# Vacuum Pressing At A Reasonable Cost



## roman

the vacuum press ?

Oh ya

Ah ha

u betcha ?

y r the tools vacd to the bench?


----------



## vipond33

M, I'll press those flowers for you if send them over. 
Put them on mdf and you'll look pretty in pink.


----------



## SPalm

Space is like a Dyson, it's bagless. Silly boy.

I have my bag and flat press made out of this. Good stuff. Much smaller than yours. Good people to work with.

Nice tip with the small chain, I have been using small strips of plastic mesh and they always slide around. It looks like the chain would stay in place.

Steve


----------



## jap

Thanks for the review, i will keep this company in mind for future.


----------



## stefang

Nice to see that you can get a decent bag and accessories for a much lower price now. I will probably never need one, but I have an old carpentry book from the early 70's where a vacuum bag setup is just a black plastic trash bag and vacuum cleaner was used to pull out the air. I have always wondered how that worked.


----------



## shipwright

I made the venturi style years ago from their free online plans and my own bags from the heavy vinyl that soft boat tops' windows are made from, edges glued with vinyl pool repair glue. It has worked really well for me on many projects. My large bag is about 4' x8'. Whole system was around $250 as I remember, not counting the compressor of course. Good company to deal with .


----------



## DS

I've found that my local fabric store sells a 10mil vinyl super-cheap. I also use double sided foam tape from HD that seals the edges fast and leak free. 
They won't be as durable as 20 mil or 30 mil bags, but for that one time use goofy setup they are perfect. 
And did I mention cheap? ($3/yard in 60" wide rolls)


----------



## CarlStammerjohn

Great tips on how to make up a new bag. Thanks!

Just curious - why no grooves in your platen? Grooves would make the chain (or plastic mesh) unnecessary.


----------



## Karson

I use grooves in the base, really squares going both directions and my hose goes into the side of the melamine and up into the groove. So all of the vacuum is being pulled through the slots.

I've bought a lot of stuff from Joe.


----------



## tinnman65

I built my vacuum pump from parts and plans from this company. It was very reasonable and the directions were very clear. My first Bag was made from heavy vinyl I bought at Jo Ann Fabrics, I made a 4'x 10 bag for under 40 bucks with the glue veneer supplies .com sells. I still use that bag but just recently bought a 2'x4' bag from them for smaller projects and I can really tell what a quality bag is like now. Great review!


----------



## SteveMI

I had a pump, but bought the hardware kit and made the PVC reservour with the plans. Good company to do business with.

Steve.


----------



## vipond33

Nice to see everyone sharing their experience. More is good. Thanks a lot.

Our system and procedure, to answer a couple of questions, is like Karson's. 
There is an dead on 8" torsion box underneath, holding two sheets of melamine inside the bag. The top one slides out to take the work. The bottom sheet is square grooved underneath right up to the two valves. 
Grooves on the top surface (or even heavy knife cuts for that matter) can give very low pressure resulting in pressed ridges on veneer.
Air is escaping everywhere yet the new plastic is like Saran Wrap now and so we need a chain to allow air flow to the piece no matter what.
Still, what a delight to use a good vac bag.
gene


----------



## Karson

Gene: It might be the groves that are giving me problems. For my home use I've found it easier to only veneer one side at a time, So I'll have a caul on the one side and then after a couple of hours I'll do the other side if it's required.

I've also found it easier to use a large caul put it on the bottom and then place my veneer on the veneer side down. That way I don't need to cut a bunch of cauls to match my piece. I never get an caul bending over the edges and giving low pressure toward the edge of the panel. This way the panel itself is the top cau and the bottom caul is pressed against the veneer.

I also cover my bottom caul with butchers paper which is a white paper with a plastic coating. The glue doesn't stick to it and it keeps the blood from seeping out of my meat. (LOL)

The veneer source that you referenced also sales a top sheet of what looks like plastic fencing. I put that on top of my panels (It doesn't work well on the veneered side even though he advertises it that way.) That's what I use to give an air passage to edge of the bag.


----------



## shipwright

.... Er, .. Ah .. there's always hammer veneering. 
One full atmosphere of pressure and no bag.


----------



## DS

Paul, you say that as if Hammer Veneering is easier… (Which, for you, it may be.)
The rest of us will likely use what we know and are set up to use.

Hammer veneering is intriguing to me, but, I'd probably need a tutor to get started and also not be working on a time critical project for a client when I do it.


----------



## shipwright

Sorry, just being cheeky.

It is easier and faster once you get it down.


----------



## vipond33

One full atmosphere of pressure and no bag, that is except for the ones under your eyes because you had to stay up all night to do it. 
Put it in the poly bag instead, then go have a beer or two. Pretty soon the atmosphere improves considerably within the veneer of a civilized evening.
gene


----------



## eccentrictinkerer

I've often wondered if the air pillows used for winterizing swimming pools would work as vacuum bags.

They're made of heavy vinyl and the 4' x 8' pillows I use cost less than $20!

Link


----------



## shipwright

I suppose I deserved that.


----------



## vipond33

eccentrictinkerer - I don't see why not. Vinyl doesn't have the same stretch factor as poly but is fine for flat work. All you need is a bag closure (steel or plastic pipe and some split tubing), a valve (inlet) and some adhesive to install it. The sucking device is the expensive part though.
gene


----------

