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Thread: Home made vacuum table questions

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Dec 2015
    Location
    Phoenix, AZ
    Posts
    412

    Home made vacuum table questions

    OK, thanks to Gary I found a used Hurricane Vac and it's on it's way to me. Now I need to start planning the actual table and plumbing. I will do Version 1 out of MDF before I spend a bunch of money on Phenolic and find I made a fatal error.

    What sort of fitting is commonly used to attach each pipe to the bottom of the table surface? It appears most pipe with 2" PVC, is Schedule 40 the way to go? Valves, I see some tables with the 1/4 turn ball valves and some with blade style gate valves, any advantages one or the other? It seems the Valterra gate valves can be disassembled and possibly rebuilt if they start to leak... 1/4 turn units look like you will be cutting and splicing pipe back together, or is this something that just doesn't happen? Ball valves are $12 type of thing and gates are $25-$30 each, so it will be more money, but that part I only want to do once if possible.

    The actual plenum table, gasket around the perimeter? Any specific grid pattern? How many zones and what size? I plan on using a spoil board on top 99% of the time and could make a pod grid subtable like I saw on some Shop Sabre videos, don't know how often that would come up, and wether the Hurricane has enough true vacuum to accomplish it anyway. Does anybody piggy back a high vacuum pump into the system so that the Hurricane gets you started and then the Hi vac pump can pull you down into the 20" or so range?

    Thanks in advance...
    Brian Lamb
    Lamb Tool Works, Custom tools for woodworkers
    Equipment: Felder KF700 and AD741, Milltronics CNC Mill, Universal Laser X-600

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Oct 2009
    Location
    Marquette, MI USA
    Posts
    519
    Gary Campbell
    CNC Replacement & Upgrade Controllers
    Custom 9012 Centroid ATC

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Mar 2003
    Location
    SE PA - Central Bucks County
    Posts
    65,675
    A lot of folks use simple shower drain fixtures in the table and they are easy to measure and code into the table design.

    As to your zone design, clearly "what you tend to cut" is going to play into that relative to number of zones and their various sizes. Some description of the typical types of jobs you'll be commonly working on would be helpful to folks to make more detailed suggestions. I do like the ideal of also having pod-type setups available for smaller work, but my impression is that the pods may be better served by a different vacuum source than the big, flat table, because holding smaller things doesn't have the surface area that benefits from gravity as well as the larger table does.
    --

    The most expensive tool is the one you buy "cheaply" and often...

  4. #4
    I used 2" sched. 40 with ball valves, 3 zones 32" x 48". No problem with the ball valves yet, but I am not using the system all the time. I didn't glue the joints, just caulked the outside w/ silicone.

    I have the factory 3/4" particleboard deck, a 3/4" mdf layer with the manifold routed in, something like 1/2" grooves 2" o.c.- based on a post by Gary (if I am not mistaken) in the Camheads forum- and an Ultralite mdf spoilboard glued atop the manifold. I haven't had much problem with warpage in use but a phenolic base would certainly be a good idea.

    I have made some vacuum fixtures for specific parts that screw down to the spoilboard and use a 22"hg rotary vane pump. I never tried "piggybacking" with both the table system and the Gast pump running at once- seems like a waste of power, but I may be wrong. I did try to hold down the fixtures to the spoilboard with the high vacuum but there was too much loss through the ultralite. I doubt the vacuum level of the Hurricane is suitable for pods, but again I may be all wet. Probably depends on the pod size.
    Last edited by Kevin Jenness; 03-31-2021 at 2:47 PM.

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Dec 2015
    Location
    Phoenix, AZ
    Posts
    412
    Thanks guys, I assume shower drains as I want to be able to eventually replace the plenum. I can cut rubber seals with my laser, or use silicone to seal them to the bottom.

    As for cutting, I do a lot of cabinets, so 4x8 sheets broke down into sides, tops and backs. I tend to purchase the dovetailed drawers as I have a local place that delivers and their prices are hard to beat. Some solid wood projects, but I still have my Felder equipment for smaller pieces, can do the doors I like on the router out of glue ups.
    Brian Lamb
    Lamb Tool Works, Custom tools for woodworkers
    Equipment: Felder KF700 and AD741, Milltronics CNC Mill, Universal Laser X-600

  6. #6
    Brian, what sort of door work do you expect to do on your cnc? Profiling, joinery, one-piece doors? Do you feel it will work better than a shaper?

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Dec 2015
    Location
    Phoenix, AZ
    Posts
    412
    We tend to make euro boxes and flat panel doors. They can be solid wood, or plywood panels with solid wood edge banding. Pictures of the last kitchen I did...

    IMG_4273.jpg 60894602688__26A09485-940D-49B1-941E-B043BAE693C1.jpg
    Brian Lamb
    Lamb Tool Works, Custom tools for woodworkers
    Equipment: Felder KF700 and AD741, Milltronics CNC Mill, Universal Laser X-600

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