ThePenWizard
Member
I have had several people ask me what brand of vacuum chamber I use to make my molds. Well the cheapest I found was $175.00 for one that I felt would not blow up on me. So I decided to make my own and share it. I went to Home Depot and picked up a 7" PVC coupler and 2 end cap fitting and 1 cap from the plumbing department and plumbers teflon tape. I glued the 2 cap fittings on the coupler and then taped the screw cap with teflon tape and then flipped the cap upside down so the it would sit flat on a table. Once screwed in tight I sealed everything with silicon caulk and let dry several days. The PVC fittings from Home Depot cost around $25.00. I then went to True Value Hardware and picked up a sheet of 1/8" red rubber and a air hose fitting (rubber $9.00 and fittings $6.00). I cut the rubber so it extended 1" pass the outside of the coupler and then cut a round hole with 1" extending inside the coupler, this gives it a good seal. With the extra left over rubber I made a gasket for the air hose fitting, which you will see on the side. I had to get a male and female fitting with a long thread length to extend through the coupler because the air hose fitting was not long enough. Once I drilled the hole in the side and inserted the male fitting through the rubber gasket I then screwed the female fitting from inside the coupler. Now with teflon tape I wrapped the threads of the air hose fitting and screwed it into the female fitting that is now on the outside of the coupler. My vacuum pump has a gauge on it so I did not need to add one, I also do not need put any Vaseline on the rubber to seal it, it seals all by itself. The Lexan is 12"x12"x1/2" and I got it off of eBay for $10.00. So for around $50.00 I made one that works and works well, I have made all my molds and degassed all of my PR for my pens with it. Hope this helps anyone want to make a vacuum chamber
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