February 5th, 2008
Had occasion to come up with a better method of holding stainless steel plates still while they were hand sanded (cross-hatched). Found a crappy bit of 1/2" ply in the bin and proceeded to whip up a cheap vacuum table. Only took about 20 mins and worked like a charm - cost $0 and it really sucks!!!.
This one was made to fit 6x2" plate offcuts but could be made to suit 6x6" plates for series Hydroxy cells (and still be used for smaller plates by blocking off not-used area with masking tape). Larger sizes like 12x12" would need some sort of honeycomb support between the top and next layer (if only 1/2" ply used) so vacuum doesn't warp or collapse the top plate with the vacuum.
Once complete, I just clamped the top plate to the bench, wound a bit of electrical tape around the shed vacuum cleaner hose and shoved it in the bottom block, placed a s/s plate on the marked area on the top plate (covering all the holes) and switched on the vacuum cleaner with the foot switch. Unbelievable - it works so well the vacuum cleaner has to be turned off to be able to remove the plate (easy with a foot switched vacuum).
pic -> overview of vacuum table
pic -> top view of vacuum holes