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This information is reprinted from the Beginner Topics
column of Hand Papermaking Newsletter #76 (October, 2006).
To learn how to order Hand Papermaking bi-annual magazine
and quarterly newsletter, click
here.
Vacuums for Papermaking
I’m always amazed when I stumble across yet another
innovative use of a household tool in papermaking. The wet-vac
is one such tool, and I’ve seen it used in a variety of
ways.
The first time I saw a vacuum used for papermaking was at
the Penland School in North Carolina, where, coincidentally,
I am now teaching a 2-1/2 week workshop. I was taking a
papermaking class and the instructor showed us how to couch
sheets of paper directly onto a 4x4 foot silkscreen which
was stretched over a wooden frame. After filling up the
screen with several freshly made sheets of paper in various
sizes and shapes, she got out the wet-vac and sucked the
water out of the sheets from the back side of the
silkscreen, which simulated pressing. I couldn’t believe it!
This eliminated several pieces of papermaking equipment. No
need for felts, a press, or a restraint drying system. We
left the sheets of the screen to dry in the sun, and when
they were dry, we peeled them off and they had a smooth
surface (the texture of the silkscreen) on the back. I think
this technique can be credited to Nance O’Banion, who set it
up for Penland many years ago. At this session, I tried it
out again on various silkscreens, ranging from course to
fine (180 mesh), and they all worked. As with any new
technique, I had a couple of sheets rip, and one peeled off
the screen while drying, but I had success with all types of
fibers, ranging from kozo to cotton to overbeaten flax and
abaca. I found that having the screen horizontal while
couching worked best (afterwards, I stood the screens up
vertically for drying). I also used a sponge and pressed
through the back of the mould while couching.
Another use which is perhaps more common is the vacuum
table, which can be used for pressing dimensional sheets of
paper. There are many types of vacuum tables, but I won’t go
into detail here, because you can find instructions on
building your own vacuum table in the Summer 1991 issue of
Hand Papermaking magazine.
At a recent Guild of Bookworkers conference though, which
I attended in the Fall of 2005 because it was held in
Portland, Oregon where I live, I saw a nifty vacuum bag
developed by Nicholas Yeager, which was devised to be used
in tandem with a special type of blotter to remove water
from paper during book repair. This got me to thinking about
those large resealable bags you can buy to store clothes
in--aka space bags. You put your clothing in and then hook a
household vacuum nozzle to suck the extra air out of the
bag. At some point in my life I actually purchased some of
these for clothing, and luckily I found one and it was empty
when I decided to do my papermaking experiment. I thought I
could hook up a wet-vac to one of these bags to suck water
out of a dimensional sheet of paper. It would act just like
a vacuum table, and since I don’t have one, it seemed like a
worthy experiment. And besides that, I could transport this
bag easily for teaching and we could use this method in
studios without vacuum tables. Once again, all we’d need was
the wet vac. So I tried it, and it worked pretty well!
If you have a wet vac and a space bag, here’s what you
do. You need something rigid to set your paper on to keep
your sheet of paper from just curling up completely. You can
drill small holes in a board that fits into the bag
(waterproof the board, too, if you will use it repeatedly),
or rig up something simple by taping a piece of fluorescent
lighting grid with a piece of wire window mesh over the top.
It is important that the surface have holes in it, so the
water can move easily when the vacuum is on. Next, place a
piece of pellon on top, followed by the item you’d like to
press: a relief type object, which can’t be completely 3D.
And finally, place a piece of freshly made wet paper which
has been lightly pressed on top of the object. You can cover
your sheet of paper with a thin pellon, but it isn’t
necessary. Seal the bag and place the vacuum attachment on
the bag.
Depending on the fit of the vacuum nozzle, you might need
to duct tape it to seal it. Turn on the vacuum and your bag
should deflate as water is sucked out, pressing your sheet
of paper. Remove everything from the bag, keeping it all
intact, and leave it to dry. Your paper needs to remain in
contact with the relief object until the sheet is completely
dry, which could take 12-48 hours.
Copyright 2006 Hand Papermaking, Inc.
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