Appearances: Episode 1911
Norm gets interested in vacuum clamping! David Marks has been using a vacuum bag for some time. Looks like Norm is catching up, although I’m sure he knew of the technology. It’s a simple way to get a lot of pressure onto a lot of surface area. It’s especially useful for veneering, but Norm’s use in glued-up forms is equally effective. Marks talks about 1500 lbs per square foot of pressure, which, if you can draw 27 or 28" of vacuum (translating roughly to ≈11/15 of an atmosphere) that’s not far off (≈11 lbs/in² X 144 in²). I’d be surprised if the hand pumped vacuum can deliver as much, however.
