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Rotary vacuum adapter

Charles Chaloupka

Charles Chaloupka

Joined
Jan 4, 2020
Messages
31
Likes
20
Location
Niceville, Florida
Looking for any info on an adapter for vacuum chucking. I am using the newer Jet 1840 that has a cylindrical handle instead of a hand wheel, therefore the Craft Supply machined adapter with o-rings and quick disconnect wont work. The only other one I can find is the hold fast adapter that uses a threaded rod through the headstock. It would work but I need a quick disconnect and it comes with a barbed connector that can’t be removed. Any advice to locate another source would be greatly appreciated
 
I've been using a Frugal Vacuum Chuck for several years and love it. Bob's supply dried up a year or so ago, but I hear in the last few months he's got a new supplier. check them out.
 
Dave Hulett said:
I've been using a Frugal Vacuum Chuck for several years and love it. Bob's supply dried up a year or so ago, but I hear in the last few months he's got a new supplier. check them out.
Click to expand...

I believe it was just the supply of vacuum pumps that he couldn't get for awhile. I think he's resolved that.
I just got the bearings and a couple accessories from him.
 
Charles Chaloupka said:
I am using the newer Jet 1840 that has a cylindrical handle instead of a hand wheel
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I too have a Jet 1840 and am looking for vacuum adapters. I looked at several online and it is hard to find the specs on them. The I.D. of the handle cylinder is 24.9 mm. I can't tell if the Holdfast adapter or the OneWay adapter would work. Did you have any luck finding one that worked.
 
Way back when I was getting acquainted with vacuum at SWAT there was a guy who made vacuum adapters that fit into the hand wheel of the Powermatic 3520b. He also sold hand wheels for other lathes that allowed the use of this vacuum adapter. I bought hand wheels for my Jet 1642 and my Delta 46-460 and they worked perfectly (the guys name was Tom and sadly he is no longer with us). I have another vacuum system and I wanted to get another vacuum adapter. Craft Supplies did sell one but it was out of stock for a year or two and then it was not going to ever be available again. I tried to get one made but that has not worked out yet. But that type of adapter is available from Robust and it fits all of my hand wheels. I know that Best Wood Tools has a couple of those hand wheels for the Jet 1642 that may very well fit the Jet 1840 that would allow the use of the Robust vacuum adapter.
 
Bill Blasic said:
Way back when I was getting acquainted with vacuum at SWAT there was a guy who made vacuum adapters that fit into the hand wheel of the Powermatic 3520b. He also sold hand wheels for other lathes that allowed the use of this vacuum adapter. I bought hand wheels for my Jet 1642 and my Delta 46-460 and they worked perfectly (the guys name was Tom and sadly he is no longer with us). I have another vacuum system and I wanted to get another vacuum adapter. Craft Supplies did sell one but it was out of stock for a year or two and then it was not going to ever be available again. I tried to get one made but that has not worked out yet. But that type of adapter is available from Robust and it fits all of my hand wheels. I know that Best Wood Tools has a couple of those hand wheels for the Jet 1642 that may very well fit the Jet 1840 that would allow the use of the Robust vacuum adapter.
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Yes, I probably got one of the last adapter sets sold by JT Turning Tools, just a few days before Tom passed away. I see some of the headstock adapters for sale on ebay. Highly recommend this adapter. Lets you use PVC pipe to make just about any size cup you might need. I have 1" to 6" PVC cups I use with mine. This adapter can be used with any of the back-side sealing chucking systems.

I was hoping someone would pick up JTTT's designs because they are really nice. I was very luck to get one.

Simple Woodturning Tools sells a one-size adapter that is pretty nice at a reasonable cost. I have one, but don't use it. Was thinking about modifying it for the JTTT system but haven't needed to.
 
Charles Chaloupka said:
Looking for any info on an adapter for vacuum chucking. I am using the newer Jet 1840 that has a cylindrical handle instead of a hand wheel, therefore the Craft Supply machined adapter with o-rings and quick disconnect wont work. The only other one I can find is the hold fast adapter that uses a threaded rod through the headstock. It would work but I need a quick disconnect and it comes with a barbed connector that can’t be removed. Any advice to locate another source would be greatly appreciated
Click to expand...
May I suggest you make contact with the Oneway company in Canada. They manufacture adapters for different lathes. I'm using one of their machined adapters on a PM.
 
Thanks for the suggestions. I also looked at Harrison Specialties. It seems like the only downside is the lack of a quick connection on the rod which wouldn't be an issue unless set-up time was important. Are there pros and cons on their vacuum chuck?
 
Vince Catalano said:
Thanks for the suggestions. I also looked at Harrison Specialties. It seems like the only downside is the lack of a quick connection on the rod which wouldn't be an issue unless set-up time was important. Are there pros and cons on their vacuum chuck?
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On the Harrison, quick connect can be had by using a simple right-sized piece of push on tubing. The only downside is that it's only a one size cup. Larger would be more ideal for big bowls and platters, as bigger is better with vacuum chucks. It's all about surface area. For items smaller than the cup, it just won't work without further adaptation. I would characterize it as sufficient for pieces from 3.5 to 10" or so. Installs easily and works good.

I like the JTTT head adapter because I can use the largest that fits the turning. I have 8, 6, 4, 3, 2, 1.5, and 1" heads. All are foam-faced PVC except for the 8". The 8" is a Hold Fast, and does not use the JTTT head adapter but does use the quick connect rear suction attachment specifically made for my lath. I seem to use the 3, 6, and 8" sizes the most, depends on what you turn.

The Holdfast sealing system might be your best choice if you can't find something specific to your lathe. You can use your own vacuum pump with it ( I don't care for the venturi systems that use a compressor).
 
Hmmm. Things get complicated quickly. I would like to be able to mount larger bowls. I have an inquiry into Oneway and Rubber Chucky. I am not quite sure how the RubberChucky adapter works. I am hoping they will send a pic.
 
Charles Chaloupka said:
Looking for any info on an adapter for vacuum chucking. I am using the newer Jet 1840 that has a cylindrical handle instead of a hand wheel, therefore the Craft Supply machined adapter with o-rings and quick disconnect wont work. The only other one I can find is the hold fast adapter that uses a threaded rod through the headstock. It would work but I need a quick disconnect and it comes with a barbed connector that can’t be removed. Any advice to locate another source would be greatly appreciated
Click to expand...
I have the jett 1642 with the cylindrical hand and i got my oneway rotary adaptor from craft supplies- I assume they are the same- works great- push on and tighten with a setscrew-
 
With the Oneway I had to remove the hand wheel, tried it and sold it. Did not know Rubber Chucky made them and I would go with one of theirs as like the one from JT Turning Tools its plug in and go in seconds and you keep your hand wheel.
 
jeff e. luedloff said:
after reading the below posts just to verify i do take the cylindrical handwheel off to use the oneway rotary adaptor- 2 set screws- do not know if the othe versions leave the handwheel on-
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Any adapter that has to use screws or remove the handwheel is a non-starter for me. I have a home-made adapter (1996) that just slides into the spindle (one second to push it in through the handwheel and one second to remove it) and uses the spindle as the vacuum tube. Some of the newer adapters with the O-rings work the same way. I might have to buy one if I can find one that fits my lathe (General 260) without too many modifications.
 
The adapter made by Robust is based on the JT Turning Tools adapter. Robust sold these and they were manufactured by Tom at JT. When Tom passed away, Robust tooled up to machine themselves. I have one of the original versions that I ordered with my AB eleven years ago and it’s still in frequent use. Simple and quick to rig - literally takes only a second on and off.
I keep checking with Brent to see if they’re ready to machine the JT chuck adapter that uses standard sched 40 pvc fittings and is another beautifully simple, perfectly functional piece of equipment that will last a lifetime.
 
JeffSmith said:
The adapter made by Robust is based on the JT Turning Tools adapter. Robust sold these and they were manufactured by Tom at JT. When Tom passed away, Robust tooled up to machine themselves. I have one of the original versions that I ordered with my AB eleven years ago and it’s still in frequent use. Simple and quick to rig - literally takes only a second on and off.
I keep checking with Brent to see if they’re ready to machine the JT chuck adapter that uses standard sched 40 pvc fittings and is another beautifully simple, perfectly functional piece of equipment that will last a lifetime.
Click to expand...
The Robust works a little better than the JTT design, pulls a little more vacuum.
 
Steve Worcester said:
The Robust works a little better than the JTT design, pulls a little more vacuum.
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I'm not so sure you can make such blanket statement. My JTTT quick connect setup pegs the gauge to maximum, showing >30 inHg, using both JTT and holdfast headstock adapters. Different JTTT setups for different lathes, don't compare across mfrs/models. And leaks at the headstock chuck adapter are probably user error - failure to seat pvc against o-ring. I've had leaks for this very reason. Seat the PVC correctly and no leaks. I've even had one PVC piece that had bad mold release marks on it and had to be replaced to get a proper seat.
 
Steve Worcester said:
The Robust works a little better than the JTT design, pulls a little more vacuum.
Click to expand...
Steve I have not found that to be the case as I had to know. On the same lathe with the same vacuum pump the JT pulls 4 more points of vacuum than the Robust. I got 27 with JT and 23 with the Robust. Not a tremendous deal but there was a difference.
 
Tom Lucas said:
I'm not so sure you can make such blanket statement. My JTTT quick connect setup pegs the gauge to maximum, showing >30 inHg, using both JTT and holdfast headstock adapters. Different JTTT setups for different lathes, don't compare across mfrs/models. And leaks at the headstock chuck adapter are probably user error - failure to seat pvc against o-ring. I've had leaks for this very reason. Seat the PVC correctly and no leaks. I've even had one PVC piece that had bad mold release marks on it and had to be replaced to get a proper seat.
Click to expand...
In testing my own, the Robust was slightly better, so it was just my own products I had in hand with my parts.
How are you getting more than 30 inHg
 
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