This is the vacuum chuck I use the most for finishing bowl bottoms . All it is is a circle cut out of a piece of countertop (because it is a very flat material) with a hole drilled in the center. The hole is to supply vacuum from the lathe spindle.
As you can see from the picture on the right a dedicated faceplate is needed. I actually caulked the faceplate to the laminate to ensure there were no leaks.
The material on the face is a thick (1/4") shelving material I got at the depot. I'm not sure what the exact name is for this material. If it is compressed it will return to it original shape in a few seconds. I've never changed it. The concentric circles were put on with a marker while it was spinning.
To use center the rim of your bowl with one of the rings and turn on the vacuum. It's that easy.
Here you MUST be very careful. If you have a thin walled bowl and you use full vacuum you WILL break the bowl. I have a valve in the system and turn the vacuum down to about 15-20 lbs. It doesn't take very much vacuum to hold the bowl in place.
Every woodturner with a vacuum chucking system needs this chuck. And the best part is you can make it inexpensively.
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