Lathe Vacuum Chuck

[John Weber]

What kind of capacity do you need for a vacuum chuck for a lathe? Can a nice A/C service pump work.

Thanks – John

[Jim Becker]

What kind of capacity do you need for a vacuum chuck for a lathe? Can a nice A/C service pump work.


According to my friend Johnny Tolly down in Texas, a pump that can pull at least 20hg should work fine for this application. I ended up with a surplus (but actually new) Gast pump identical to those sold by the woodturning oriented concerns for almost $400...I paid $175. Others have bought used pumps for pennies on the dollar via EBay and other sources. Some of these require 240v, but that's not all that hard to deal with if you need to.

In case you are interested, I have a brief article on my site about vacuum chucks that may be useful to you. They really are very, very useful to have!