Building a Vacuum Chuck BY The Bruised Brothers Pete Tkacs & John Solberg
Disclaimers We are not experts We have done the research and put together a few systems and finished a few bowl bottoms We are open to any suggestions, comments, or questions (write them on the back of a $20.00 bill and submit them) We don t have all the answers We can not be held responsible for your mistakes or accidents
Cautions!! While turning under vacuum Don t turn through your work A severe catch while turning can cause a serious problem Soft or punque wood that will not hold vacuum pressure Thin walls that can collapse under vacuum pressure Porous wood grain can allow air to be drawn in (Oak) A power disruption of the vacuum pump while lathe is running is dangerous - or turning the
$370 $85 $65 $600 Gauge Kit Drum Chuck Total Plus fittings $83 E-Z Adaptor Or Rotary Adaptor $80 Pump
$370 Plus fittings Total $645 Vacuum Gauge kit $85 Holdfast Regulator $25 Vacuum Cylinder $65 Rotary Adapter $100 Pump
*** Vacuum Chuck Parts list *** Item Description/ Location Quantity Price Total $ 1 Vacuum Pump 2.65 CFM from Plccenter.com 1 $86.50 $86.50 2 Vacuum Gauge Surplus Center #2141 1 $5.95 $5.95 3 Vacuum Valve Veneer Supplies.com 2 $6.55 $13.10 4 Exhaust Muffler Veneer Supplies.com 1 $2.75 $2.75 5 High- flow Filter Veneer Supplies.com 1 $14.95 $14.95 6 Street Elbow Veneer Supplies.com 2 $1.80 $3.60 7 1.5" brass Pipe Veneer Supplies.com 1 $0.92 $0.92 8 Brass Cross Veneer Supplies.com 1 $3.75 $3.75 9 Pipe Union Lowe's 2 $1.14 $2.28 10 Brass Barb 1/ 4 Male Veneer Supplies.com 2 $1.55 $3.10 to 3/8 Barb 11 Brass Coupling Veneer Supplies.com 1 $1.15 $1.15 12 Lock- on Connector Veneer Supplies.com 1 $12.75 $12.75 13 Lock- on Fitting Veneer Supplies.com 1 $4.85 $4.85 14 Vacuum Hose 3/ 8" ID - Lowe's by the Ft. 10 $0.60 $6.00 15 Bearing 1621DCTN Double sealed - Purvis 1 $13.23 $13.23 16 Lamp Rod 4' with hardware Lowe's 1 $6.75 $6.75 Total ** Not including Tax and shipping ** $181.63 Shipping estimate $17.00 $198.63
Selecting a Vacuum Pump Types of Pumps Diaphragm Pumps Piston Pumps Rotary Vain Pumps Oil Bath Pumps Refrigerant Pumps Venturi Pump
Diaphragm Pumps Ideal for vacuum systems Often used in Vacuum clamping Fairly low CFM ratings 1 to 3 CFM Typical Price new is $300 to $400
Piston Pump Not as quiet as diaphragm pumps Common in vacuum clamping Better CFM output 2 to 5 CFM Typical Price about $300 to $400 new
Rotary Vane Pump Found in most woodturning catalogs Generally maintenance free Good CFM Rating 2 to 20 Typical Will run a long time Tend to get hot with extended usage Price $300 to $400 new
Oil Bath Pump Used by the air conditioning industry Can emit a light plume of oil with extended usage CFM range from 1 to 6 CFM typical
Refrigerator Pump Very Quiet Very low CFM less than 1 Large and bulky Hard to make connections Need to watch for freon in the system Usually supplied through Scrap
Venturi Pump Very low cost Harbor Freight $17.00 Needs a compressor to operate Time consuming to hook up Not portable because of the compressor Relatively low CFM Typically less than 2
900 800 700 600 500 400 300 200 100 0 Vacuum Pressure Guide 0 5 10 15 20 25 30 Inches of Mercury P=πr²*.491*Hg (1 in. Hg = 0.4912 psi at sea level) Bowl Diameter 2 Inch 4 Inch 6 Inch 8 Inch 10 Inch 12 Inch 14 Inch Pounds of Pr essure
2468 2169 1890 1629 1388 1167 964 781 617 472 347 241 154 25 2221 1952 1701 1466 1249 1050 868 703 555 425 312 217 139 22.5 1974 1735 1512 1303 1111 933 771 625 494 378 278 193 123 20 1728 1518 1323 1141 972 817 675 547 432 John Horn 243 169 108 17.5 1481 1302 1134 978 833 700 578 469 370 283 208 145 93 15 1234 1085 945 815 694 583 482 390 309 236 174 121 77 12.5 987 868 756 652 555 467 386 312 247 189 139 96 62 10 740 651 567 489 416 350 289 234 185 142 104 72 46 7.5 494 434 378 326 278 233 193 156 123 94 69 48 31 5 247 217 189 163 139 117 96 78 62 47 35 24 15 2.5 Pounds of Pressure Vacuum HG 16 15 14 13 12 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 Contact Diameter in inches Vacuum Pressure Guide
Vacuum Chuck Resources American Woodturner - Winter 1998; Page 32 to 35 - Vacuum Chucks A turning gizmo you can t afford to ignore. Ken Keougham American Woodturner - Spring 1999; Page 28 to 31 - Vacuum Chucks An efficien tool without sucking up big bucks. Ernie Showalter American Woodturner Summer 1999; Page 26 to 27 Sealing the System O-ring materials improve the vacuum. John Hill Woodturning Magazine No. 170 January 2007 Page 36 to 40 Vacuum Chuck on a budget. Adrian Jacobs Woodturning Magazine No. 171 February 2007 Page 36 to 40 Vacuum Chuck on a budget wwwpart two. Adrian Jacobs Woodturning Design Magazine No. 7 Fall 2005 Page 29 to 35 Vacuum Chucking is the Way to Go How to Create Your Own System at Low Cost. King Heiple A Guide to Work-Holding on the Lathe Fred Holder Page 90 to 97. www.woodturners.org Building a Vacuum Chuck System for Woodturning. William Nobel March 2002 www.woodturningonline.com Making a Vacuum Chucking System on a Shoestring Budget an Adventure. Sy Plonski www.woodturningonline.com Basics of Vacuum Chucks / Pumps - Bill Hrnjak 1996 www.woodturns.com Setting up a Vacuum Chuck Rex Haslip www.beaverpondstudio.com Vacuum Chuck Richard J. Pagano www.wnywoodturners.com - Making a vacuum chuck Part 1 & 2 Kurt Hertzog www.ovwg.org Vacuum Chucking Part I & II February 2004 - Bruce Gibson and Ralph Tedeschi www.joewoodworker.com Vacuum Chucking Lathe Projects with a Vacuum Press. www.gastmfg.com Gast Manufacturing, Inc Vacuum Pressure Systems Handbook