Getting Into Vacuum Bagging

[joe maday]

roarockit.com...skate board kits and veneering bag kits...hand pump. reasonable price.

[John TenEyck]

FWIW, if you buy a pump rated for continuous duty you don't have to turn it off. A small pump draws only a little power and is more than adequate to hold the vacuum on a well sealed bag. My setup is only a slight step up from this where I use a timer to cycle the pump on and off, usually so that it runs 1/3 to 1/2 the time.

The automatic vacuum control system is nice but completely unnecessary to achieving excellent results. You don't have to spend much money, or time, to have a low cost system that works as well as any. A bag, a pump, and a hose connecting the two are really all you need.

John

[Mike Henderson]

I went with the Joe Woodworker system. Works well.

There are veneers that don't behave well when they absorb water. When using one of those veneers, with a water based glue, you want to get the project into the bag and under press immediately. A very low CFM pump doesn't work for those veneers.

Mike

[Bubinga is an example of one of those veneers. It's a radial cut veneer. Many radial cut veneers can be a problem.]

[Ken Krawford]

Thanks everyone for your thoughts and feedback. I've been watching Craigslist for vacuum pumps but here in Atlanta they're few and far between. So far I've concentrated on the various pump options but lost a bit of enthusiasm when I saw the prices of the 3 different grades of bags. I may have to re-assess my thinking.It appears that an Excel 1 kit, the cheapest 4' x 4' bag and a few accessories will put me north of $450. For me, this is a bit hard to justify for something that may or may not get used much.

[Patrick Kane]

Ken,

Maybe try reaching out to woodworking clubs in Atlanta? That is a big metro market, and i guarantee someone has a vacuum setup locally. Id be surprised if someone on this forum didnt live in Atlanta with a vacuum bag. Buy the guy some booze, or lunch, use his bag for a glue up and then determine if its something you need to invest in or not.

[John TenEyck]

Thanks everyone for your thoughts and feedback. I've been watching Craigslist for vacuum pumps but here in Atlanta they're few and far between. So far I've concentrated on the various pump options but lost a bit of enthusiasm when I saw the prices of the 3 different grades of bags. I may have to re-assess my thinking.It appears that an Excel 1 kit, the cheapest 4' x 4' bag and a few accessories will put me north of $450. For me, this is a bit hard to justify for something that may or may not get used much.

You can make your own 5 x 5 ft bag for less than $50.

John