Veneer press question

[mattyb]

So I have some veneering to do. I had a small job in the past veneering some poplar burl for a couple of bedside units. Rather than forking out for a proper vacuum press I used vacuum bags from amazon that cost about £3 each, and sucked the air out with my makita extractor. Crude, but it worked an absolute treat until after 4 or 5 presses the bags breached and started letting in the air.

I’m wondering about the possibilities of using a real press bag (500 micron), and still just using my makita to make the vacuum? Happy to pay £200 for a proper bag, just less happy to pay £600 for a pump if it's not completely necessary.

Any thoughts gratefully received. Thanks!

 

[ChaiLatte]

Please supply a specification for the vacuum pump you require and links to the £600 ones you have found.

Please advise why a typical refrigerant pump (e.g. https://plumbingsuppliesdirect.co.uk/rothenberger-roairvac-1-5-cfm-refrigerant-vac-pump-170061/) would not work, particularly if you did bulk air removal with a hoover first.

Please read thread below, follow the links therein and discuss your conclusions:

https://www.ukworkshop.co.uk/threads/veneer-vacuum-press-advice.140400/

See also:

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/256663580387
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/256670299987
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/135289904001