this is my occasional post reminding the group that I have:
- inexpensive faceplates, starting at 5 for -- note that these are welded, not "high precision" but they do the job.
- vacuum pumps - right now I have a few 1/3 HP dual wobble piston pumps and a few 3/4 HP GAST vane pumps, and one smaller GAST vane pump
- I've acquired a carton of cheap vacuum gauges that mount with a 1/4 inch hose barb
details on any of these are on my web site (see the link below) - navigate to the forsale/vacuum pumps, or faceplate section as suits your fancy.
now, for the odd aside - I was cleaning up some turnings using a drum type vac chuck. There was a spider in the drum when I fired up the vacuum. I attached my object, worked on it for about half an hour, with the vacuum at about 15 inches, and then took it off. The spider was still running around (it seemed pretty excited) - I felt for sure that the low pressure would lead to its demise - apparently arachnids are pretty tough creatures.