Vacuum Pump Recommendations?

[Frank Snyder]

I'm looking for any recommendations for a vacuum pump and bag system for lamination work. Woodcraft has a system for around $350 for a 1700psf pump and 20-mil bag. Any opinions or other suggestions?

Much appreciated.

Frank

[Alden Miller]

Frank, I have a home made system that I made with parts that I purchased from joewoodworker.com. It was very easy to build and I believe I put the whole thing together for about $125. I made a bag that is about 2 1/2' x 3'. If you wanted a larger bag the price would go up a little bit.

Joe was quite helpful with my questions and pleasant to deal with.

-Alden

[Mitchell Andrus]

I second joewoodworker.com. Get the "kit" of parts, follow the directions. One afternoon and you're done.

[John Ricci]

Make that 3 for joewoodworker.com. Great plans/parts lists etc. I already have a twin cyl. Thomas pump that I bought as surplus about 20 years ago and it served well for years running an airbrush. Now it gets to suck, and be really good at it:D.

[Mike Cutler]

Yup. Go to Joe's for the info. You can build a better one than you can buy for the same $$$$
I work with vacuum systems for the day job. Nothing I can add that Joe hasn't got covered.

[Jim Becker]

Yup...Joe Woodworker. I plan on aquiring some veneering technology from him in the not to distant future, although I'll be using my existing Gast pump I have for my spinny work.

[Marc Casebolt]

I built the JWW venturi system just last week end. Haven't used it yet, but it will suck the air out of a 5 gal. tank in less than 20 seconds. It doesn't seem to use too much air, and the venturi has a life time guaranty. I'll be using it on our next project in about a week.

Marc

[Mike Henderson]

I'm looking for any recommendations for a vacuum pump and bag system for lamination work. Woodcraft has a system for around $350 for a 1700psf pump and 20-mil bag. Any opinions or other suggestions?

Much appreciated.

Frank
Joe Woodworker is a good place to buy vacuum pressing stuff.

But no matter which way you go, the thing you want to look for is the CFM of the pump, and not the psf. The problem with a small pump (low CFM) is that it takes too long to suck down. When you put your work in the bag, there's a lot of air in the bag. You want to get that air out in a reasonable amount of time so you can get back to work on other things. It's a pain holding your work in place through the bag waiting for the vacuum to pull down. I think a 3CFM pump is about the smallest you should buy. For certain kinds of work, where there's lot of air in the bag, you might want a bigger pump - but if you're just getting started, a 3CFM will work for you.

Also, I'd recommend that you get a 4x6 bag. You can do small work in a big bag but you are stuck if your project is bigger than your bag. A 4x6 will allow you to do most things (like a table top). And to save pull down time, you can clamp off part of the bag when you're doing small work.

The only thing "bad" about Joe's bags are that he doesn't sell a closure and recommends that you make a wooden closure. The problem with the wooden closure is that it's too heavy by the time you put your clamps on it. I bought some better closures from another company - Vacuum Pressing Systems??? - don't remember.

Mike

[Bruce Wrenn]

For a pump, check with local HVAC repair persons. When their vac. pump no longer draw in the micron range, they trash them as a new one is cheaper than a rebuild. That is how I got mine, only from junk yard where I paid 15 cents per pound, about $3.00 for each.

[Frank Snyder]

Thanks for the suggestions, everyone. I'll check out Joe Woodworker.

[Noah Levy]

My two cents:

You really don't need a big pump, e.g., one that moves 4-5cfm even if you have a big 4x8 foot bag. First, you don't necessarily want to draw the bag down real fast because you want to allow some time to make small adjustments as the bag is collapsing. Second, if you put a tee fitting and ball valve between your bag and the pump, you can simply use a shop vac to evacuate the bulk of the air in the bag. After that point, you can use a puney pump to keep a vacuum. THe advantage is that small cfm pumps go for real cheap because everyone is focused on getting what they think they need, 4-5 cfm .

[Randal Stevenson]

I have a friend who had some relatives that passed away in the last couple of years. I went to both auctions as they both were in the auto industry (one had a car lot, the other replaced glass, and used to rebuild tractors). I ended up with a vacuum pump, similar to this model (Robinair 15600, 2 stage vacuum pump). It says it's a 5cfm and I picked it up for a song, as this is something I thought about for a future interest (as well as a vacuum clamp table.)


Is this ok or really overkill, as I do have someone who wants to buy it and I would put that back in the tool budget.

Thanks

[Noah Levy]

It will certainly do the job. Although I don't have first hand experience, I've heard that this type of pump can emit a very small bit of oil vapor while in use. I assume that over time it can end up in the bag but I'm not sure. There's only one way to know though - fire it up!

[John Gregory]

I purchased the Woodcraft one several months ago with a 25% off one item coupon. I have been very pleased with it. At this point in time, at least for me, I cannot imagine needing anything more. It is small and easy to store. If I need other bags, I can make those.

[Homer Faucett]

Frank, I have a home made system that I made with parts that I purchased from joewoodworker.com. It was very easy to build and I believe I put the whole thing together for about $125. I made a bag that is about 2 1/2' x 3'. If you wanted a larger bag the price would go up a little bit.

Joe was quite helpful with my questions and pleasant to deal with.

-Alden

How were you able to do this for $125? The EVS kit at Joe Woodworker is $147, and you have to add a pump ($135 cheapest on his site) and a bag (at least $32 from Joe Woodworker). I thought I got a pretty good deal on a 2.5 cfm pump for $60. That still makes it about $250 to put the system together.

If you have some tricks to bring down the price, I'd be interested in finding out how to cut some costs.

[Bruce Wrenn]

It will certainly do the job. Although I don't have first hand experience, I've heard that this type of pump can emit a very small bit of oil vapor while in use. I assume that over time it can end up in the bag but I'm not sure. There's only one way to know though - fire it up!The exhaust on most HVAC pumps is through the handle. Any oil mist would be here, not on the Vac side. These pumps are designed to run for hours at the time. Vac. pump oil is CHEAP. Don't be tempted to substitute other oils in vac. pump. I have several that I picked up at junk yard for 15 cents per pound. I am planning to mount one on a used 30 gal. verticle tank for my system. Whitman controls makes several grades of vac. switchs that could be used to turn system on and off.

[Neil Bosdet]

Another vote for Joe Woodworker. I just put together the premium venturi set up. Sweet. If you have a decent compressor and don't need portability then this is a good way to go.

[richard poitras]

Not to hijack this post but this does pertain to this topic what type of bags are you all using? (Kind and were you bought them from) and to all that have done the Joe Woodworker systems did any body price out the accessory kits in regards to price from buy the parts locally? Just wondering if it’s a big difference some times convenience is worth it for a reasonable price ….

[Cary Swoveland]

Joe of Joe Woodworker asked me to post the following message for him. I am happy to do so.
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I wanted to say thanks to everyone who recommended the vacuum press that is offered at JoeWoodworker.com. What a pleasant surprise to see so many comments from so many familiar names. To Alden, Mitchell, John, Mike, and everyone else... seriously... thank you.

Also, I'd like to comment on Mike Henderson's comment about the bag closure. He is absolutely right. The biggest deficiency of our bags is the closure. The good news is that I have found a company to build a custom closure system. The closure is similar to the "tube and sleeve" closures found elsewhere but with a few little extras that make it easier to use and give the bag a better seal. I have the prototype of the extrusion here in my shop. I'll be pressing some veneer panels this weekend with it. I suspect it will be fine and if so, we should have a good supply of them within 3 weeks.

Lastly, a special thanks to Cary for pointing out this thread and for helping me clean up some typos and grammatical errors on the vacuum press plans.

Peace.

Joe
www.JoeWoodworker.com (http://www.joewoodworker.com/)