Homemade Vacuum Pump Machine

[Moby Duck]

It is often handy to have a basic filter to catch any oil/resin/fluid that may be drawn into the vacuum line and pump. Resin in your compressor will not do it any good. A simple in line one can be made with a lidded jar loosely filled with scrunched up paper towels. Two penetrations through the lid, the one from the vacuum jar has an extension going nearly to the bottom of the filter jar, (it can be a pipe or a hose), the one to the pump is just a short stub. Any fluids that get drawn into the system get taken to the bottom of the filter jar and are mostly caught by the paper towels as the vacuum returns to the pump. (It’s hard to describe this, as in a vacuum nothing is returning to the pump). It is also a good idea to put a hose on the discharge side of the compressor and vent any exhaust gasses outside the building. All sorts of toxic substances and vaporised compressor oil are in that exhaust line, depending on what fluids you have in your vacuum jar. To anyone building one on the cheap, the vacuum gauge is nice to have but is not absolutely necessary, as you are after the maximum vacuum that your compressor can provide and it’s not adjustable.