Frugal Vacuum Chuck

[Curtis Myers]

Anyone have any working knowledge of Frugal Vacuum Chucks?
http://www.frugalvacuumchuck.com
I seen their add in one of the AAW emails recently and was wondering if their any good.

all the best
curt

[Thomas Canfield]

I think that there were 6 members of our local club that bought them at SWAT last year and all seem satisfied. I have had good luck with mine and have made live adapters for both Comet and Powermatic lathes, and a variety of sizes (2, 3, 4, and one 6) for 1" and 1-1/4". A vacuum chuck does give a lot of flexibility over a jam, donut, cole jaws, etc. but dos not work for everything. I think that it is a good value and recommend making your own additional items. I do recommend making an adapter rather than the single use design vacuum chuck that Frugal Vac presented then, but you need a tap to tap a block for the PVC piece.

[Bob Bergstrom]

We have many fugal vacuum pump users in the Chicago area. Bob is been selling in the Chicago area for 5 years. Haven't heard of a bad experience. The pumps are repiration pumps from hospitals and he checks them all. The best part is even with loss of power the vacuum will exist for five to ten seconds. Our club has one and it is used a lot. We have rebuilt a couple of them and it is fairly easy. Bob sells rebuild kits also.

[Joe Bradshaw]

I got one for my girlfriend to use on her lathe. It has worked flawlessly. She uses a Rubber Chucky vacuum chuck and the spindle adapter from Robust. It's very quiet when in use. Go for it.
Joe

[Dale Gillaspy]

I think you will be happy. Bob also comes to Phoenix in the Winter, and has sold some down here. I own one, and have no problems. Worst case on one I had, I bought a rebuild kit off E-bay for $14 and it works like new. Bob will stand behind his product. No problems.

[Jeff Walters]

They are a fantastic deal. I've had mine since March when Bob came to our club to demonstrate it and have gotten a lot of use out of it. I also use it with a vacuum chamber to stabili
ze wood. You will have to build a stand out if wood but everthing else is included. I also suggest getting a Rubber Chucky Vacuum Chuck. The two go great together.

Jeff

[Olaf Vogel]

Look at http://www.joewoodworker.com/veneering/welcome.htm
you will find some great DIY info. None of this is rocket science or special machining. A surplus store and some Home Depot hoses, clamps, wood will do the job

You MIGHT be able to build if yourself SLIGHTLY cheaper, but I doubt it.
The pump is by far the most expensive part. The rest is easily available.
But by the time you finish running around town for it all... its not worth the savings.

BTW - as you might have guessed, I went the Joe Woodworker route a few years ago.. never knew about this.
Great site, I appreciate that its offering, the knowledge on it and I used the parts.
(I was doing veneer on speakers and later adapted it to my lathe)

If someone else will put it all in a kit for you at a great price...go for it.

[Thom Sturgill]

I plan on doing a demo on vacuum chucking at our next club meeting and these sites will help me make great handouts. It looks like the Frugal kit has all the right parts and a decent price on the pump. Add Jt Turnings tools to the mix for their adapters and chucks.

[Joe Bradshaw]

As a side note, A company called California Air makes a small compressor that uses a pump very much like the ones used on the frugal vacuum pump. I brought one and all I had to do was reverse the intake and outlet. I also put a toggle switch on it. I already had the necessary bits and pieces needed for the manifold. It works great so far.
Joe

[Jeramie Johnson]

Tax return time soon and I have been eyeing the Frugal system for a while. Thank you all for commenting.

[Fred Belknap]

I have had the Frugal Vacuum for several months and I am very happy with it. It came complete except to put some cotton in the exhaust, did that and it didn't do much. It isn't very loud anyway and I have bad hearing.

[Dan Ernst]

Joe, I have a California compressor, tell me more about using it as a vacuum pump. Does it pull enough vacuum for chucking? How did you plumb it up? I like thee compressor because it runs so quietly, any harm to the compressor running it backwards?

Dan

[Dwight Rutherford]

Dan,
Joe's post is from 2015. You may get an answer if you contact The Frugal Vaccum Chuck folks directly. Or perhaps ask California Air if there is a downside to hooking it up differently.

[jeff oldham]

I shopped around when I bought mine,,and everyone told me about the frugal vaccum pump and I called the man,,very very nice,,bought one and could not be happier,,,as a matter of fact I used it last night,,,it has a very strong vaccum,,,more than you would expect,,,,I would recommend it highly,,,,,

[Wade Lippman]

Joe, I have a California compressor, tell me more about using it as a vacuum pump. Does it pull enough vacuum for chucking? How did you plumb it up? I like thee compressor because it runs so quietly, any harm to the compressor running it backwards?

Dan

Did you ever find out about this? I was looking to see what people thought of the Frugal Vacuum and found your post. I also have a California compressor, so if I can get double duty out of it...