Vacuum clamping

[GlenP]

Has anyone tried using this product. It looks like a great unit for small peices or us just starting out with our machines and not using vacuum holddown yet. Check it out!
http://www.vac-clamp.com
glen

[harve]

Glen, I am not using vacuum yet either. I ordered the double sided version and the on / off switch from Rockler.com today. (Same price and free shipping). They look identical and have the same spec's. so should be comparable. Since I have a "buddy" system vacuum seems a bit more challenging. The only downside I see is reducing my limited Z movement even further due to the height of the puck. I like that it uses an air compressor (which I have) instead of a Fein vacuum (which I do not have). It should pay for itself in no time with the savings from not using double sided tape anymore. I will post my results.

[chiloquinruss]

"only downside I see is reducing my limited Z movement" Has anyone ever built their table with a removable section that allows for greater depth for smaller pieces. Seems like it might be a neat feature. Russ

[handh]

Mike,

They are the same, Rockler or Woodcraft are resellers in US.

[harve]

I figured they were from the same manufacturer. Has anyone used them? The video on the vac-clamp site shows objects much larger than the puck being held down. I was wondering how accurate that really was. I assumed when you went too far bigger than the puck the piece would just tilt down away from the pressure of the bit.

[radavis]

I went an bought a kit from woodcraft in nashville sunday, got then setup sunday evening, cut out an engrave two windshield last night set up time for the windshield were almost no time at all flick the switch pick up the done one and flick the switch and laid the other on down. the cost was great to, no need for a vac pump big saving there. there great !!!!!!!!!!!, just what the dr order. Thank Glen

[errolvacclamp]

I was made aware of this forum thread and thought I should offer to help with questions about our products.
If you do have questions or have a particular problem with workpiece locating or clamping, I will try to help.
Errol
www.v-clamp.com (http://www.v-clamp.com)

[butch]

This might be just what I need. I'll know in a few days.

Errol
Well, because of this thread I bought the kit with two clamps. They should be here in two days so I'll take you up with questions then.

Butch

[harve]

I received my vacuum clamp yesterday so I just had to try it out. At home, using a small Porter Cable air compressor, I clamped one side to a 12" X 12" X 1/2" piece of plywood. The other to a 3/4" piece of MDF. With the air on, I could twist the wood slightly and if I pushed down harder I could break the seal. I have not tried to use the clamp on my table spoilboard (which is 3/4" MDF)or with my larger compressor in my shop. I am not sure if this "failure" was due to the smaller compressor (The regulator was set to 90 PSI) or the size of the wood. I don't think it is the size of the wood because on the V clamp site they were holding a sheet of glass considerably larger than my test piece. Could the fact that my clamp is a double sided clamp be reducing my holding power?

[billp]

Mike,
In all likelihood it's not the clamp which is at fault, it's the MDF you are attaching it to ! Remember that MDF is porous and many people actually pull their vacuum through it, so having one side of a two sided puck made of MDF defeats the purpose of the clamp.
We had one of Errol's clamps at a Jamboree a few years back, and it worked very well.

[harve]

Bill,

It did seem like the clamp side holding the ply, which was a painted piece of scrap, held better than the MDF side. Should I seal the MDF or would it be best to get rid of it altogether? If sealing, what do you recommend sealing it with?

[Brady Watson]

Mike,
The cheapest & quickest way would be to put a plastic trash bag behind/under the MDF...that should help.

-B

[billp]

Mike,
I'm not a big fan of MDF as a material for building tables with. It's unstable because once you penetrate it's outer skin you open up it's composite core to humidity. Once that happens the material begins to swell, and before long you don't have a level table. It also doesn't handle fasteners very well for the same purpose ( a few drywall screws into an MDF table speeds up the "rice crispie" kind of swelling I mention above.).
As Brady says you can use a sheet of plastic as a temporary solution, but in the long run I'd switch to a plywood table.Sealers such as shellac, and polyurethane will all help your surface stop it's "bleeding" of air, but as soon as you penetrate that shell, you're back to the swelling again...

[butch]

Errol
Help!
I just got the clamps in and tried to use them.
First, they are shown on a CNC using Face Plugs (yellow in the video) but there are none in with the clamps. So I tried to order some and can find none available. Also there are no e-mail address's for you here nor at the V-Clamp web site?

As the clamp is, it doesn't appear it will work. It is not stable enough to do carving. There is about 1/8" movement while under power.
At 80lbs air pressure, a 10X10X3/4" piece of oak popped off the clamp.
Any suggestions?
Butch

[GlenP]

Butch, go to the vclamp website and then go to the distributor page. There is a email vclamp link on that page. Doesn't matter what country you pick. Keep us informed on your results. I have to order mine yet. Will be doing it next week.
GLen

[errolvacclamp]

Good morning to all

Mike, the MDF will cause problems for the very reason that Bill has mentioned. MDF is usually a very porous material (manufacturer dependent)
If you need to keep the spoilboard (nested based work method) using the V-Clamps for pod work, it works well if you put down a sheet of melamine faced board onto your spoilboard and put your VC5 onto that. The large vacuum pump will hold the melamine board and the clamp will hold onto the melamine very well. Your workpiece will also be held on top of the clamp.

Bill is very much correct in his observation of the way MDF degenerates, and also the information of sealant is spot on.

The VC5 has two vacuum generators, each will work independently of one another, just keep an eye on the supply pressure.


I have just spoken to Butch on the phone, to help him, but I will pass on the problem he faced. The clamp arrived with the ends of the seal/gasket slightly apart. This was enough to give him a leak and reduced holding power. A re-installation of the seal appears to have overcome the problem.


Thank you for the questions
Errol

[errolvacclamp]

If you would like to have a look at an independent review of the V-Clamps, have a look at
http://www.newwoodworker.com/reviews/vclamprvu.html

There is a video link half way down the page which explains a lot.

Errol

[wendell]

How many of the clamps can you daisy chain together?

[errolvacclamp]

Hi Wendell,
The only restriction to the number of clamps you can "chain" together is the capacity of your compressor. each clamp works independently of the other. This means you can have four in a chain, for example, with three being used and this will cause no problem.
Errol

[mrdovey]

I've had good results with some home-made pucks and an old refrigerator compressor used as a vacuum pump. Photos and how-to make your own at http://www.iedu.com/DeSoto/Projects/VacuumPuck/

[joel]

I hope someone can help me out. I recently purchased a V-Clamp System Kit. One (Connecting Stud 1/8 BSP x 6mm tube) is supplied in the Clamp Lever Valve Kit that comes with the Clamping System. What I need now is a couple of more. Anyone know how to order these connectors? (I found everything else but).

Thanks ...Joe