DIY Large Screenprint Vacuum Table For Under £200

Finally built my screenprint vacuum table! This beast measures 1500mm x 1000mm. I want to print up to A1 so thought these measurement would be more than enough to cope.

It uses a regular vacuum cleaner for suction and works perfectly. A quiet air blower is probably better suited for the suction but for all you DIY screenprinters I'm sure a vacuum cleaner will suffice.

The only really tough thing with building something like this, especially on the scale I did was the drilling of all those holes. The rest is pretty simple and shouldn't cause even a DIY newbie too many problems.

Material Costs

1500mm x 1000mm Aluminum Sheet 6mm Thick - £140
12mm Plywood Sheet - £30
50mm x 50mm Wood - £5

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GEAR USED:

[RuairidhMason]

Would be cool to see how you attach the vaccuum...

[BuildswithBrian]

Nicely done, you definitely have a "stick to it attitude" to drill all those holes by hand, I applaud your determination.
at first I was concerned it wouldn't be flat enough, but when you added those support blocks it all came together.
good job

[covfefe]

if you run the countersink backwards near the end at high speed it will give a nicer finish and more control over accuracy. it will also sharpen the countersink.

[meatradio]

This is great. So impressed with your work on this stuff. Next stop: the sliding arm squeegee with counterbalance? I am hoping to follow your lead on these things!

[wayneellis]

nice job there fella! i made a similar table a few years ago, drilling all those holes is just horrible! i put my vacuum hole in the side just so i could use an upright with the tool hose : works great, but i wish i'd come up with something to cut off the suction when the screen was up. I added a metal halide light underneath for my exposure as it's all in a garage and space is limited. I worked in screen printing years ago, used to print some interesting stuff...:)

[drdarrow]

The hex shape form countersinking is definitely from "chatter" due to not enough straight down pressure when drilling.Perhaps slower will help.

[ronstone]

Lovely job. Two questions please where did you get the hinges and what diameter are the holes ? Thanks

[sixofthesix]

Great Vid, Thanks! I'm about to build one myself and this was really helpful. Are you still using the domestic vacuum or did you find anything else?

[jacobcollins]

great work man! my back hurts just thinking about what its in for.

[inakigranell]

Hey Paul! Thanks for sharing, I need to make a table as big as yours, roughly, and I've learn a lot as I've been able to clarify many doubts. Just wanted to ask you if there's a special reason for choosing a 6mm thick aluminium sheet instead of, for example, a thin metal –don't know which kind yet– sheet attached to an MDF board. Thanks again!

[meatradio]

Hi again. Now working on my table. Drill guide helpful for drilling those holes. Do you have any recommendations for a quieter vacuum pump to use with this? The professional ones are like $800, but surely there must be something out there that can be bought cheap that doesn't make the whole process unenjoyable? Thanks!

[blackcoffiendillustration]

Excellent video man! Thinking about building one of these myself.
Could you do this with a piece of plexiglass instead of metal?

[randyhulett]

Inspiring. I'm going to make one myself. 
Do you have any guidance on the hole spacing and drills size? 
Thanks for the great video.

[mischasadka]

Hello Paul, I am trying to work out when one needs a set up like yours here, which seems great and when one would need something like a Natgraph vacuum printing table. Are you able to adjust snap off for example with your set up? Thanks in advance Paul

[chanjira]

Awesome video! I am trying to getting this done too. Have a couple of questions:

[joelongstaff]

Sir a great build.. But why would you build a vacuum table like that when all you need is to put a vacuum between the glass and the flexible membrane? The bottom of the vacuum table could be the glass and the membrane would seal to it with the exposure unit beneath that. That is how we burned offset plates for years. This would be much less work and far cheaper.

[Seisoks]

Awesome diy bro.

I want to build a smaller one for myself. Should i do it ?

[zacharygonzalez]

This might be a dumb question I’m not the greatest at building but could you use a sheet of pegboard instead of aluminum?

[rajatcreation]

You showed only vacuume table how vacuume fiting to table home made idea ?

[STICKERGODDESS_]

Building my own vacuum tabletop myself, do you have a link to your desingpage or instagram