• Congratulations to Alex Bradley winner of the December 2024 Turning Challenge (click here for details)
  • Conversations are now Direct Messages (click here for details)
  • Congratulations to Gabriel Hoff for "Spalted Beech Round Bottom Box" being selected as Turning of the Week for January 6, 2024 (click here for details)
  • Welcome new registering member. Your username must be your real First and Last name (for example: John Doe). "Screen names" and "handles" are not allowed and your registration will be deleted if you don't use your real name. Also, do not use all caps nor all lower case.

Vacuum Chucking

R

RonW

Joined
Aug 25, 2005
Messages
51
Likes
0
Location
Norfolk, VA
I just installed a vacuum chucking system on my lathe a couple days ago. All I can say is wow! If you can swing the money for something like the Oneway Vacuum Chuck System or rig something up yourself, Just Do It. For my first project with the vacuum chuck, I mounted an 18 inch disk of 1 inch bloodwood (heavy) and turned both sides into the top half of a lazy susan. Worked like magic. I love it. (Except the couple times when I turned off the vacuum pump before turning off the lathe... had to rework the edge a bit.

Ron Wilson
 
Ron,

I recently got a vacuum pump really cheap on eBay and then built up most of the other parts myself like the chuck and rotary adapter. It is really great, but I have been taught that the vacuum chuck should only be used for the final finish turning, such as the foot of a bowl after being removed from the chuck. The way that I interpreted what you wrote, it sounds like you were using the vacuum chuck for the whole project and that could be a bit risky especially at the beginning.

Bill
 
vacuum pump

for a really good price on a vacuum pump, do a google search with the search argument: gast 4-1540

The first hit is a gast vacuum pump (230 volt) for under $100.
I saw one in operation at Conover workshop.

Gary
 
Last edited:
Bill It depends on the project and quality of the vacuum. I have turned several things with vacuum only. You need to know your system and cutting skills to get away with this. I used to turn my small hand pocket mirrors with vacuum totally but have since found another way to do it quicker using my chuck. Both worked but I can be more agressive on the cuts in the early stages with the chuck and this speeds up the whole process.
 
Rought outs with a Vacuum?

Check this:

Andi Wolfe gave a presentation on her Collaboration trip to Australia last week in which she shot video of a Japanese (I think - someplace east anyways) turner roughing out what looked to be a 10-12 inch bowl blank using nothing but vacuum. He Started with an initial flatspot on the piece, cut a flat spot on the opposite side, flipped it around and proceeded to start knocking off bark.

Takes a MUCH better than I to attempt something like that. Made me nervous just watching....

- Devo, Columbus, Ohio
 
Bill (Boehme),

I did work the project entirely on the vacuum chuck. Naturally, you have to use some skill to keep the tools sharp and the cuts light. I had absolutely no problem because the vacuum is strong on my system. Also, the wood I used was surfaced on both faces allowing a good seal. In the for what it is worth department, I also drilled a very small centering hole through the wood to mark center on the front and back sides. When the tailstock is not in the centering hole, a bit of wetdust or duct tape seals the hole. Vacuum chucking is great!

Ron Wilson
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top