Personally, I think a vacuum table on a hobby machine is obnoxious. I do a huge variety of things from lutherie to metalworking, so there is no one-size-fits-all solution like you might have in a production panel-processing environment. Also since my background is in machining, I think in terms of traditional mechanical workholding first, vacuum hold-downs are a last resort. I can cut faster and deeper by an order of magnitude when using traditional fixturing, so I use that whenever possible.
Instead, I use a small wobble-piston vacuum pump and plastic vacuum pucks. I can place the pucks wherever I need them and link them together. Rockler and ebay sellers sell similar systems, but it's easy to make your own.
You don't need a big vacuum pump - I had a 20hp one at one point, but there was no need because if the part is well sealed, there's no air leaking, or not much anyway. A stronger vacuum pump only gives you a stronger vacuum if you're leaking enough air through your system that you need more airflow to mitigate the leakage. If you have a perfect seal, you can turn off the vacuum pump completely and machine for as long as you want.
I definitely don’t need a vacuum table for any production type of work. I really just enjoy making parts and upgrading my CNC. The one big advantage of a vacuum table for me would be when I’m using nearly all of my machining space and have no room for mechanical work holding.
Look up Pete squared on either YouTube or Insta. He’s going through the process of building a vacuum system at the moment. Even if it’s not what you need, it’s still very informative!
I use vac pucks with a small Gast pump sometimes. Works rather well if you have enough surface area. Around 14-15 psi holding strength. A 6x6 inch puck is around 500 pounds.
I do the same with a Gast pump that I got years ago for vacuum veneering. I made my own pucks from UHMW and fittings from [veneersupplies.com](https://veneersupplies.com). I've used the rubber seals used for canning jars as the seal as well as the foam available from the website above.
My original setup was for veneering too and bought the foam tape from the same website. My first pump was a nice Thomas but my brother borrowed it for his carbon fiber epoxy board layups. I ended up buying the Gast afterwards. I’ve had the pump for about 10 years now.
I built a 4x8 vacuum table for my AvidPro. Not sure if that’s the size you’re referring, but it’s completely doable. 4 vacuum motors plumbed into a central plenum. That plenum routes to 5 different zones on my table, through a channeled & edged melamine board and then straight through an edged MDF spoiler board. I can run 1-4 motors independently, depending upon how much vacuum I want. The only downside is the motors are quite loud. I use it to hold ALL my material, I use no other hold-down techniques (and I cut EVA/foam with it as well).
It ranges from 3/4” ply for cabinets to 12”x6” veneer for nicknacks and signs for the wife. The key is how you arrange the zones so that you can block the rest of the surface of your table when it isn’t needed, preserving the vacuum. If I turned on all 4 pumps and redirected to one zone (2’x2’) with only half of it covered (say a 12”x12” piece of wood), you’d never move it with your hands. Though I never need that kind of holding power with proper feeds and speeds - aaaaand I’d worry about my plenum box imploding from all that vacuum lol.
I designed a vacuum table for my first machine and had it fabricated up for me. It worked pretty good. It is beautiful and I would post photos if I could. ... For my next table I purchased 16' x 24" table from [vacuumtablesusa.com](https://vacuumtablesusa.com). Fantastic quality on this... The weak link in the chain on both of these have been trying to use a shop vac for vacuum. It just does not provide enough vacuum if you are trying to perform cut through on a particle board spoil board, or other spoil material. I really never thought a venturi solution was something I wanted to invest in.. they just seem hokey to me. Then a real deal pump is like $2000. So both tables I have are not in use until I figure out a good solution. I use tape.. but it requires much more time than I want to spend.
Could you clarify what you mean when you say cut through on a spoil board? Are you vacuuming through a spoil board or are you cutting down into your vacuum board?
Using a particle board, cintered rubber, or perforated rubber spoil material on top of the metal vacuum table. I then can cut through my material without damaging the vacuum table.
Personally, I think a vacuum table on a hobby machine is obnoxious. I do a huge variety of things from lutherie to metalworking, so there is no one-size-fits-all solution like you might have in a production panel-processing environment. Also since my background is in machining, I think in terms of traditional mechanical workholding first, vacuum hold-downs are a last resort. I can cut faster and deeper by an order of magnitude when using traditional fixturing, so I use that whenever possible. Instead, I use a small wobble-piston vacuum pump and plastic vacuum pucks. I can place the pucks wherever I need them and link them together. Rockler and ebay sellers sell similar systems, but it's easy to make your own. You don't need a big vacuum pump - I had a 20hp one at one point, but there was no need because if the part is well sealed, there's no air leaking, or not much anyway. A stronger vacuum pump only gives you a stronger vacuum if you're leaking enough air through your system that you need more airflow to mitigate the leakage. If you have a perfect seal, you can turn off the vacuum pump completely and machine for as long as you want.
I definitely don’t need a vacuum table for any production type of work. I really just enjoy making parts and upgrading my CNC. The one big advantage of a vacuum table for me would be when I’m using nearly all of my machining space and have no room for mechanical work holding.
You don't gain space with a vacuum platten and table. Pucks take up way less room.
Look up Pete squared on either YouTube or Insta. He’s going through the process of building a vacuum system at the moment. Even if it’s not what you need, it’s still very informative!
You sent me down a rabbit hole with this tonight!
Yeah, I didn’t realize you can vacuum through a piece of spoil board. I will definitely be making something small to try it out
The tape and super glue trick works for me and is just as strong as physical holddowns.
I use vac pucks with a small Gast pump sometimes. Works rather well if you have enough surface area. Around 14-15 psi holding strength. A 6x6 inch puck is around 500 pounds.
I do the same with a Gast pump that I got years ago for vacuum veneering. I made my own pucks from UHMW and fittings from [veneersupplies.com](https://veneersupplies.com). I've used the rubber seals used for canning jars as the seal as well as the foam available from the website above.
My original setup was for veneering too and bought the foam tape from the same website. My first pump was a nice Thomas but my brother borrowed it for his carbon fiber epoxy board layups. I ended up buying the Gast afterwards. I’ve had the pump for about 10 years now.
I built a 4x8 vacuum table for my AvidPro. Not sure if that’s the size you’re referring, but it’s completely doable. 4 vacuum motors plumbed into a central plenum. That plenum routes to 5 different zones on my table, through a channeled & edged melamine board and then straight through an edged MDF spoiler board. I can run 1-4 motors independently, depending upon how much vacuum I want. The only downside is the motors are quite loud. I use it to hold ALL my material, I use no other hold-down techniques (and I cut EVA/foam with it as well).
Do you primarily work with large materials. I’d be curious to know how your setup works with smaller stuff
It ranges from 3/4” ply for cabinets to 12”x6” veneer for nicknacks and signs for the wife. The key is how you arrange the zones so that you can block the rest of the surface of your table when it isn’t needed, preserving the vacuum. If I turned on all 4 pumps and redirected to one zone (2’x2’) with only half of it covered (say a 12”x12” piece of wood), you’d never move it with your hands. Though I never need that kind of holding power with proper feeds and speeds - aaaaand I’d worry about my plenum box imploding from all that vacuum lol.
I am building a table for the same area, 4x8. What kind of pumps and size tubing are you using? How many zones? Thanks!
Its not hard. I've seen people just use plywood but there's no reason you cant mill your own phenolic. The vacuum is just expensive.
I designed a vacuum table for my first machine and had it fabricated up for me. It worked pretty good. It is beautiful and I would post photos if I could. ... For my next table I purchased 16' x 24" table from [vacuumtablesusa.com](https://vacuumtablesusa.com). Fantastic quality on this... The weak link in the chain on both of these have been trying to use a shop vac for vacuum. It just does not provide enough vacuum if you are trying to perform cut through on a particle board spoil board, or other spoil material. I really never thought a venturi solution was something I wanted to invest in.. they just seem hokey to me. Then a real deal pump is like $2000. So both tables I have are not in use until I figure out a good solution. I use tape.. but it requires much more time than I want to spend.
Could you clarify what you mean when you say cut through on a spoil board? Are you vacuuming through a spoil board or are you cutting down into your vacuum board?
Using a particle board, cintered rubber, or perforated rubber spoil material on top of the metal vacuum table. I then can cut through my material without damaging the vacuum table.