Vacuum Pumps

[phardy79]

Has anyone been able to locate and or purchase that little white vacuum pump that Bill Palumbo demonstrates at all of the Camps? Is there another kind of pump that has the same characteristics that can be purchased relatively cheap?

[billp]

Paul,
That pump was apparently a "one time deal"from the Surplus Center in Nebraska when I bought it. After making the rounds of Camps that year Shopbotters bought every single one of them in stock.....
You can usually find similar ( if not better) pumps everyday from sources like Ebay. The pump in question "only" pulls about 19"of vacuum, while many of the others online can pull up to 26+".
The ideal characteristics of a small pump like this are;
Oil less ( you don't want to deal with oil and expensive wood ). Yes I know the oil filled ones are (supposedly) quieter, and can last longer, but very few people have burned out an oil less, and if you are running a dust collector, and spindle/router you won't hear one of these pumps anyway.
The ability to pull at least 20" ( in reality you can't move most parts above 10", but since these units don't move a lot of CFM in airflow you need the extra pull to overcome air leaks, parts that are not flat, etc.).
A brand that will allow you to buy replacement parts if you ever need them. I like the Gast products, as they have been around for many years and you can buy parts for any of their older models.
The pumps on Ebay usually run anywhere from $50-125 in the size range we use. OR you can go back to my web page; http://www.baycraftdesigns.com/Shopbot.html
and scroll down to where I showed how to build an entire unit, with vacuum switch, etc. All of the part numbers are listed.The pump shown there is 220 volts, but it's MUCH more powerful that the little "football"unit I used to carry around ( I have measured it at over 26").
Another source ( although pricier because they are new units) would be ;www.joewoodworker.com (http://www.joewoodworker.com), or www.veneersupplies.com (http://www.veneersupplies.com) ( actually the same person runs both sites)...

[knight_toolworks]

a problem with vacuum b=pumps is moisture. some don't deal with it well. oil based pumps only do so so with moisture and the moisture can ruin the oil fast. I tired my larger oil based pump and it started chugging out vapor after a hour of use and lost about 6" of vacuum. my little gast keeps chugging along.

[Brady Watson]

Search for 'Gast' at surpluscenter.com - I have one of the $89 pumps and it works well for times when you need high vacuum & low CFM. It's not the kind of thing you'll use to hold down large sheets of porous (like woods) materials, but it works great for the price. Add a filter & you're all set.

-B