I found a lot of the supplies locally, between HD & ACP where Mr. J got his pump kit. I’ll post a photo when mine’s built - all the supplies cost about $200. Its pulling too much vac right now, so I need to rework the wiring between the manual & automatic switches, but its not hard…
I went even cheaper than the plans show, with an inline check valve and just barb fittings for the hose instead of all the shrader-type valves they show. But the site is really thorough. My pump can also restart under pressure, so no need for the extra little air tank or the MAC (?) valve.
I’m in the process of building this same pump. The company is great to work with. They get you your product really quickly. They currently have the rebuilt pump on sale for $165. It probably overkill for board building but it would be great to be able to vacuum clamp wood for sanding. However, I think that the total project will cost a little over $300 dollars. Those 4 inch caps run about $7 a piece. I’m going to build the setup into a central table that can also serve as my shaping table and outfeed table for my table saw.
Yes, Joe is super helpful… I can’t wait to see your set-up Benny.
What are you using for a bag?
Mine just keep getting thicker… last one was .15mm thick all around… the bag I’m building now is 1.5mm (for the bottom) and 1mm for the deck…
I hope start-up vac baggers aren’t scared off by the prices being thrown around here… you can do this for supercheap if you’re on a tight budget, McGyver (sp?) style if you are the kinda guy that gets amped by the mr. gadget theme song.
Too much vac is when you start distorting your core or sandwhich material - accidentally. Depending on how and what you build your sandwhich out of… this could mean different things but one example would be pulling a flat bottomed board into a slight single concave or having your rail sandwhich leave an imprint in your bottom sandwhich - but then again you can also use these distortions to your advantage. When you’re learning, this is easily avoidable by only applying just enough vacc to hold everything in place… with the standard joewoodworker vac switch that is about 3-5 " Hg… I think…
I’m using only 1 tank, a 36" x 4" piece of ABS - way cheaper than 3 PVC tanks & all those fittings, hoses, caps, etc. I got my pump from ACP it was $130 or so and can restart while under vac so no need for the bleed tank.
EPS foam will crush with more than about 14 “Hg, so you want your check valve to shut down the pump at 13” and then it comes back on when you go down to about 9".
So far, all I’ve made in it were a couple of fins. I used Ziplock bags for my bags - the thicker ‘freezer’ ones. Worked pefectly - 3 layers of 6 oz each side of some EPS “fin blanks” that began their life as packaging material
When I start applying balsa strips to the EPS fish blank I finished shaping last night, I’m going to use plastic sheeting and seal it up with the double-stick foam stuff I got from Schwuz. I’ve got the balsa cut & this time I can it through the thickness planer too, as I’m comfortable with the process now and I know that what I shape in foam will definitely translate to the balsa. So instead of 3/16" thick wood, I ripped to 1/8" and then ran it through the planer down to a fat 16th. Stringerless 6’0" fish, balsa over EPS. Should be killer light, really trying for a Bert on this one…
If I had know that those caps were so expensive I would have gone for the longer pvc also. The one thing that concerns me a little is how the longer piece would respond to being under vacuum. I know that it wouldn’t be a problem with the level of vacuum we use building boards, but I’m not sure about at higher vacuums. Those end caps seem to add a lot of strength to the pipe. However, it doesn’t really matter since all the pieces are cut and glued. One recommedation, DON’T use that blue Red Hot pvc cement. Its really ugly when it dries.
Hi Benny, I tend to oversize/overdesign my tools but I am using thicker Schedule 80 PVC, 10’x6" safely… but I don’t take it over 15" Hg even though I think it could go further… if you want to take it further safely, there is even Schedule 120 PVC but harder to find and more expensive… I think the most commonly available PVC pipe in the states is Schedule 40.
DanB, I haven’t tried the red stuff but if it’s just messy that’s OK… plumbers don’t consider it a good seal unless the glue is oozing out the sides of the end cap.
cheers,
Brennan
PS sorry, I had to post this DIY link again… it’s just too good to miss… this is how I did my 1st pump… http://www.berkut13.com/sucker.htm
PM me if you have some crazy questions… made lots of good mistakes…
