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If you have a Big Lots store close to you check out the seal-a-meal. It's a factory refurb and $30.00 makes a great vacuum press for fret boards to neck, headstock veneers and laminated neck blanks. Just buy the 18ft rolls of bag material and make your own bag. I usually add about 6 extra inches so I can cut at the seal and reuse the bag at least 3 or 4 times. Just make sure you use locater pins for the fretboard and man what a great CHEAP press. Unfortunately it won't do a bag 16inches wide only (11inches) otherwise it would be great for caps on a solid body electric, (I'm working on a way of making a bag for that).

Any food saver will work and also works great for small veneer jobs like jewelry boxes and such as well.

Just wanted to clue ya'll in on a wonderful tool that most wouldn't think of to use at a great price!!
Mike

Not sure how I did that but I somehow posted that as Guest:)
Mike

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I'm outside looking in, just farther from the window than most.

Sweet! I have to admit that the BigLots near my house may as well know me by name given how much I shop there. Things like bar clamps are amazingly cheap--not to mention cool finds like this... I was looking at the specials page at Vac-U-Clamp and they have a vacuum bag for $40 on sale, so this may be a good way to put $10 in the zoot fund. Thanks Mike!

Darren, I got one of those vinyl vacuum bags from Vac-U-Clamp in the sale. I have to say it's waaay better than anything I could knock up using a food sealer. If you already have a vac pump (which I do) the Vac-U-Clamp is better IMO. However, if you want to make small custom vac clamps for bridges etc., then the Big Lots idea doesn't sound bad at all.....

Dave F.

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Cambrian Guitars

"There goes Mister Tic-Tac out the back with some bric-brac from the knick-knack rack"

Now the big question. how many inches of vacuume does it draw?

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/d ... mber=95613
Would these bags be of any use?
Nelson

Good question. I'll find my vacuum gauge and try it out on the port and see!!

Mike

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I'm outside looking in, just farther from the window than most.

Well, I found my old vacuum gauge. (about 30+ years old) I tested 10times and got 23 inches of vacuum. Now that's not bad, If you consider that the formula for PSI from this is X sqinches * #HG/2. That's the formula that's used on most vacuum clamping sites I found. So if a 50sqin area clamped in this. The force would be that of 575 lbs psi. That's better than you are going to get out of most bar clamps and this is even pressure applied.
Like I said for small jobs and neck blanks it has worked fine.

Mike

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I'm outside looking in, just farther from the window than most.