Aldi Vacum Sealer (Could it be used for a vacum bag)

[tenpin]

Well, you may say what the hell is he talking about...but listen...

What do you reckon are the chances of making a small vacum press from one of these... :shock:

http://www.lidl.co.uk/uk/home.nsf/pages/c.o.20080526.p.Vacuum_Sealer.ar6

My next door neighbour has one that i looked at some time ago and thought that could be handy for small objects/veneering etc ...granted yes only small items but surely it has potential and on special at £14.99 it's got to be worth a try. it comes with 3 metres of bag and when vacumed you have the option to seal it...like a boil in the bag meal :lol:

SWMBO is off there this morning and picking up 2...one for the kitchen and one for the workshop.... :lol: :lol:

 

[lurker]

Well, lets hope SHE knows that Lidl isn't Aldi :roll:

 

[Gill]

I've got something similar to that which I use to seal plastic bags for the freezer. It has very little suction and I wouldn't dream of using it for veneering.

Gill

 

[woodshavings]

I also have one - use it for sealing plastic postal bags. The vacuum is far too weak for veneering.
John

 

[TheTiddles]

I think too much emphasis is placed on the level of vacuum required for veneering.

The massive advantage of a vacuum press is that the force is evenly distributed over the surface, so a good vacuum pump is going to apply about 14psi (which for reference is roughly what holds a 747 in the air). Let's assume you have a crappy system that only applies half a total vacuum, that's 7psi on every inch of the veneer, equivalent to 3 bags of sugar on every inch of the veneer, that's one huge force considering you might otherwise use a board with a few iron weight on it which won't provide even 1/10th that pressure. I have found even 1/3 vacuum plenty to lay a cluster maple veneer down hard onto a beech substrate with PVA glue and give an excellent bond. Presuming your workpiece is flat, you don't need to strive for a perfect vacuum.

I'm building up a home made vacuum system at the moment and will post some pictures once it's all finished.

Aidan