Thread: vacuum chamber

it's an older one, from a thrift store. it has a rubber seal, though, and I see what you mean- there's nothing to keep the gasket from being sucked in. drat.

Originally Posted by Datsots

Some old designs will hold vacuum but most new designs will fail, due to the gasket. The ones that will most likely hold vacuum have a metal to metal seal, sadly they are much more expensive and marketed as pressure canners.

Good luck, post up a how to if you have success.

Jonathan

Works very well

http://straightrazorpalace.com/works...-products.html

If I build another someday I would design it to use way less product, a plexiglass rectangular box comes to mind, although the Pickle Jar does just fine

There are some commercial ones out there, but were cost prohibitive IMO

Originally Posted by gssixgun

Works very well

http://straightrazorpalace.com/works...-products.html

If I build another someday I would design it to use way less product, a plexiglass rectangular box comes to mind, although the Pickle Jar does just fine

There are some commercial ones out there, but were cost prohibitive IMO

Glen. how much vac are you pulling with you setup?

27-29 in/HG if I am reading the guage correctly...

There is a pic of the guage in that thread Bill I think I am reading it correctly almost as high as it will go hehehehe

Originally Posted by gssixgun

27-29 in/HG if I am reading the guage correctly...

There is a pic of the guage in that thread Bill I think I am reading it correctly almost as high as it will go hehehehe

Thx, going to start sourcing parts tomorrow,have you settled on one solution that you feel works best?

I have been using the Daly's for Dense Woods (Cocobolo, Lignum, Ebony etc: )
I have been using Polyurethane for all the rest.. I keep them in seperate Pickle Jars and just move the top around so far no issues with the finish going bad

I have a few Brush customers that have been updating me on their treated wood brushes along with my personal ones, and so far so good the finish is holding very well, I am pretty happy with the results overall..


The only downside is you better like Pickles I even found they same Jar with Jalapeno's hehehe we are well stocked on both


ps: There is a solution out there called "Cactus Juice" that gets very high reviews, but dang they are very proud of it

Originally Posted by gssixgun

I have been using the Daly's for Dense Woods (Cocobolo, Lignum, Ebony etc: )
I have been using Polyurethane for all the rest.. I keep them in seperate Pickle Jars and just move the top around so far no issues with the finish going bad

I have a few Brush customers that have been updating me on their treated wood brushes along with my personal ones, and so far so good the finish is holding very well, I am pretty happy with the results overall..


The only downside is you better like Pickles I even found they same Jar with Jalapeno's hehehe we are well stocked on both

Thx,I have 6 jars of pickles in the pantry as we speak Clausens orig dills.

Originally Posted by gssixgun

I have been using the Daly's for Dense Woods (Cocobolo, Lignum, Ebony etc: )
I have been using Polyurethane for all the rest.. I keep them in seperate Pickle Jars and just move the top around so far no issues with the finish going bad

I have a few Brush customers that have been updating me on their treated wood brushes along with my personal ones, and so far so good the finish is holding very well, I am pretty happy with the results overall..


The only downside is you better like Pickles I even found they same Jar with Jalapeno's hehehe we are well stocked on both


ps: There is a solution out there called "Cactus Juice" that gets very high reviews, but dang they are very proud of it

May I ask why not poly on the cocobolo?

Originally Posted by bridger

it's an older one, from a thrift store. it has a rubber seal, though, and I see what you mean- there's nothing to keep the gasket from being sucked in. drat.

last night I spent a couple of hours making a retainer ring for the gasket that would spread the gasket tighter the harder the vacuum. made it from mdf. came out this am. and gave it a quick coat of shellac. while it was drying, I thought... am I overthinking this? grabbed the pressure cooker, hooked it up to the vacuum pump and plugged it in. after it pulled down for 30 seconds or so, I could no longer budge the handle. pulled the plug and after 5 minutes or so I could start to move it. I think I don't need the retainer.....

my vac pump is a compressor pump from some old heavy duty fridge or freezer. one advantage of using these is that you can hook it up and just leave it running all night if necessary. it maxes out around 25-30 inches of mercury (12-15 psi) plenty for this process and safe for the chamber. the pump will hold vacuum for a couple of hours, so the leakage is mostly from the pressure cooker. no matter, I'll just leave it running for the time I expect the resin takes to gel.

now to test if the japan drier will kick off a good short oil varnish sans oxygen.

One of the warnings from several sites about vacuum stabilizing is that it is important not to shut off the vacuum pump while the system is holding vacuum - in other words, there need to be a valve between the pump and the tank, which is closed before turning off the pump. FYI .
Pixel - with unspalted wood, your will probably not get a lot of penetration, so my guess is that the the amount of poly you got on the samples you used is about right. The other possibility is to switch to pressure after you vacuum - Randydancer did an experiment with poly and just pressure some time back - I turned several brushes with the wood, and it seemed to have good penetration - most of the wood was not spalted.
Bridger - Your system sounds cool - I like the "make do with what you can find" approach. Let us know how the drying process goes.