Cheap vacuum worked- I think

[MattS]

I picked up one of those vacuum pumps from Harbor Frieght a while back to make a generic vacuum chamber for stabilizing calls and blanks.  I have had this piece of spalted maple layin around for a while that was way to soft to try and do anything with.  So I gathered up a piece of this and a piece of that to conger up a vacuum chamber and try the process on this blank.  I had that vacuum pump from Harbor Frieght that was on sale for $6.99 and a quart size mason jar that is filled with minwax wood hardener that I will usually soak my calls in.  This stuff was all stained real dark from those woods like coco.  I didn't care, I had to see if this contraption would work.  With a fitting here and there and a small piece of hose I fired that vacuum up.  WOW, it was kinda cool watching all that air foam everything up.  I ran the pump for about an hour till the blank was submerged and no more bubbles were comeing out.   Now I mentioned that this hardener was kinda nasty.  Well it actually stained that maple a nice orange brownish color.  I assume it should sit for a while before I should try and turn it.  So I will give it a couple weeks and see how it turns.

Stabilizing Vacuum Chamber with Pump = less then $10

[cjcalls]

If you put a valve between the pump and the jar then you could pull your vac turn off the valve and then shut down the pump. That way you wont have to listen to it for a hour.


Clint

[MattS]

I plan on redoing this rig up the right way.  I just had to see if it worked.  One thing though, I tried it the once with a hand pump vacuum that has a gage on it and at the beginning I had to keep pumping it because of all the air in the wood.  But after a little while the pressure seemed to level out and stay.  But I will be adding a check valve or just a straight shut off valve in line.  I will also be building a larger chamber that is big enough to put mu mold stuff in to get rid of the air bubbles in the casts.

I mentioned how the coco stained hardener changed the color of that maple.  I thought I would show ya the new color of this wood.  This was a very light maple and now it looks coco'ish.  It should be a interesting piece.

[cjcalls]

looks good
put a gauge between the valve and the tank and you can watch the vac

[kkbait]

A picture of your set up would be interesting

[ninthinning]

Looks like an excellent experiment.  Might work good on koa wood, nice wood but porous.  I would like to try this with black walnut, koa and maple burl.   How many inches of vacuum did you use?

Any one have suggestions on what to soak the blanks in?

[CypressSlough]

9th, I use the same type setup. I can pull about 23"Hg. I've had pretty good results with Minwax HP Wood Hardener. It will not make it a solid chunk like the professional stuff, but it will make it harder and a little easier to deal with. The drawback is it darkens the wood. If you use it on dark woods to start with the resulting hardener left will be stained, as MattS found out. Some people use Minwax Fast-Drying Poly, Nelsonite and Plexiglas mixed with Acetone. I am going to try the Plexi/Acetone to see how it holds up. Another guy told me he uses clean white styrofoam mixed with MEK (Methyl Ethyl Ketone) with great results pulling only 5-10"Hg. Gonna try this one too. Resinol 90C is what alot of the pros use, but at $300.00 for 4 gallons is a little steep. Some have had good results with Resolute also, but it is hard to find. The Minwax WH is what I used on the Red Oak Burl call for Guy. That wood I have will not turn at all before stabilizing. Brian.

http://www.penturners.org/forum/forum.asp?FORUM_ID=46 Penturners has alot of great info on the subject and setups.

[HuntnCarve]

Be very careful using a standard glass mason jar!  If you have ever seen a vacuum/pressure vessel, you will find that it is stainless steel.  There is a reason for that!  Folks have been killed!   I would consult a chemist before haphazardly placing any solvent based products under a vacuum.  Some chemicals are not meant to be used in these situations!  I've run a few vac/pressure retorts in my day.  This is serious stuff folks.  Lots of potential litigation if things go wrong!  Just my 2 cents.

Dave

[CypressSlough]

Yes, do not use a glass jar or any other container not designed for pressure. I use the HF 2 1/2 gallon Pressure Paint Tank. It is designed to hold a working pressure of 60 psi and works well with the HF venturi vacuum system. You just have to change out a few of the pieces to work with a vacuum (fittings, gauge, etc.).   Brian.

[ninthinning]

Excellent discussion Cypress.  Thank you for the warning HuntnCarve.