This weekend I decided to test out a simple Vacuum table. I have several sheet good projects coming up and didn’t want to fumble with clamps and tabs over and over. I have seen some similar posts and thought I would share my experience in hopes that it helps someone else.
I made mine 11" x 22" with a vacuum surface of about 9.5" x 20". It is made from a single sheet of 1/2" MDF (what I had laying around). I created the file for the underside in Easel. Same with surfacing the top.
Steps:
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Carve out what will be the underside of your vacuum table. (Design created in easel with the round circles cut depth zero, replicator app for spacing, then a square pocket cut half the depth of your MDF and sent ‘to the back’)
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Draw a quick and even grid on the top surface and start drilling! Lots of holes…lots of them…
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Flip over and clean up the bottom with a chisel or run the program again just to clean up the drill tearout.
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Surface the top about 1/32" of an inch.
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Trace the outline of your vacuum house on the surface of your current waste board. Cut or route out a hole of the exact size checking often for a snug fit. Make sure this centered on the vacuum table surface.
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Connect the hose through the bottom, level with your waste board and place your vacuum table board on top of that. Screw or secure with clamps to the waste board.
I use a 5hp Shop Vac and have run a few test cuts and am blown away with how well it works. Nothing has moved yet and I did some fairly “aggressive” cuts. Really happy so far.
