Vacuum Adaptor for Jet JWL-1642EVS

[williamwestbrook51]

Vacuum Adaptor for Jet 1642

Vacuum adaptor for Jet JWL-1642EVS-2


Hello,

This will be my first post and I am going to start off by attempting to include a picture of my vacuum adapter.

I made this by stacking six pieces of Corian. They were all cut 2 ½ inches by 2 ½ inches. I then glued them up with the gap filling CA glue and let this set up over night before I chucked it up. Next, I drilled a 5/16 inch hole all the way through and turned it down into the shape you see in the picture.

I turned it to just fit the hole in the back of the aluminum hand wheel. Then, with a thin parting tool, I made three small grooves evenly spaced along the outer circumference to accommodate some o-rings. This was a bit time consuming because I wanted to make the depth so there would be a tight fit along the inside wall yet be able to make a good seal.

The other end stepped out to a diameter somewhat larger than the hand wheel (about 2 ¼ inches and 1 inch thick). That’s a dual seal bearing with a brass reducer bushing 3/8 inch male by ¼ inch female. You make this by using a ¼ inch by 3 inch brass nipple. Thread the nipple onto the bushing, chuck it up, turn off the threads with a parting tool and taper to force fit into the ID of the bearing. I used my drill press and pressed (forced) the brass bushing snug to the hex of the bushing. To make a good seal, I used a light application of thin CA glue between the bearing and the Corian.

I used foam material to make a seal between the adaptor and the hand wheel and between the hand wheel and the back of the headstock.

This has worked very well for me. You can get into the vacuum mode very quickly with this arrangement. This adaptor has consistently held in excess of 24 to 26 inches of vacuum.

I hope this will be of some benefit. I have been wanting to share this information for quite sometime.

 

[Griesbach]

Well done, William. Are you getting and leakage from the quick disconnect air fittings?

 

[jwtaylor]

I made one very similar but mine had just one fat o-ring that slips over the outer diameter of the hand wheel, I used thick nylon for mine. I like the idea of using the inside of the hand wheel for the sealing o-ring though.

 

[Gil Jones]

Thanks William, your rotary adapter idea is excellent!!
The only drawback that I can see is that I do not own a Jet lathe,
but who knows where this could be modified to fit.
Gil

 

[Bill Boehme]

Using Corian sounds like a good idea. I have built several rotary adapters using various combinations of PVC pipe, couplings, and reducer bushings to get the diameter and wall thickness that I wanted to fit the bearings, but have not been completely satisfied with turning the inside of PVC because it is soft and can get hot and distort when it is turned - usually resulting in chatter.

Bill

 

[williamwestbrook51]

Cyril
Thanks. I discovered this added benefit from a fellow Gulf Coast Woodturners Assoc. member about a year ago. I have a run of ½ inch copper tubing around the perimeter of my studio/shop/barn all with quick disconnects. I have the vacuum pump in another room and no problems with holding a good vacuum.

JW
Yes. The three o-rings spaced somewhat apart do two things seal and provide stability. The dynamic aspect of this application requires this sort of configuration. I made three attempts at this before I locked on to spreading the o-rings out.

Gil
Yes!! The real exciting thing about this is that this adapter can be modified, along with the aluminum hand wheel part from Jet and Now Grizzly to fit the back of a lot of different lathes. I just found out that Grizzly is coming out with a version of this lathe February 2007.

Bill
You are right about the PVC. I have made a lot of vacuum chucks using PVC fittings. The only way to keep the chatter down turning this stuff is sharp tools and takes light cuts.

 

[Joe Greiner]

The real exciting thing about this is that this adapter can be modified, along with the aluminum hand wheel part from Jet and Now Grizzly to fit the back of a lot of different lathes. I just found out that Grizzly is coming out with a version of this lathe February 2007.

Couldn't find Grizzly's hand wheel you mentioned. (Wrong keyword, probably) Can you enlighten me/us with a part number or correct keyword for search?

Joe

 

[williamwestbrook51]

Joe,

The Grizzly Lathe Model # G0632 is very new. In fact they claim that it will not be available for shipment until next month. You can go to their web site and take a look at what it looks like, and get a closer look at the hand wheel. I did not notice a PDF download for the parts lists or instruction manual. This will take some more time I guess.

Every lathe has a unique and different configuration. Adapting this sort of vacuum adaptor could pose a lot of challenges. You will need to access all the possibilities and see if it is possible with your particular lathe. I think it is worth the effort because of the convenience factor. You can switch over to the vacuum mode in less than a minute with this set up.

Good Luck!!

 

[Joe Greiner]

Thanks William. As I understand it then, the handwheel would be available as a part for G0632, not necessarily as a separate product. The G0632 is listed in their 2007 catalog; 1 1/4 x 8 inboard spindle. They also list the spindle bore as 0.445". As this is slightly more than the minor diameter of 1/2-12UNS used by many smaller lathes, the outboard end probably isn't 1/2-12, so the range of adaptability would be limited.

Thanks again.
Joe

 

[Dann Chapman]

Questions

First, thanks for the posting. I find it helpful as I'm developing a vacuum rig for my lathe.

Couple of questions:

1. Where did you find a "dual seal bearing"? I'm guessing that's something rather special and stands up to the vacuum better than a standard bearing.

2. What foam material did you use for the gaskets?

Thanks.

 

[cypher]

First, thanks for the posting. I find it helpful as I'm developing a vacuum rig for my lathe.

Couple of questions:

1. Where did you find a "dual seal bearing"? I'm guessing that's something rather special and stands up to the vacuum better than a standard bearing.

2. What foam material did you use for the gaskets?

Thanks.

Along with these questions i would also like to know what type of vacuum pump you are using.

 

[Dann Chapman]

More questions

Sorry to be coming back with more questions, but I went to the hardware store with a copy of your posting and found I was having trouble identifying everything I needed. I'm wondering if you could be more clear about the parts you used.

You wrote: "...a brass reducer bushing 3/8 inch male by ¼ inch female. You make this by using a ¼ inch by 3 inch brass nipple." I'm having a hard time figuring exactly what you bought. Hope you can help.

Also, where does one find pieces of Corian like you describe?

Thanks.

 

[williamwestbrook51]

Dan

I found the dual seal bearing at Lowes. In the area where the fittings, nuts, bolts are located. They have a special area where they have unique fittings and hardware. In this area they have a repair kit for a water pump. One of these parts is a dual seal bearing.
Take the bearing and go to plumbing. Ask for a reducer bushing, brass 3/8 inch npt male X 1/4 inch npt female. The bearings inside dimension is what you are going to have to turn the 3/8 inch npt down to press fit into the bearing.

The corian. This is kitchen counter top material. A friend of mine gave me several pieces. You can find it on Ebay. You might find a contractor who makes corian counter tops. The waste would be the sink cutouts. They usually just throw this away. You can cut the corian on a table saw to any size you want.

I hope this is helpful and not more confusing.

 

[williamwestbrook51]

Dann,

The vacuum pump I purchased was from Surplus Center two years ago. You might check them out and see if they have any left.

www.surpluscenter.com

It was is a 220 v ac Gast vacuum pump. They were new surplus never had been used. The price then was about 85.00 dollars.

 

[Dann Chapman]

Thanks

Thanks so much for the additional details. Very clear and understandable. I'm looking to set up a system and this sounds like the best setup for a home made connection!