Attching Vacuum Bleeder

[travesty42]

I am getting ready to install my Trupan bleeder board and wanted to see what people have used to seal it to the plenum. I was thinking of double sided duct tape but am not sure if that is thick enough to give a good seal. Also, does anyone have any ideas about preventing leakage through the bleeder into other zones, or is this negligable? I am using the standard SB four zone plenum. I considered cuting the Trupan into four pieces, sealing all of the edges and then installing on the plenum, is this overkill? I only have one Fein right now but most of my work is larger pieces and I do not cut all the way through the material. However, I do cut smaller stuff on occasion and would like as strong of a 2x4 zone as I can get. Any help or ideas would be great.

[myxpykalix]

Get you a tube of white sealing caulk and run a bead along all 4 edges of both the plywood and mdf and smear it so that it covers the whole surface. It will dry to a sealed rubber consistency and keep air from leaking out the sides. Also seal all connections where your pipes meet the plenum. This tip was given to me courtesy Ed L.

[ed_lang]

Travis,

I use TightBond II between my plenum and the bleeder (spoilboard). Make sure you surface the side of the bleeder you plan to put down before you get out the glue. Then place the glue on the plenum and do not slide the bleeder across the plenum. If you do, you will get glue on places you don't want it and remove the glue from the places you need it. Get some help in moving the bleeder over the plenum and lowering it. Then turn on the vacuum and let it pull the bleeder down. Next I place a sheet of material over the bleeder to seal off the top so the vacuum will pull it down tighter. Leave it for the recommended clamping time for your glue.

As far as the zones go, I have done it two ways. My first table didn't have anything between zones. My current table has .25" tracks cut between zones and fiberglass resin is poured in the tracks. Jay Wyant showed me this on his machine.

The first table had clear silicone sealer around the outside edge. The current table has three coats of latex paint. Both seem to work good. The latex paint is smoother and I like that better since I use the outer edge for aligning parts and jigs.

There are lots of ways to get the job done.

[knight_toolworks]

tightbond or any yellow glue is the easiest thing to use to seal the edges of the board too. one coat and the job is done. plus it dries fast. I discovered this when I had boards leaking when I used a vacuum to hold them. plus if I used vacuum to hold mdf. seal the back with a very thin coat of glue and a perfect vacuum.

[harryball]

I used yellow glue, about a quart. This was after using screws of various types and double backed tape. Since using the yellow glue method the board stays flat and I can zero off of it without the vac system on and get accurate settings.

Robert