• The forum upgrades have been completed. These were moderate security fixes from our software vendor and it looks like everything is working well. If you see any problems please post in the Forum Technical Support forum or email us at forum_moderator (at) aawforum.org. Thank you
  • Congratulations to Bernie Hyrtzak, People's Choice in the January 2026 Turning Challenge (click here for details)
  • Congratulations to David Croxton for "Geri's Basket Illusion" being selected as Turning of the Week for February 2, 2026 (click here for details)
  • AAW Symposium demonstrators announced - If the 2026 AAW International Woodturning Symposium is not on your calendar, now is the time to register. And there are discounts available if you sign up early, by Feb. 28. Early Bird pricing gives you the best rate for our 40th Anniversary Symposium in Raleigh, North Carolina, June 4–7, 2026. (There are discounts for AAW chapter members too) For more information vist the discussion thread here or the AAW registration page
  • Welcome new registering member. Your username must be your real First and Last name (for example: John Doe). "Screen names" and "handles" are not allowed and your registration will be deleted if you don't use your real name. Also, do not use all caps nor all lower case.

Uses for Vacuum Chucks

Dennis J Gooding

Dennis J Gooding

Beta Tester
Beta Tester
Joined
Apr 10, 2010
Messages
890
Likes
844
Location
Grants Pass, Oregon
John Giem's long-running interest poll on vacuum chucks indicates that the item of most interest is what the vacuum chuck can be used for other than to turn off bases.. I built my system about 6 months ago and I continue to find new uses for it. Here are a couple of uses. I expect others can provide additional examples.

Applying finish. I like to apply spray finishes and some wipe-on finishes on the lathe in many cases. To protect the vacuum chuck, I pull a plastic grocery bag over the chuck, tape it down and poke a hole in the middle of the bag to let air flow through.

Lathe power sanding. Some green-turned pieces need to be re-sanded after drying. Generally, the gasket material of the chuck will deform enough to accommodate any warping. If not, I usually can get a satisfactory seal by slipping a ring of more pliant gasket material between the chuck and the turning. The turning does not have to be perfectly centered if the lathe speed is kept low.

In addition, I would like to offer the following tip.

If wood porosity or cracks/holes cause too much air leakage to get a safe grip, wrap a sheet of saran wrap around the parts of the turning that you are not going to cut/spray/sand.

Dennis
 
When using it for finishing, use as low of a vacuum as possible so it doesn't suck the finish through the other side. Usually a bigger problem with thinner, slower drying finishes like oils
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top