Bagpress bags. Worth the money?

[rileytoolworks]

Has anyone here got a Bagpress PU bag, and, if so, do you rate them?
Up till now I've been using various other bags including waste sacks, but I think I need something a little more durable. The problem is, the bag I'm looking at comes to £155 with the delivery charge, so I need to know they're decent cos that's a HELL OF A LOT OF MONEY.
Also, I've got a vacuum breach unit that I want to use with the bag, which allows me to use a standard PCL airline fitting. The bagpress bags apparently come with a 'push fit connector'.
Can this be removed or is it welded to the bag?
Thanks for your time, and any info will be greatly appreciated.
Adam.

 

[jasonB]

My bag is going strong after several years of light use.

When I got mine the bag came with separate fitting which the user has to fit so I assume the larger bags will be the same

Jason

 

[ivan]

What about vinyl (0.2mm @ £2/sqM) from Allplas.co.uk? For connectors use screw-together tarpaulin eyelets which can be tapped to 1/4" BSP (Scritt's idea)and vinyl cement. You could get a LOT of vinyl for the money!

 

[oddsocks]

I'm still using my homemade bags from allplas vinyl. I have had to replace one but that was due to me being impatient and laying it on the garage concrete floor and then later walking on it! When I came to use it I could only get 5 psi of vacuum, so I used an airline (I have pcl fittings) to inflate it and found over 20 pinprick holes. maybe the bagpress with it's thicker 300 or 350micron plastic would have survived, but the allplas used on a table and properly cared for works well.

On my large (2.2m) replacement bag rather than seal the bottom I left both top and bottom open (sealed with the dowel and plastic pipe). This makes it easier to position the item and the breather fabric.

Dave

 

[moz]

Absolutely not in my opinion. I came across this small company recently

http://www.vacformcomposites.co.uk/

They built me a 5' x 3' aluminium rubber-membrane frame press recently at a fraction of the cost of the competition, but they have a large selection of very useful, and economical, sheet materials, breather fabrics, though-bag vacuum connectors, etc. I have a thin, plastic green mesh from them which makes a great breather material as it doesn't stretch and lose it's shape nor does it stick to anything. There is also another thin, finer mesh which I have used between veneers and newsapaper when flattening curled veneers to stop the paper sticking. They also have 'normal' breather fabric at good prices. Their connectors are in two pieces and cut their way through the bag. Simple. Connections are whatever you want.

The bulk of their work is in carbon fibre and the like, which is much more demanding than wood. For bag pressing, they use a very cheap vinyl tubing which they seal using cement. it's a superb, simple solution which, for their purposes, they treat as disposable but, for us, would be reusable many times over. I have destruction tested it and it takes some breaking. If you were careful to round over edges of forms, etc., it would last ages. For £155.00, I think you could get enough to last you a lifetime. They are near Keighley in Yorkshire but I think they have a rep in the south for anyone interested, or just give them a ring.

I have no connection with them but have just been very impressed.

John

 

[oddsocks]

John - that is an excellent link. I wish I had known about it months ago - I'm happy with the DIY solution I made, but for anyone starting out they look to be an ideal choice. Pity they don't give prices (other than the example £375 for the complete kit).

the silicon rubber as the bag sounds more resilient than vinyl.

I've bookmarked the page!

Dave

 

[moz]

Pity they don't give prices (other than the example £375 for the complete kit).

Dave

Dave, I think they are working on the website but, in any case, they are more of a bespoke outfit than one selling a bog-standard product, i.e. you tell them what you want and they will certainly have a solution and plenty of knowledgeable advice. Their portfolio is impressive including F1 racing car chassis, helicopter parts, bullet proof vests, helmets - all custom made for a wide variety of industries.

John

 

[Night Train]

If you already have the vacuum pump then you could make your own low cost bags.

You could just get two clear shower curtains from your DIY shed and then double sided tape two edges together and seal off the ends with some pvc conduit in a split conduit.

 

[Dibs-h]

http://www.vacformcomposites.co.uk/

They are good and very knowledgeable. The strange thing is most of the CF people don't use bags - they just use film on a roll and seal it each time. The film is peanuts relatively speaking.

http://www.ecfibreglasssupplies.co.uk/store/-c-315.html

This will give you an idea of the methods\prices used by the CF brigade.