vacuum clamp to hold down parts for sanding/routing works well

marty shultz · 2020-06-22T05:34:17-07:00

I made some vacuum clamps over the winter and I really like them. It only takes me about 3 seconds to change from one part to another. Normally when I sand I would hold the parts with one hand while

vacuum clamp to hold down parts for sanding/routing works well

marty shultz All Messages By This Member #106912 I made some vacuum clamps over the winter and I really like them.? It only takes me about 3 seconds to change from one part to another.? Normally when I sand I would hold the parts with one hand while sanding/routing with the other hand.? Or, I might secure the work piece between bench dogs with a vice.? Or I might clamp the part to the table, but I would have to unclamp/reclamp to get to the entire edge/surface.? All these methods take more time than using a vacuum clamp.?And the clamp can mar the wood.? ? Here are some short videos showing a few setups..?? Materials:? I used 2" alum pipe and these clamps: ?? 3/4" thick HDPE plastic was used to make various shapes of vacuum fixtures (pods).? I purchased the plastic from a local source who had some small cutoffs. .? Some pods have foam on both sides with a through hole so the pod vacuum clamps to the table and to the material.? Some pods were screwed to a plate with a steel sleeve welded to it so the sleeve could be mounted on top of the alum pipe.? I used 1/4" tubing, high density foam for gasket material, foot pedal and check vales from joewoodworker.com.? I bought other quick disconnect fittings from amazon.? they aren't the best quality though.? I also bought a used vacuum pump but you could use a venturi vacuum pump with your air compressor. BTW - I got the idea from the Barth vakuusyst 3.15.? It is really nice but cost over $2.3K.??? Enjoy!
imran All Messages By This Member #106917 开云体育 Marty, Thanks for taking the time to do the short videos and providing the details of the build. It has been on my list of things and I may get to it in a yr of so ?. I already have the VacuPress pump. I am sure I will ping you when I get there. Imran toggle quoted message Show quoted text On Jun 20, 2020, at 7:34 PM, marty shultz <azmartys@...> wrote: ? I made some vacuum clamps over the winter and I really like them.? It only takes me about 3 seconds to change from one part to another.? Normally when I sand I would hold the parts with one hand while sanding/routing with the other hand.? Or, I might secure the work piece between bench dogs with a vice.? Or I might clamp the part to the table, but I would have to unclamp/reclamp to get to the entire edge/surface.? All these methods take more time than using a vacuum clamp.?And the clamp can mar the wood.? ? Here are some short videos showing a few setups..?? Materials:? I used 2" alum pipe and these clamps: ?? 3/4" thick HDPE plastic was used to make various shapes of vacuum fixtures (pods).? I purchased the plastic from a local source who had some small cutoffs. .? Some pods have foam on both sides with a through hole so the pod vacuum clamps to the table and to the material.? Some pods were screwed to a plate with a steel sleeve welded to it so the sleeve could be mounted on top of the alum pipe.? I used 1/4" tubing, high density foam for gasket material, foot pedal and check vales from joewoodworker.com.? I bought other quick disconnect fittings from amazon.? they aren't the best quality though.? I also bought a used vacuum pump but you could use a venturi vacuum pump with your air compressor. BTW - I got the idea from the Barth vakuusyst 3.15.? It is really nice but cost over $2.3K.??? Enjoy!
Chris Souter All Messages By This Member #106918 Let’s see some pics of the pods close up. I’d love to make some of those. I’ve always thought about splurging on the festool set but always have better things to buy.? This is just a wild thought but wonder if there would be a way to incorporate them into a slider outrigger fence. Kinda like how some CNC machines have the vac hold downs on the tables.?
Patrick Kane All Messages By This Member #106919 CJ, I believe the newer Martin models do have vac hold downs on the slider.? Patrick toggle quoted message Show quoted text On Sun, Jun 21, 2020 at 10:10 AM <Cjsouter@...> wrote: Let’s see some pics of the pods close up. I’d love to make some of those. I’ve always thought about splurging on the festool set but always have better things to buy.? This is just a wild thought but wonder if there would be a way to incorporate them into a slider outrigger fence. Kinda like how some CNC machines have the vac hold downs on the tables.?
marty shultz All Messages By This Member #106921 I think the vacuum system would work for some fence applications but not all applications because 1) the roughness of the wood can affect the clamping force and 2) the clamping force will affect how much the gasket material compresses which may change the dimension of the final cut.? If you always use sheet goods it would probably work great. IMG_0525.MOV IMG_0525.MOV IMG_0524.jpg
alain pilon #106923 As anyone tried these from Lee Valley? I was thinking about getting a pair. Mostly for sanding and edge routing.? ?? toggle quoted message Show quoted text On Sun, Jun 21, 2020 at 11:22 AM marty shultz <azmartys@...> wrote: I think the vacuum system would work for some fence applications but not all applications because 1) the roughness of the wood can affect the clamping force and 2) the clamping force will affect how much the gasket material compresses which may change the dimension of the final cut.? If you always use sheet goods it would probably work great.
marty shultz All Messages By This Member #106927 I haven't tried them but I think they would work well.? The only reason I didn't buy them is I wanted additional attachment options and the money was better spent on raw materials.
"[email protected] All Messages By This Member #106928 开云体育 I've using them for about 10 years. The company is Australian. They been brought up here over the years. The parent company asked if they could post a pic of one of my setups for use on a Festool MFT on their website. The only way to beat their price is to make your own like Marty.? John JMK Services toggle quoted message Show quoted text -------- Original message -------- From: alain pilon <alain.pilon@...> Date: 2020-06-21 1:01 p.m. (GMT-05:00) To: [email protected] Subject: Re: [FOG] vacuum clamp to hold down parts for sanding/routing works well As anyone tried these from Lee Valley? I was thinking about getting a pair. Mostly for sanding and edge routing.? ?? On Sun, Jun 21, 2020 at 11:22 AM marty shultz <azmartys@...> wrote: I think the vacuum system would work for some fence applications but not all applications because 1) the roughness of the wood can affect the clamping force and 2) the clamping force will affect how much the gasket material compresses which may change the dimension of the final cut.? If you always use sheet goods it would probably work great. 20140911_100031_resized.jpg 20140911_095835_resized.jpg
marty shultz All Messages By This Member #106931 John, I looked at that model when I was deciding what to do.? I think it's a great design.? Glad to hear you've had a good experience for a long time using it.
"[email protected] All Messages By This Member #106932 The only issue is the narrowest piece you can clamp is about 2". With making your own like you did you can make a clamp to hold less than that. The LV units are made so you can use an air compressor if you don't have vacuum, to use a vacuum?pump all you have to do is plug the exhaust port. toggle quoted message Show quoted text On Sun, Jun 21, 2020 at 3:25 PM marty shultz <azmartys@...> wrote: John, I looked at that model when I was deciding what to do.? I think it's a great design.? Glad to hear you've had a good experience for a long time using it. -- John Kee JMK Services
marty shultz All Messages By This Member #106936 开云体育 One of the reasons I made mine pods was because the commercially available units were too wide to hold narrow stock. ?Narrow stock needs to be fairly long to get reasonable clamping force. ? toggle quoted message Show quoted text From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of "jmkserv@... Sent: Sunday, June 21, 2020 12:46 PM To: [email protected] Subject: Re: [FOG] vacuum clamp to hold down parts for sanding/routing works well ? The only issue is the narrowest piece you can clamp is about 2". With making your own like you did you can make a clamp to hold less than that. The LV units are made so you can use an air compressor if you don't have vacuum, to use a vacuum?pump all you have to do is plug the exhaust port. ? On Sun, Jun 21, 2020 at 3:25 PM marty shultz <azmartys@...> wrote: John, I looked at that model when I was deciding what to do.? I think it's a great design.? Glad to hear you've had a good experience for a long time using it. ? -- John Kee JMK Services
imran All Messages By This Member #106938 开云体育 Marty, My thick head is not following this: “?Narrow stock needs to be fairly long to get reasonable clamping force.” Imran? toggle quoted message Show quoted text On Jun 21, 2020, at 5:15 PM, marty shultz <azmartys@...> wrote: Narrow stock needs to be fairly long to get reasonable clamping force.
marty shultz All Messages By This Member #106939 开云体育 The amount of force holding the wood down is partially a function of the pod clamping area.? The pods I’ve seen are a minimum of 4” square so to get the equivalent force with a 1” wide clamp it would need to be 16” long.? ? ? I hope this helps.? ? ? toggle quoted message Show quoted text From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of imranindiana via groups.io Sent: Sunday, June 21, 2020 3:22 PM To: [email protected] Subject: Re: [FOG] vacuum clamp to hold down parts for sanding/routing works well ? Marty, ? My thick head is not following this: “?Narrow stock needs to be fairly long to get reasonable clamping force.” Imran? On Jun 21, 2020, at 5:15 PM, marty shultz <azmartys@...> wrote: Narrow stock needs to be fairly long to get reasonable clamping force.
marty shultz All Messages By This Member #106940 开云体育 According to a woodworking webpage the hold down force can be roughly calculated by: ?10 x (length x width of clamping area).? So a 1” x 16” pod would have 160 lbs of force.? This assumes you system can pull a 20” Hg vacuum. ? M ? toggle quoted message Show quoted text From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of imranindiana via groups.io Sent: Sunday, June 21, 2020 3:22 PM To: [email protected] Subject: Re: [FOG] vacuum clamp to hold down parts for sanding/routing works well ? Marty, ? My thick head is not following this: “?Narrow stock needs to be fairly long to get reasonable clamping force.” Imran? On Jun 21, 2020, at 5:15 PM, marty shultz <azmartys@...> wrote: Narrow stock needs to be fairly long to get reasonable clamping force.
"[email protected] All Messages By This Member #106941 开云体育 I have to be honest, since I've the Bridgewood 16" widebelt the vacuum pads haven't been needed for sanding that much. A non slip pad on a bench works well for most sheet good components for cabinets. They are still used when I have a lot of Domino work to do.? John JMK Services toggle quoted message Show quoted text -------- Original message -------- From: marty shultz <azmartys@...> Date: 2020-06-21 6:43 p.m. (GMT-05:00) To: [email protected] Subject: Re: [FOG] vacuum clamp to hold down parts for sanding/routing works well According to a woodworking webpage the hold down force can be roughly calculated by: ?10 x (length x width of clamping area).? So a 1” x 16” pod would have 160 lbs of force.? This assumes you system can pull a 20” Hg vacuum. ? M ? From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of imranindiana via groups.io Sent: Sunday, June 21, 2020 3:22 PM To: [email protected] Subject: Re: [FOG] vacuum clamp to hold down parts for sanding/routing works well ? Marty, ? My thick head is not following this: “?Narrow stock needs to be fairly long to get reasonable clamping force.” Imran? On Jun 21, 2020, at 5:15 PM, marty shultz <azmartys@...> wrote: Narrow stock needs to be fairly long to get reasonable clamping force.
imran All Messages By This Member #106942 开云体育 Thanks Marty. I assume one can say that clamping force is 10PSI. I am just guessing here that in order to break seal one needs to overcome the entire holding force.?Kind of counter intuitive. Imran toggle quoted message Show quoted text On Jun 21, 2020, at 6:43 PM, marty shultz <azmartys@...> wrote: ? According to a woodworking webpage the hold down force can be roughly calculated by: ?10 x (length x width of clamping area).? So a 1” x 16” pod would have 160 lbs of force.? This assumes you system can pull a 20” Hg vacuum. ? M ? From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of imranindiana via groups.io Sent: Sunday, June 21, 2020 3:22 PM To: [email protected] Subject: Re: [FOG] vacuum clamp to hold down parts for sanding/routing works well ? Marty, ? My thick head is not following this: “?Narrow stock needs to be fairly long to get reasonable clamping force.” Imran? On Jun 21, 2020, at 5:15 PM, marty shultz <azmartys@...> wrote: Narrow stock needs to be fairly long to get reasonable clamping force.
marty shultz All Messages By This Member #106943 开云体育 I believe you’re correct, Imran. ? toggle quoted message Show quoted text From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of imranindiana via groups.io Sent: Sunday, June 21, 2020 4:14 PM To: [email protected] Subject: Re: [FOG] vacuum clamp to hold down parts for sanding/routing works well ? Thanks Marty. I assume one can say that clamping force is 10PSI. I am just guessing here that in order to break seal one needs to overcome the entire holding force.?Kind of counter intuitive. Imran On Jun 21, 2020, at 6:43 PM, marty shultz <azmartys@...> wrote: ? According to a woodworking webpage the hold down force can be roughly calculated by: ?10 x (length x width of clamping area).? So a 1” x 16” pod would have 160 lbs of force.? This assumes you system can pull a 20” Hg vacuum. ? M ? From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of imranindiana via groups.io Sent: Sunday, June 21, 2020 3:22 PM To: [email protected] Subject: Re: [FOG] vacuum clamp to hold down parts for sanding/routing works well ? Marty, ? My thick head is not following this: “?Narrow stock needs to be fairly long to get reasonable clamping force.” Imran? On Jun 21, 2020, at 5:15 PM, marty shultz <azmartys@...> wrote: Narrow stock needs to be fairly long to get reasonable clamping force.
marty shultz All Messages By This Member #106944 开云体育 I think the pods are most helpful for sanding/routing rails, stiles and drawer parts.? I haven’t tried the domino yet.? ? ? toggle quoted message Show quoted text From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of "jmkserv@... Sent: Sunday, June 21, 2020 4:06 PM To: [email protected] Subject: Re: [FOG] vacuum clamp to hold down parts for sanding/routing works well ? I have to be honest, since I've the Bridgewood 16" widebelt the vacuum pads haven't been needed for sanding that much. A non slip pad on a bench works well for most sheet good components for cabinets. They are still used when I have a lot of Domino work to do.? ? ? ? John JMK Services ? ? -------- Original message -------- From: marty shultz <azmartys@...> Date: 2020-06-21 6:43 p.m. (GMT-05:00) To: [email protected] Subject: Re: [FOG] vacuum clamp to hold down parts for sanding/routing works well ? According to a woodworking webpage the hold down force can be roughly calculated by: ?10 x (length x width of clamping area).? So a 1” x 16” pod would have 160 lbs of force.? This assumes you system can pull a 20” Hg vacuum. ? M ? From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of imranindiana via groups.io Sent: Sunday, June 21, 2020 3:22 PM To: [email protected] Subject: Re: [FOG] vacuum clamp to hold down parts for sanding/routing works well ? Marty, ? My thick head is not following this: “?Narrow stock needs to be fairly long to get reasonable clamping force.” Imran? On Jun 21, 2020, at 5:15 PM, marty shultz <azmartys@...> wrote: Narrow stock needs to be fairly long to get reasonable clamping force.
Jason Holtz All Messages By This Member #106955 My tennis elbows would absolutely love it if I found an easier way to hold parts while dominoing. Been thinking about an MFT style table, or something with t slots to hold my pneumatic clamps for this purpose. Or better yet, build something akin to the Castle pocket hole machine with the Domino in it. Stomp on foot pedal, auto clamping and actuation of the Domino. If Festool? built it, I'm sure I'd buy it. Jason Holtz J. Holtz Furniture 3307 Snelling Ave. South Minneapolis, MN 55406 612 432-2765 -- Jason J. Holtz Furniture 3307 Snelling Ave. South Minneapolis, MN 55406

Previous Topic Next Topic