The Vacuum Hanger Sleeve Thread

Its obvious that the sleeve is the most important part of vac hanging. Most vacuum hangers are sold with a few sleeves and then you can buy more as needed (over priced). But what if you make your own hanger, or have an older vac hanger. You can only buy sleeves if you first buy the hanger from their site.

What if the vacuum connection fails on your hanger. Wouldn’t it be cheaper to buy a part for it instead of a whole new hanger. Having made a hanger myself, I have to tell you it is really easy. Not only is it easy but with the internet we should be able to find all the parts we need. The problem is buying a part and finding out it doesn’t work. Thats where this thread can help.

For those of us that wish to make our own hangers, or maybe you just don’t like the sleeves that came with your hanger, then search this thread for answers. Please only post links to hanger sleeves or parts to make a vac hanger. This is not a thread for vacuum hanger advertisments.

This website has silicone tubing which might be used for sleeves
U.S. Plastic Corp. | Plastic Bottles, Tubing & Fittings, Tanks, Buckets, Pipe, Sheet & Labware I recently purchased this

with a 3/4 inch inner diameter.

which turned out to be way to thick and not stretchy enough. They have so much tubing on this site Im sure one would have to work.

Good idea for a thread. I hope others will add to it.

I wonder if anyone has tried making a sleeve. I’m thinking caulk or, more likely, products for making molds. It might work if the right material can be found. Squirt some in a sealed tube, shake or spin to distribute as evenly as possible inside as it sets.

Or try this approach: closed end tube dipped into gallon can of silicon until thickness is acheived, then cut off the drip end and square off the top. peel from the tube and whala! Any thickness you want.

Just an idea.

What Shore would be needed?

Silicone Rubber - Tin Cure from Smooth-On, Inc.

A tube within a tube, forming a proper mold, is another idea. PVC pipe with 2 endcaps. Smaller and slightly shorter tube for inside. Screw on one endcap, epoxy the smaller tube to the endcap and centered within the larger tube. You could attach a nipple to the other endcap for drawing vacuum if bubbles are a problem.

You’d only have to mix as much material as you need.

I made my own vac stretcher awhile back and have found that the best sleeve for me is the “hand job stroker”. Made of soft silicone, very stretchy, durable, and inexpensive. Search in any sex toy web site.

A little pricey considering sheaths sell for $2.50 each (only available after you’ve paid $$$ for the cylinder). What are the inside and outside dimensions of the hand job thingy?

What are the dimensions of commercial sleeves? From pictures I’m guessing 1/2” ID with 1/8” walls. Maybe someone will provide the actual measurements.

I’ve made do very well with dishglove fingers, at least for the LegXtender. They aren’t as comfortable, and they rip in a month or so (rubber ages prematurely when stretched over the cylinder all the time). Lots of different types of dishgloves out there, the best seem to be the cheapos without proper texture on the fingertips. If they are fuzzed on the inside (hypoallergenic etc) you need to turn them inside out. You always need to wash them thoroughly to get off the talcum before you tape them to the cylinder.

I have tried using latex but for some reason I can’t get a good seal with it. I used a condom catheter with the end cut off. This should have worked perfectly since it is much thicker than a regular condom, but like I said it wouldn’t seal.

This is a great idea Hobby, however I don’t see myself taking this aproach. It would be great if someone would offer sleeves without buying a vac chamber.

My sleeves from MonkeyBar are 1” ID with 0.125” wall thickness. I know he sells two different sizes. These are the larger ones.

I like your mold. I think it might be necessary for it to be separable in halves. Somehow, you’ve got to get the sheath out of the mold once the silicone cures.

I thought about a DIY approach after some intial sticker shock on MB’s site. But then I thought about what a big pain in the ass it would be to get this to work well and decided to blow the $30.

I don’t mean to discourage anyone, but I would bet most of us would end up saving money buying MB’s seemingly overpriced units than making them oneselves.

Of course, finding something cheap, usable, and pre-made would be the best of all worlds.

>I like your mold. I think it might be necessary for it to be separable in halves. Somehow, you’ve got to get the sheath out of the mold once the silicone cures.

Maybe. Or with the end caps off (center rod removed) it might not be hard to get out. If cast with a closed end air pressure and/or vacuum might be enough to get it unstuck. Coating the mold with a release agent may also be helpful. Could also drill some holes in the pipe sides, plug them for casting, then unplug and blow air in to unstick the sleeve. Just ideas — I have no experience with this.

$30ish after shipping for a quart of silicone material isn’t bad, but I doubt anyone needs that many sleeves. Add another $10 or so for pipes, caps and epoxy. You’d have a vacuum hanger with a practically endless supply of sleeves for about $40. Maybe smaller quantities of silicone are available.

>Of course, finding something cheap, usable, and pre-made would be the best of all worlds.

Definitely. Glove fingers might be a temporary solution, but it sounds like something better is needed in the long run.

Can anyone recommend which silicone material to go with (Shore # / Durometer, etc)? I want to experiment with making my own sleeves but don’t know which one to purchase. Anyone have any ideas? My thought is to go with the lowest (softest) Shore #, like #10. I’d be happy to share the results of my experiments with the forum.

Keep in mind that I don’t have any experience with a retail sleeve or silicone compounds. I’d probably try Dragon Skin. It seems popular for many applications. From Wikipedia:

Hopefully someone with experience will offer advice.