a cheep vacuum pump?

[Rich Luczak]

could something like this be used to stabilize blanks?

http://sci-toys.com/scitoys/scitoys/aero/vacuum/

what about the hand pumps used for brakes?

 

[vick]

I have used the hand pumps for brakes and it worked fine. I would recomend a shut off valve between the jar and the pump. For the record though I was not crazy about home stabelizing so can not speak for prolonged use, I only used it a couple times.

 

[dubdrvrkev]

It gets pretty tiring, at least it did for me. Mine would lose vacuum so I had to keep pumping it pretty often. You can convert a refrigerator/ freezer pump to work. There are some tutorials online for that. But, all that said I am just waiting till I come across one on ebay since I want to get into vacuum chucking. There are always a lot of them on there.

 

[Cowboy]

I have this one:

http://www.surpluscenter.com/item.asp?UID=2004111114162930&item=4-1540&catname=air

The only caveat is that it is 220v.

You may also want to try a compressor powered venturi unit. Search harbor freight.

HTH

Chris

 

[dubdrvrkev]

I have been eyeing that unit too. Did you have to do much wiring on it?

 

[bgray]

Go here, and poke around a bit.

http://www.joewoodworker.com/

Joe is a great guy who has posted plans on how to make your own vacuum veneering pump. Electronic cycling, or venturi type. I did make a cycling vacuum pump for veneering, and it works great....much cheaper than a commercial pump, and a fun project.

Anyways, you wouldn't really need a cycling pump for stabilizing blanks, but you can go to his site to learn how to make a vacuum pump from a compressor and a venturi valve, or just simply buy a refurbished vacuum pump like the Gast that someone linked above.

A while back, he saw a major deal on a couple hundred refurbished vacuum pumps, snagged them up, and is passing on the savings.

 

[davidrei]

I'm planning on getting this from HF:

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=3952

Good price, if it works. I've heard that others are using it successfully.