Build your own veneering vacuum press for under 200$! Did it, it works great!

Thanks for posting this ,
I made one of his kits last summer and love it = you can’t go wrong by making your own and saving $$$. Everyone who wants a nice little unit should follow lechevaldebois advice He does superb work.
I just posted pics of my system hope you don’t mind!!! Lech :0)

-- Rj's Woodworks,San Jose & Weed Ca,

I built a press with some gear from joe woodworker.

I found a Gast vacuum pump on Ebay and made my own
bag with Adhesive and thick Vinyl from JWW – speed fittings
too. I don’t like the noise of a shop compressor – the Gast
pump is very quiet.

-- Need help with marketing your business? Look in my profile.

if ever there were a site with too much info, it’s joewoodworkers’ veneering supplies, if your considering or just wondering about a vacuum press…that’s the one….Like Loren I also went with a Gast pump, primarily due to the somewhat high elevation we live at…

-- If knowledge is not shared, it is forgotten.

Thanks for the post. I am considering getting into veneering and this looks like it will be helpful. You might also want to post an evaluation of the kit in the reviews section as well.

-- With God's help all things are possible- even woodworking. Woodworking is not just a hobby, it is an (expletive deleted) expensive hobby.

My dad was a refrigeration mechanic and used to use old refrigerator compressors for vacuum pumps. I can’t remember what their negative pressure (vacuum) capacity is but it’s quite low. They are slow but they get the job done. And the best part – they’re FREE from any refrigeration repair place. I’ve been meaning to try this for vacuum clamping and just haven’t gotten around to it yet.

-- Michael R. Harvey - Brewster, NY - RusticElementArt.com - SpaceAware.org - AnConn.com

RusticElements, on joewoodworker.com you can find info about the possibility of using a refrigerator compressor for vacuum…if I remember well, the problem with this is that you lose the oil of the compressor after a while. A way to help keeping the oil was to make a coil with a copper pipe.
Scott B, I will definitely post my evaluation of my venturi-type press in the reviews section. Next time I use it, I’ll take pics to post with my review.

Could one of you fellows that used the Gast pump write up a blog showing how? It would be most informative, especially for the for the uninitiated like my self.

Also, many thanks to lechevaldebois for starting this line of discussion. I have been intrigued by vacuum pressing & clamping for a while… :)

-- Chris