumiller]

Great idea !!! Will use it in future... THANKS

[Brian Backner]

A question: has anyone tried using one of these vacuum boxes in an attempt to eliminate snipe on, say,4/4 stock after one side is jointed smooth?

[Mark Rainey]

Cherry to a thin 1/16 inch, about 0.06 Uniform grain helped

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[Edwin Santos]

Very interesting jig.

If I understand what's happening, the suction is sufficient to hold down the thin workpiece, enough to keep it from rising into the cutters and getting destroyed, but not too much suction to prevent the rollers from moving it through. If I have it right, then very clever and I look forward to giving this a try. Thanks for sharing!

Edwin

[Mark Rainey]

You are welcome Edwin. This morning I peeled off a 1/32 inch veneer from my bandsaw and ran it through the vacuum box afterwards. I don't have a caliper but I estimate I was at 1/40 inch. My cherry grain was ideal this morning. I do not think I can reliably get 1/40 inch but it can be done.

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