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Vacuum Chuck

J

John D. Frigillana Jr.

Member
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70
Location
Kaneohe HI.
:) After months of planning and researching, finally got my vacuum chuck completed. With help from Richard Schlumpf and members the Honolulu Wood Turners it's done and works great. In fact it sucked the bottom out of a bowl I used to test the vacuum. Forgot to adjust the bleed valve. Got some pics.:thumb:chucks

Pic 1: Rotary adapter connected to hand wheel, 3",4"
Pic 2: My home made rotary adapter, made of corian ,2, sealed bearings and O rings
Pic 3: Yellow Jacket 6 CFM pump, pulls 29hg. respectively
Information courtesy of Family Woodworking , Sawmill creek, AWW, Woodcentral, Woodturners Resource, Honolulu Wood Turners
 

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Nice rig, John. I have the same lathe and several pumps. Would you please share more specifics about the Corian rotary adapter? I have a double sealed bearing and much experience with vacuum clamping for flat work. I also already have some vacuum bells to hold the bowls. Just need to get an adapter made.
 
Rotary adapter

Carol, I used 5 pieces of Corian, 3" X 5". Used medium CA glue to bond them together. Next day I turned them to slightly larger than the hand piece of the lathe. Used 7/8" O.D.x3/8"i.d. sealed bearings(2) from Enco. Drilled a 7/8" hole 1/2" deep. The other end I turned it slightly smaller than the diameter of the hand wheel and drilled a 5/16" hole. I used 4 O-rings I think they were 11/32" and placed them along the tube. turned grooves to seat the rings. The last one is just used to seal between the hand wheel and the adapter. Corian is brittle so you have to turn it slowly. Hope this helps.
 
Rotary adapter

Chuck, I did use 2 sealed bearings. Just to be sure it doesn't leak. Also ,I reversed the brass fitting and attached the bearings to the barbed side, which could accept the 2 bearings. The threaded side would have been too short to mount both bearings. Filed them down and used epoxy to secure them.Works well with no leaks.
 
Adapter

That adapter you made looks almost exactly like the one I made a few years ago and posted on some of the turning sites. Nice job and glad it works well for you.:thumb:
 
Rotary adapter

Chuck, the barb is on the brass fitting which is used to connect the 3/8" hose to the vacuum pump. I use a 1/4" I.D. threaded end with a 3/8" barb end. The barb in the pic is longer than shown. I file them down to accept the sealed bearings. On the threaded end I use a double female adapter with a 1/8" thread and use an 1/8" elbow with a 3/8" barb. Some fittings are hard to find. But they do make them. Look at the pic#2 that shows the adapter.
 

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John - congrats on getting your system up and running! The more you use it - the more you will wonder why you waited so long to build one!

Have fun!

Oh - I find 20 hg handles everything I have thrown at the vac system so far!
 
:thumb: I already like it. Just got to remember to leave a center mark ,so I center it when I'm ready to remove tenon. I'll probably turn a 2MT out of wood to aid in centering the chuck also, so I don't have to remove it until it's on the lathe with the vacuum turned on. The chuck adapter cost a bundle for a few seconds of use.

Aloha,
John :wave:
 
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