Workshop operational tips. #36: Give your Fe$tool VAC$Y$ a kick along.

Boy and Girls,

It’s hard to make something perfect ”perfecter”… but here is an example.

I have been overwhelmed by my Fe$tool VAC$Y$,

and my only disappointment is that I didn’t buy it many years ago.

OK, there was one other thing that could have been improved, and that was access to the on/off switch, which can be made easy or difficult depending on where the idiotic owner places the systainer… the latest version of the pump is enclosed in a systainer with the switch on the side.

Whether it be lack of space or imagination in planning, I found that my button was in an awkward spot to reach over my work and making it more convenient would upset the current layout… and my Chi,

Even though the vacuum clamping still operates after the pump is switched off, a more practical option is to switch the pump off when you release the vacuum to remove the work.
Being space constrained, even one wasted foot in the workshop is an unnecessary overhead (or more precisely, underfoot)… so why not toggle the pump using that spare foot. As the pump release is operated by a foot lever, I thought the ideal place for a toggle switch would be near the foot lever.

While surfing the NET for a foot operated powerboard, I found this particular PowerCube,

that came with a battery-less remote that was so designed that it was ideal to double sided tape it to the VAC$Y$’s vacuum release foot mechanism.

No longer is the solution at hand but only a foot away.

I plan to do a review on the PowerCube and will retro-link it here, if it ever ”stays on the ground” and I don’t forget…

I’ve yet to master separating my toes so I can switch both “buttons” off at once, however, two foot presses , as opposed to 2’ presses, is not an obnoxious overhead.

If you own a VAC$Y$, you may find this tip useful and if you are thinking about it, read this blog that seems to be current at the moment.

FAIW, this concept can readily adapted to any machinery that doesn’t have a built in mag-switch or if it does, (I didn’t say this…) it can readily be replaced by a standard switch without jeopardising warranty and overall safety.
(LBD’s Warning: Tampering with original switches may void warraties and under some circumstances negate safety features.)

Keep safe, jocks... and your jocks, safe!

-- If your first cut is too short... Take the second cut from the longer end... LBD