Vacuum Press

[Rick Beko]

During the summer I was looking into vacuum presses. I thought I would share the press I built. I purchased the pump off of ebay and most of the parts came from Joe Woodworker. I wired it up for either continuous or to cycle at a certain settings. This allows me to use the system for for either veneering, vacuum clamping or for a vacuum chucking. So far I have tried it out with a vacuum clamp and it really holds the work snug.

Once I get one of my benches cleared I can make a vacuum bag.

[Dewey Torres]

JWW is popular here on the Creek and he has PERSONALLY answered every single email I ever sent which I find impressive. He has a bunch of DIY vaccum kit examples on his site.

I suggest you sent pics of yours and just maybe he posts it.

[richard poitras]

Rick,
What size pump did you get as far as CFM’s...

[Jim Kountz]

Nice looking rig there. Im waiting now for the pump I ordered to get here so I can build mine. Looks like you did an excellent job with it, let us know how it works for you!

[Jim Becker]

Wow...nice job on that setup. And I agree that Joe is great to deal with and very knowledgeable.

[Mitchell Andrus]

Wow...nice job on that setup. And I agree that Joe is great to deal with and very knowledgeable.

I second both.

[Steve Rozmiarek]

Rick, looks like you used most of the same components as I did on mine. Pretty slick little device. I like how you put yours together, nice and clean. I'm not familiar with vacuum chucking, can you explain a little more? Enjoy the new posibilities!

[Leigh Betsch]

Tell us moreabout your components. I need to make one very soon, been watching e-bay for a cheap pump. What info can you share on the pump?

[Bill Arnold]

Nice looking system, Rick. When I built my press several years ago, I relied on Joe's site for information and parts. He answered all emails I sent and posted my system on his site when I finished it.

[Mitchell Andrus]

Mine. Dumpster dove a 60's era Gast pump about 20 years ago. Note the oiler!!!

Never throw anything away...
.

[Rick Beko]

The pump I went with was a model 71R645 GAST twin cylinder pump rated at 4.35CFM. I purchased the majority of the parts from the Joewoodworker web site. If you want to get a better understanding of the different DIY pump options I recommend you check out the site. There are step by step instructions on how to build three different systems. The only part that I found to be a bit of a challenge was how to wire it to cycle or to run continuous.

I bought the material I need to make a couple of bags so hopefully that will be straight forward.

Vacuum chucking:
If your lathe has a hollow shaft in the headstock you can use a vacuum press to hold your work piece to a face plate. You can get more information on this topic from the Joewoodworker site as well.