Pump for Vacuum Chuck

[JonB]

Check out JT Turnings at http://www.jtturningtools.com/
They have pumps and all the plumbing and fixtures you need. I saw them at the National symposium in MN a few years back, bought the vacuum adapter and a hub from them, works very well. I got a Gast pump out of a piece of obsolete equipment at work and bought the fittings that I needed at the hardware store.

 

[gritz]

I bought a Gast vacuum pump at American Science and Surplus for my setup about 5 years ago for $50. You just have to be patient and persistent.

 

[Hmerkle]

Check out JT Turnings at http://www.jtturningtools.com/
They have pumps and all the plumbing and fixtures you need. I saw them at the National symposium in MN a few years back, bought the vacuum adapter and a hub from them, works very well. I got a Gast pump out of a piece of obsolete equipment at work and bought the fittings that I needed at the hardware store.

Jon,
where do you work that you had a vacuum pump in a obsolete piece of equipment?

 

[JonB]

I work in the printing industry, it came out of a step and repeat machine (used to make printing plates). There were actually 3 identical pumps that all ran on 110v. There was a member of the Chicago Woodturners club who was getting used pumps from medical oxygen concentrators, not sure if he can still get them.

 

[Hmerkle]

I work in the printing industry, it came out of a step and repeat machine (used to make printing plates). There were actually 3 identical pumps that all ran on 110v. There was a member of the Chicago Woodturners club who was getting used pumps from medical oxygen concentrators, not sure if he can still get them.

I will have to ask my buddy (a big printshop here in town) but I am not sure he has any more of that era of equipment...
He does a lot of digital printing and I don't think they use them anymore (might be a good thing - maybe there are some obsolete machines sitting around... BRB

 

[junquecol]

Check out Air-Vac Engineering for ideas on venturi pumps. If your compressor's inlet filter screws in , you turn it into a vacuum pump. Used and worn HVAC vacuum pumps are a dime dozen. They will pull more CFM than you need, and are designed to run for hours on end. (Some large systems take DAYS to vacuum down.) Check with a couple HVAC contractors about old pumps, because when they no longer pull in the micron range, new is cheaper than rebuild, plus there isn't down time without a vac pump.

 

[arcwick08]

For any interested parties, I just found this on Ebay. Guy seems to have a handful of refurbished gast pumps: http://r.ebay.com/7DdCGg

 

[Carl Fisher]

hrmm, might be a bit excessive for my stabilizing chamber, but I could also see it being used for vacuum bagging, chuck holding, etc... That's a lot of machine for the price.

 

[Mike Mills]

I really don't know anything about the vacuum pumps and systems but this link was on a different turning site yesterday.
Most remarks in the thread indicated it is a pretty good deal.:dontknow:

http://www.frugalvacuumchuck.com/details.html

May be the same person from Chicago that some one mentioned earlier in this thread.

 

[JonB]

Mike,
That is the guy from Chicago that I was talking about, he did a demo for the Milwaukee Woodturners that I belonged to when I lived in WI. I didn't realize that he had a website. His price for a pump and everything you need to set up a vacuum chuck is very good, I know several guys that bought from him and are very happy with the set up.

 

[arcwick08]

I pulled the trigger on a pump from the FrugalVacuumChuck. Bob, the owner, is about as nice a guy as you could possibly do business with. I ordered JUST the pump (comes with the starting cap and a cord) - $125 shipped to me. His kit seems great too, but I wanted to chance to screw up the connections myself instead of buying a kit

I'll let y'all know how it pans out - I'll do a video or some pictures and follow up here next weekend...

 

[merrill77]

I bought a used A/C pump off CL ($35) to try my hand at veneering (which I haven't done yet). Appears to be barely used (not that I could tell the difference). Worked fine when I plugged it in, but then I put it away and haven't touched it since