Est. 1998 — 27 years of woodworking knowledge
How small of a vacuum chuck?
John - Charlotte, NC
>For all practical purposes, how small of a vacuum chuck jig can you use and still hold the piece on to reverse turn? I know the smaller you go, the less holding power you have --- just wondering how far others have pushed this limit.
Re: How small of a vacuum chuck?
Peter Teubel
>I've made a 3" drum chuck. Works fine for small stuff. Still holds well enough (depending on the wood, of course) for final bottom finishing.
Re: How small of a vacuum chuck?
John Lucas
>3" is as small as I've gone also. It doesn't have much holding power but if you use sharp tools and light cutting pressure you can get buy with it.
Re: How small of a vacuum chuck?
Joel Hunnicutt
>I built a 2 " one, it was too small.
Re: How small of a vacuum chuck?
Greg W. in NC
>John, how big of an item are you wanting to hold? I did one about an inch I guess, but it was for a small bowl (3" in diameter?) and it worked fine. The size is of course relevant to the item it is holding.
Re: How small of a vacuum chuck?
Mark Kauder, Phenix City, AL
>I made one for turning the ends off of 1" eggs. It worked, but the hold was tenuous at best. Very light cuts, and sharp tools, as previously mentioned.
Mark
Re: How small of a vacuum chuck?
John - Charlotte, NC
>I have a nat. edge burl bowl, about 2" diameter at the "rim", and about 2" tall or so, that I'm going to reverse turn. I know I can reverse turn this using other methods, but since I have the vacuum system set up, I figured I'll use it.
I was going to make a vacuum chuck about 1.5" or so, and try it....for the 20 minutes it may take, I might as well try -- sometimes it's easier to ask a question here, before I make a jig that won't work anyways.....