Raises hand big time! :eek:
Hey buddy, just ordered a vacuum switch with 2-5" hystersis from Joes Woodworking (or something like that)… apparently they vac bag veneers laminates 
Was about USD$25, pump will only run as required with one of these. I’ll let you know when it arrives how well it works
Neat, looking forward to hearing your review =)
Gave the big rotary a whirl on the weekend, worked perfectly. Sat in the garage drinking beer for 3 hours, turning the pump on and off… has a very slight leak, would lose about 2" over 3-5 minutes, so duty cycle was about 1-2 percent.
Worked perfectly, and the switch arrived this morning, so should be the entire system sorted.
I am vacuum bagging =)
Right now working on a flat piece of kevlar, however had a little too much resin as I am used to working by hand. It is currently on 2 hours on vacuum without any leaks. Only thing that stinks is the cure time on Epoxy resin (had some left), going to use my VER next, and possibly infuse versus wetlayup and bag as I have those materials as well. This is so fun, I don’t expect my first piece to be perfect, as I already figured out my flaw using a wee bit too much resin, however its a good learning experience for now.
Two questions, do you guys suggest buying a cheap ebay digital scale so I can better adapt my resin to material ratio?
And also, do these little robinair style vacuum pumps take up much electricity? I don’t mind letting it run for a bit on the epoxy if its going to come out neat, but don’t want to waste electricity when I can scrap this setup and just do it with VER the 2nd time around.
About how long does a general VER take to cure, around 3 hours? My resin came with no information, just going by some of the postings I have read on here. This is my first time using it and so far so good, it flows quite well. Doing my first Infusion, I didn’t like the wet layup too much, possibly because of the thickness of the resin I used for it, but the infusion process is going quite well thus far.
Beginner’s luck?
My first infused part came out PERFECT. I was so happy when taking it apart. This will be used to fill up all the spaces in my friends engine bay, such as where the ABS lines used to be, wiring harness + battery lines etc.
We will cut up the shapes we need out of this c/k panel I made.
Infusion > Wetlayup Bagging 
I like infusion much better, esp because of the great results I had in comparison.
Great job!
Is this carbon-kevlar hybrid fabric?
yuppers =)
Well done. Are you going to try some with a smooth finished surface finish on it too?
On the subject of digital scales then yes, this is what I use for repeatable and accurate results along with a measuring bottle for the cat’ of course.
Tape over parts of it to keep them clean, just renew the clear tape when needed…
The surface is quite smooth and glossy (picture probably does not do it justice), I am sure it could be clearcoated, however since this will be going in the engine bay the UV protection isn’t necessary. The thickness of the resin at the face of the product is much less, and you can actually see that the weaves themselves were pressed against my molding surface with a good amount of pressure as they were spread out a tiny bit from the leak free vacuum setup I had. I may give wet layup bagging another try using the same type of resin, however for now, I am going to continue this way. Next up is a full mold, I have PVA, however contemplating just waxing the part up as it doesn’t seem like it would be a terribly hard piece to wax. I know there is a debate of PVA vs standard mold release Wax, but I will have to give it a whirl both ways if one turns out bad etc.
So far so good with my newest setup.
Digital scales: Hit up the local pawn shops and if the former drug dealer…opps scale owner pawned one and the shop is asking $75 they lent out $25…so offer the pawn shop $30 to $35 for it! 
I have plenty pawn shops to browse in my area, may even be able to scrape some coke residue and it will pay for itself. That or I will just hunt on ebay and try to find another good deal like my 32 dollar shipped pressure pot. (currently soaking my fittings in acetone though as I stopped the resin flow a little too late for my first time, but hopefully it loosens it up so I can do more work and perfect my techniques and start working on some molds)
I just have 2 questions, and it may be a preference either way.
As far as waxing molds go, do you guys have any intervals of time, amount of coats etc that you always follow?
And last but not least, when cleaning out equiptment, such as brass fittings, do you use anything that is more potent than acetone? Hopefully it won’t happen again as it was hard to watch both the resin cup, continue stirring, and also the panel at the same time as to when to cut it off lol. Maybe I can meet a nice girl and make her my assistant one day in the future =)
Amen. Don’t be stupid and start out with buying an autoclave or thinking you have to infuse parts. You’ll kick yourself in the butt for jumping headfirst into a mess you can’t swim in.
Drug dealer scales also look at local cheapo smoke shops. I have seen them for $10. nope i don’t do drugs or smoke. I buy more soda pop and employ more Pepsi workers than any single person in the USA. lol
Oh man…Werksberg… no doubt I should go back to that surplus store … I need at least 2 vacuum pumps now. I also want to buy that electro-magnet pump for $100… pulls 26hg. I want that one for my home garage use.
Dude trust me, i do get off my keister lol… so much driving lately from Phoenix, to Glendale, to Mesa, to Tempe. I got stuck in a sea of red tail lights this evening took me a full hour to drive 20 miles home, ridiculous.