[Jewelry making - Article 00024] - Re: [Orchid] What to Look for in a vacuum pump?

[Kenneth Ferrell]

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    Chris; A 3 CFM 2 stage is sufficient to both De-air your flasks and
    cast you flasks, I have a 5.6 CFM Sergeant Welch Scientific, that I
    bought at a surplus auction at Los Alamos labs almost 15 years ago,
    and it's way more than I need. I can boil water in less than 20
    seconds and pulls around 25 microns, at 600 ft. alt. my vacuum gauge
    hits 30+ in HG at 7000 ft it was pulling 28 and boiling water in
    under 25 seconds. I never had to alter my water temperature or ratio,
    and hardly if ever had air bubbles on my castings. 

    As far as the cost of a vacuum table for de-airing flasks, or
    casting forget it, make your own all you need is a stainless steel
    salad bar pot that is 6 in. Diameter by 8 or more in. deep, a 1/4 or
    3/8 three way brass valve, available as a replacement for the Kerr
    vacuum casting machine, also available at industrial suppliers. I
    bought a 4 foot counter top, cut the hole around the cylindrical pot/
    (now vacuum chamber). You can get the adapter rings for the flasks
    and the silicone gaskets from Rio, or maybe Andy from Stuller will
    chime in. 

    I don't know how much the vacuum pump is on eBay but new they are
    around $300.00, the pot from any restaurant supply is around $10.00.
    The 3 way valve is another 10 bucks, you can use compression fittings
    if you like since they are easier. 

    I did my system with flare fittings harder but I don't worry about
    leaks, (my old system I had to retighten every thing every few
    months). For the table I drilled 4 1/4 inch holes in a 1/4 inch thick
    aluminum plate, do this while it is sitting on the counter top,
    exactly where you want it and drill al the way through the counter
    top. Now if you are not going to use a side draw Vacuum Bell, drilled
    and tap a hole for a 1/4 inch pipe nipple. I slipped a guy at Loews
    home supply a few bucks to put extra long threads on a 1/4 by 6 in
    iron pipe nipple almost 1-1/2 inches of thread on one end, the end
    that comes through the plate. I ran this up through the Aluminum
    plate and used Teflon tape to seal the threaded nipple (I don't like
    leaks). 

    If you use a side draw vacuum bell you can forget plumbing a hole
    through the plate and get by with no hole in your rubber mat, also
    less chance for a leak. 

    The worst part of the whole process was drilling the hole into the
    casting chamber (former hot bar pot) it took some finding but I
    found a "bulkhead fitting" for 14 inch compression fittings (Not my
    first choice) that works quite nicely.  Cost was about $15.00. Lets
    recap here Not counting the pump, Vacuum Bell, nor counter top, we
    have a total of about $65.00 add around $30.00 for the counter top, (
    surplus building supply co) or $50.00 at a home building supply. The
    Kerr flask adaptors were about $35.00 each, (just get the sizes or
    sizes you need). If you are going to use perforated flasks get a
    vacuum bell that will accommodate at least two flasks, the less time
    spent investing flasks the healthier you will stay. 

    The side draw bell is by far the easiest to set up for, No plumbing
    through the Aluminum plate, Now back to the plate, the four holes
    that we drilled earlier? OK we put 4- 4 or 5 inch  by 1/4 inch
    carriage bolts in them, (get them with full length threads) put one
    in each hole and put a nut on each bolt and draw up tight. 

    Now enlarge the holes in the counter top and put some compression
    springs between the plate and the counter top, enlarge the holes to
    around 3/8ts inch (so the bolts will slide easily. Now put flat 1/4
    inch fender washers under the counter top and two nuts on each bolt.
    Or you can use some locktite thread sealant,(auto parts store). You
    can get the springs and copper tubing at a hardware or home repair
    place like Loews or Home Depot. 

    The side draw bell Jars are around $125.00 and conventional jars are
    about 25.00 less, GO WITH THE SIDE DRAW I wish I had. I forgot the
    most important component of all the 1/4 inch aluminum plate, if you
    want to do this email me off line. I have a suitable piece left, I
    bought mine at a scrap yard/recycling center. Bottom line I have less
    than $200.00 invested in my vacuum Casting system and that's counting
    the Bell Jar but not flasks or perforated flask tongs, or pump. This
    system will cast flasks up to 5X7 inch. The pump cost me 175.00 for a
    $1700.00 pump that I used for 5 years then had if over hauled for
    400.00 . 

    So add $250.00 for the rest of your system to your pump, and see how
    much you have left over for you electro melt and Perforated flasks,
    (expensive ones do work better) and silicone gaskets for the adaptor
    rings and flasks. I believe the Kerr system sells for around
    $1300.00 and so does the Rio Vic-12 system Sorry yours wont be in a
    nicely painted and stenciled cabinet, mine sits on a kitchen sink
    cabinet another 65.00 but it looks OK and is convenient we mounted it
    on rollers so we can move it around in the casting room. 

    But I saved a lot of money and it only took about 4 hours to build 

Kenneth Ferrell
www.shadras.com



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