"Mini Mach Vacuum Table
New ways of securing workpieces are always worth a look as it's such an essential aspect of working wood.
The Mini Mach, which some readers may recognise as the little brother of the revolutionary vacuum clamping system V-Mach' (TW Tested February 1997), is a new contender on the scene.
It's probably most remarkable for bringing a similar kind of performance within the price range of practically any power tool user. When you add to that its easily stored size it should certainly prove hard for woodworkers (particularly router users) to resist.
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It works in much the same way as the V-Mach, having a series of 'cells' under each of which a vacuum is developed when each cell's ball valve is depressed by the workpiece above. This ensures that only the relevant section of the vacuum table is activated, giving optimal suction whether a small or large workpiece is being held.
The main difference between the Mini Mach and the V-Mach, and the key to keeping the price down, is that the Mini Mach's vacuum is supplied by a standard vacuum cleaner (i.e. the one you already use around the workshop or home). This obvious drawback is that simultaneous dust extraction isn't possible, though M.POWER also supply a well priced extractor for this purpose which will be reviewed in TW soon.
The vacuum cleaner attaches to the Mach via a tapered spigot designed to allow some air to flow through it while the Mach sits on a flat surface, such as an area of your workbench which is free of holes such as bench dog mortises.
Switching on the vacuum clamps the Mach to this surface and clamps any flat workpiece securely on top of it. Its minimum working requirements are that the workpiece must be flat, reasonably smooth and cover at least one cell completely. As with the V-Mach, all kinds of advantages become apparent over other clamping methods.
It's not just that it provides secure edge-free clamping, but template routing and other processes exploiting the porous nature of ultra-light MDF (described in the February '97 review) are also possible with the Mini Mach.
TW Verdict
Not as quiet as a vice, bench dogs or speed-clumps but indispensable to any router user and very affordable.
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