Vacuum Chuck

[Joe Luzich]

Just purchased a DVR EP (small gloat) and want to add a vacuum chuck. Rockler has a 25% coupon and I was thinking of buying the Holdfast vacuum chuck. Is this a good choice or should I forget about that one. If any one has one and hooked to a DVR, was there any problems installing it.

Joe

[Rasmus Petersen]

Im have been looking at it to so also interessted in hearing any conslusions.

Rasmus
(sorry about the bad spelling)

[Gordon Seto]

You would be much happier with a real vacuum pump and you can make up the connections inexpensively with less fuss each time you are using.

The Venturi vacuum depends on the constant bleeding of compressed air, it is not efficient.

You can find the 220V Gast pump for $90:
http://www.surpluscenter.com/item.asp?UID=2007112008042144&item=4-1540&catname=air

I got my 110V from EBay for even less than that.

The bearing is a very common double sealed (not shielded) bearing with the outside diameter matching the inside hole of the DVR handwheel. I use mill file and regular scraper to turn down the brass plumbing fitting to the inside diameter of the bearing. A home made gasket between the handwheel and outside of the bearing. There is no lamp rod needed to thread through the spindle; the vacuum power would hold it in place. Easy on and off. The only thing I did differently is remove the quick disconnect, since it leaks and there is no need for it.

I have reserved a port for attaching a vacuum gauge. Instead of using the ball value to control the vacuum, I use the vacuum relief valve from Grainger:
http://www.grainger.com/Grainger/wwg/productIndex.shtml?search_type=brand&QueryString=CDI+CONTROL+DEVICES&operator=refineSearchResults&originalValue=Relief+Valves%2C+Vacuum&searchIndexId=1
Other than those, you can get all parts and hose from Lowes or Home Depot. My pump came with an intake filter; if yours don't, you should get one from place like Surpluscenter also. You don't want the sanding dust to suck into the pump.
IMO, if your lathe has a through hole in the spindle and doesn't have any cross hole drilled, you can use the same design with minor modification. The lamp rod is a hassle to hook up and unhook.

There are lots of information about making your vacuum chuck if you do a search.
One other advice is don't use KD solid timber to make the vacuum chuck. They move. Use man made material and seal them to avoid leaking; they are more stable.

[Ron McKinley]

Agree with Gordon. Go with the real thing and not a shop vac solution.....Ron

[Jim Becker]

Agree with Gordon. Go with the real thing and not a shop vac solution.....Ron

Add my name to the list...

[Joe Luzich]

Thanks for the advice. I guess no one uses the holdfast system.

Joe

[Bobby McCarley]

Joe, I have the holdfast chuck head and I'm very pleased with it. I do not use the vacuum generator though, I purchased a used vacuum pump instead to use with the chuck head. IMHO a vacuum pump will give you a better vacuum than using the vacuum generator and air compressor.

Bobby
Louisiana

[Gordon Seto]

IMO, the Holdfast is only attractive if you are paying full price to buy a $370 for a Gast pump, $100 for the adapter and $$ for the aluminum Oneway cylinder.
The $90 220V Gast pump from Surplus Center looks brand new to me. There are plenty of used Gast (or Robinair) pump on Ebay that you can get for well under $100. I believe mine was around $55. The bearing and other plumbing parts are inexpensive. Excluding the time to get the parts, the assembly time is less than an hour if you use 5-minute epoxy.
The Holdfast was developed by Dave Hout, it works. But I don't think it is as effective. Letting the compressor running all the time (because constant bleeding of air) to generate vacuum is very noisy, wasting a lot of energy (electricity $) and heating up the shop in summer.
My system costs less than half of the Holdfast. I also don't like to thread the Holdfast adapter through the spindle; you need to thread and unthread each time you use the vacuum. That's an extra step I don't need.
In regards to the vacuum chuck cylinder, you can make it with MDF and spare faceplate.
Yes, the Holdfast is attractively priced as a package next to the Oneway system in the CSUSA catalog. But there are even cheaper DIY version of the real thing.

Gordon

[Brian McInturff]

i own a Stubby so the typical vacuum setup isn't needed. But, I do own the VacuuMaster and it is probably the best setup I've ever seen. Not cheap but very, very effective. Bill Grumbine has the setup posted on his website. And if you like your tools to "look" professional then this one is the ticket. Even though I didn't need it it has made my life so much easier since I got it. I can post a link to Bill's page if you'd like.
Brian

[Gordon Seto]

i own a Stubby so the typical vacuum setup isn't needed. But, I do own the VacuuMaster and i

Would you please explain why the typical setup isn't needed.

As I understand, the Poolewood has a solid spindle; therefore VacuuMaster is needed to solve that problem.

For lathe that has through spindle that doesn't have hole cross drilled; they have a choice.

Gordon

[Brian McInturff]

The Stubby has a built in Vacuum port.