Making a Vacuum Bag

[Tenson]

Can I please get some recommendations of where to source bits of making a vacuum bag in the UK?

I need vinyl sheet and vinyl cement.

I actually have some 'Plastic Weld' which I guess might do the job but it is very thin and fast to evaporate so I'm not convinced I could paint a strip and then apply it along the seam of a bag.

Finally I need some hose connectors. I have a vacuum pump I got from eBay and the thread for the vacuum inlet measures 16.5mm I'm not sure what thread this is? I guess as the pump is made in China it is not going to be BST but it looks closest to 3/8" BST?

[mekanik]

Hi Tenson
I have done some bagging and just used some clear plastic sheeting that i had for a slip membrane to go over my floor insulation before i laid a screed, just sealed the ends with gaffer tape. you could just secure your pipe direct to the pump adapter and fix with jubilee clip.
What is the bag for? veneering flat work ? vacuum infusion ?
Have a look here
http://www.easycomposites.co.uk/#!/s...arter-kit.html
This will give you an idea of the materials that are available, this site is not the cheapest so shop around when you've seen what you want, the proper bags cost an absolute fortune for what they are, i bought some that are used for vacuum storing bed linen/clothes ect seems to be the same stuff as the expensive type and the have an adapter built in.
Regards
Mike

[Tenson]

This is for veneering. I will use it on a regular basis so I want to make it well.

[mekanik]

The Vacuum Storage Bags i mentioned have a seal on one end, just looked at mine and it's 900x1200. I did post a picture on the forum for someone that was asking what type of glue to use in veneering that showed the setup i was using, unfortunately i lost all my photo's and 4 years of other stuff when i had a PC incident but it should be still on the forum, search veneering and see if it comes up, the job i was doing was flat and it came out fine(was a proof of concept thingy), if you find it you will see some blue material in the bag and some white tubing, the blue stuff is a plastic mesh and the white is spiral cut tube (stuff for tidying wires), think maplin was cheaper than the composite site. this just ensures the vacuum reaches all parts of the surface as i was concerned that the bag would just suck down locally @ the vacuum inlet.
Hope that helps
regards
Mike

[Tenson]

I have a vacuum storage bag the sort used for putting clothes in storage. It is way too delicate and gets leaks after just 2-3 uses.

I want to know where to buy suitable vinyl sheet and the cement. JoeWoodworker sells 30gauge vinyl (is that about 700 micron?) but he is in the US so shipping makes it silly to buy there. FabricUK sell clear PVC sheet but do not mention the thickness. Do I need a specific type of PVC sheet?

[mekanik]

Just had a quick surf, what you are after is silicone sheet, just type vacuum veneering silicone sheet. that should give you plenty of options.