Official Luthiers Forum!

For some time I have been looking at the various vacuum options to use for glueing/guitar holder, etc. Just wondering what all think about the compressor vacuum valve that LMI sells as opposed to using a vacuum pump. Any advangages/disadvantages. Also, how does the old style guitar holder that LMI has compare to the new style? LMI is clearancing out the old model for quite a bit less that the new model. THanks for any help
Tom Harbin

I have the LMII vacuum pump. It does the job well but is constantly
running. If I had to do it over, (and I will within the year) I would build
one of these:

http://www.joewoodworker.com/veneering/partsoverview.htm

Relatively inexpensive, and they would be excellent for what we do.
However, I do recommend LMII's valve that reads PSI and the vacuum
release.

Hopefully, someone will chime in about the compressor vacuum valve
from LMII.

Peace Out,
Simon

Thanks Simon: Anyone else out there that has done a Joe Woodworker vacuum kit, please let me know which type and how you like it. tom

Hi Tom,

I've used the little venturi pump from LMI for the last 6 years or so ... works well. I've switched over to a continuos vacuum pump system which I like much more. I use the refurbished Thomas pump from joewoodworker.com. Great little unit:



I've donated my venturi pump to OLF ... Lance is going to put it up for auction soon, I think.

Best,

Jim

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James Warwick
J. Warwick Guitars, LLC
http://www.jwarwickguitars.com

[QUOTE=Tom Harbin] Thanks Simon: Anyone else out there that has done a Joe Woodworker vacuum kit, please let me know which type and how you like it. tom[/QUOTE]

I have the Joe Woodworker set up with the GAST pump. It works flawlessly.

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Brock Poling
Columbus, Ohio
http://www.polingguitars.com

Is the JoeWoodworker setup superior to the LMII vacuum set up (not the venturi that runs off of a compressor)? It's a little more expensive with the JW setup, but not by much.

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Jonathan Kendall, Siloam Springs AR

When I was making drums, I used a vacuum setup for veneering. I used
this one: http://www.vacupress.com/products2.htm#compact100

It is $336 and comes with a bag. They'll take the cost of the bag off for
you. The only issue is that it doesn't have a regulator, which means it will
crush most anything unless reinforced. It was a flawless setup though
and didn't take any time at all to get running. You can add the regulator.

i have the joewoodworker venturi and reservoir system as well as a commercial venturi powered workholder/routing clamp. the joewoodworker system is cheaper than the lmi venturi and works very well.

i used a vacuum pump for powering routing clamps, etc., for years but find the venturi system better.

any vacuum system is improved out of sight with a reservoir.

I have a venturi from Quality Vakuum and it works pretty well. Using the regulator on the venturi, I can 'dial in' the amount of vacuum I want depending on the leakage in a system. With something like a bag you can always seal it off once you pull the vacuum you want, if you're running fragile parts or something. I might end up putting a tank inline with it but at the moment that seems unnecessary.

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Bob Garrish
Former Canonized Purveyor of Fine CNC Luthier Services

Thanks for all the replies. I've still got some homework to do. thanks, Tom H

I have been using the vacuum pump system as per joewoodworker's plans for over 3 years with perfect results.

I bought a used Gast pump on eBay before he started selling them on his site.

It is much quieter than a venturi system, especially when you use a large auxillary tank to reduce the pump cycling.

Shawn, which style/model of Gast pump did you get, rotary vane or diaphragm? Something else? Thanks for the review, I'm seriously looking into making one. Noise is a big issue for me, which is why I suspect I'd like the JW system over the continuous run pump on the LMI setup.

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Jonathan Kendall, Siloam Springs AR

The continuous run actually isn't that loud. The one in the LMI pic looks
exactly like what I had before selling it. Not loud at all. They aren't like
air compressors, or at least what I had wasn't.

I figured they wouldn't be all that loud, I remember Harry Fleishman had two or three old fridge motors as vacuum pumps in his shop and it wasn't that bad. Still, if more silence can be had for a comparable price...

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Jonathan Kendall, Siloam Springs AR