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I found out a bit more about this subject.

The horsepower ratings on shop vacs are totally bogus, and don't mean much of anything. Go by the amps or watts if that's the best kind of statistic you've got.

There is no way any of these machines actually produces anywhere near 6.5 horsepower. That's ...

Horsepower isn't the right measure for strength of pull, and shop vacs aren't especially appropriate for vacuum forming.

DON'T buy a shop vac for vacuum forming. They don't suck any harder, on average, than similarly powerful canister vacuums you can get at a thrift store for next to nothing.

All ...

Wow! I saw the youtube movie three posts up now, and I think I can actually do that! All he has is a shop vac and a table right? I figure if I make the table on the front page of this thread and use his frame and guide I can vac form a case!

EDIT: What about this vac, will it work?

http://www ...

Anybody know how to make a good cheap strip heater? (For making straight-line bends in acrylic, etc.)

I have an idea how to do it, adapating my hot wire foam cutter, but I'm wondering what else is out there.

(deleted) double post, sorry.

I was using 0.060" Styrene. Rather thin. But if you say your method works, I'll accept it, as long as you have personally performed it, which by the looks of your tutorials, you have.

Yes. I've built several vacuum formers and formed a variety of materials, from .030" styrene and textured acrylic ...

One major problem with a manual pump is the time required to create a full vacuum. A shop-vac will create much more than sufficient suction for molding cases. In my case, vacuuming in a Canadian Winter, I had little over 20 seconds to take the heated plastic out of the oven, out the door, gently ...

One thing to be aware of about plexiglass (acrylic) is that it absorbs moisture from the air, and when you heat it to bend it or vacuum form it, the moisture can turn to steam and make bubbles. Your results may vary depending on the weather.

To fix that, you can bake it at around 200 degrees for ...

The best place to get plastic is usually from a local plastics supplier. They're everywhere, just look in the phone book.

Some of them have a $100 minimum order to keep the riffraff out, but others have no minimum, or a low one like $15 or $25, so call around. (Their ads usually don't say.)

They ...

I posted an article over at Instructables on how to make a good, cheap, upgradeable vacuum former:

http://www.instructables.com/id/E8RW98YF3C4XLCQ/

The design is particularly appropriate for case-modding, unlike most vacuum formers that are for lightweight model parts or costume armor or whatever ...