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Which vacuum system

A

Alex Ku

Joined
Nov 24, 2008
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Location
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Hi Guys,

I have Jet 1236 lathe and want to get a vacuum system for it. What vacuum system would do you recommend?
Eventually I want to get a bigger nicer lathe and want to be able to use my vacuum system on new lathe too.

I'd rather buy an already build system vs. building one unless home made version is considerably cheaper and not that hard to make.

Thanks,
Alex
 
Alex:

I built my own and would certainly do it again. There is a great thread over in the How To's and Tips on vacuum chuck systems. I think I've got no more than $125 or so into. Got a good deal on a vacuum pump off eBay for about $70 shipped. It really sucks. 😀

I'll see if I can't post a pic here of my headstock bearing ... fits in my Jet 1642 just fine. Then there is my vac gauge and valves... it's really quite simple and sure is nice to have. But go check out the thread on vacs...!

TL
 

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Alex Ku said:
Hi Guys,

I have Jet 1236 lathe and want to get a vacuum system for it. What vacuum system would do you recommend?
Eventually I want to get a bigger nicer lathe and want to be able to use my vacuum system on new lathe too.

I'd rather buy an already build system vs. building one unless home made version is considerably cheaper and not that hard to make.

Thanks,
Alex
Click to expand...

It is considerably cheaper and not hard to do. I bought a Gast rotary vane pump on Flea Bay for about $25 which is the same model that Craft Supplies sells for around $300. I built my own rotary adapter for about $20 in hardware store parts and got the filters, gauge, hose, and fittings for about another $25. I built my own vacuum chuck -- also very easy to do. If you are mechanically inclined, then it is hardly a challenge at all to do these things.
 
Same as Bill except I found my Gast at the Flea mkt for $35. It's noisier than the Oneway gast and gets hotter to the touch but so far has worked perfectly. I have plans for making an adaptor and chucks on a PDF on my home computer. If you want them just send an e-mail to johnclucas@charter.net
 
If you don't care out if the pump you use is oil or oil-less. Harbor Freight has a 2.5 CFM oilless vacuum pump for between $70 and $80 (it goes on sale from time to time)

Several of us have them, mine will draw 25 inches of vacuum.

The big problem I had with the through-head adapter. My home brew one kept failing. I finally went with a HoldFast adapter and it works just fine

Be advised, the Holdfast is pipe, so it is threaded as such (NTP). I'm told you should be able to find nuts in a store that sells lamp parts. Me, I just used a tap and re-tapped a 3/8-24 nut to 3/8-27
 
N7:

I'm curious as to what part of your home made through the head adapter failed? Was it similar to the one in my posted picture or the kind made with lamp parts and similar to the Holdfast?

I've used my about five times to cut the tenon off the bottom of bowls and it seems to be holding up fine. Not exactly enough time to call it a major shake down cruise but still holding 25 inches here at 4,000'.

TL
 
Tony

It was my own design, the bearings I used were exposed to the vacuum and the result was all of their grease was sucked out (and into the air-filter)

TTFN
Ralph
 
n7bsn said:
Tony

It was my own design, the bearings I used were exposed to the vacuum and the result was all of their grease was sucked out (and into the air-filter)

TTFN
Ralph
Click to expand...

The first rotary adapter that I built had that same problem. A lapse in thinking led me to use shielded bearings rather than double rubber sealed bearings. Since then I have built several more and my latest design uses more than one bearing (three, but two will do just fine). The reason for going to multiple bearings is that the hose connection to the adapter puts a radial load on the bearing which increases leakage that also leads to loss of grease and distortion of the bearing race. Two or more bearings eliminates that problem and also reduces air leakage considerably.
 
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