On with the Pump

Well i finished all the cross bars on the table. Had to re adjust a couple of measurements and re drill the holes, i have no idea how i got them wrong but i did.

Then it was onto the pump.
All i had was the pump itself. I had to search for a vacuum unit from a carby to act as a switch activator. I looked on the net for "proper" vacuum switches, but they cost far more than a proper vacuum pump would anyway.

I ended finding one at my local mechanics ( he services my cars, an honest one too). It was from an old corolla distributor. Only worry was that the diaphragm was perished. So i grabbed it anyway, hey it was free!

I got it home and had a bit of a look. Well i ended up grinding off the lip, taking out the perished rubber and cutting a new one from some old regulators from years ago. Put in a bolt through the middle with a couple of washers and poked it out the back , siliconed it together , let it dry and mounted it. Only thing i am unsure of is whether the rubber is strong enough when the vac is turned on. I have thicker rubber so if it isn't i will rebuild it again.

 

Setting up the pump

I have set up the rebuilt advance unit with the spring tensioner plus the micro switch which will be wired in the normally closed position. I'm also setting up the junction box where the wires will be run into for the mains, switch and pump.

I finished the pump wired it up and ran it for a bit to see if the rebuilt vac switch worked , it did. I just need to get myself a gauge and run it properly to see if the diaphram works properly and it sucks the vac bag correctly.

I am hopeing to make a top sheet this weekend, some cotton would be nice to try it with . I guess a trip to the local spotlight store will be on.