This thread, although 9 years old, has some GREAT ideas in it - thanks to Thunder for keeping these old threads available!!!
The general approach here is to provide a powerful constant vacuum source (the electric vacuum pump), limit the vacuum using a controlled leak, and add a timer that controls a 3-way valve. Post #110 shows some good pics of the setup. This system uses line voltage, relatively expensive parts and might be noisy but is totally possible for Do-It-Yourself guys with basic skills.
Another approach is to cycle the pump on and off based on a pressure switch (The Mr. Fantastic Pump - see The Mr. Fantastic Pumping). The pump is powered on to reach a set vacuum, the pump turns off, a controlled leak bleeds off the vacuum, and the pump turns back on when a set vacuum is reached. This system uses a sophisticated pressure switch, DC voltage, is quiet and commercially available without Do-It-Yourself engineering.
A third design might be of interest to someone with basic mechanical and electrical skills - see attached schematic. This approach uses a timer to turn the pump on/off, a timer to control a valve that bleeds vacuum and a controlled leak to limit maximum vacuum. Parts are readily available on eBay. However, this design does require a bit of knowledge to wire the circuit properly but it is somewhat safe using low voltage DC and certainly safer than line voltage (120VAC or 240VAC). The small DC pump may not last as long at the larger industrial vacuum pumps used in the original designs of this discussion thread but for our purpose they might be good enough.
Here are some examples of what can be done with this design:
Pump up to 5"Hg, hold for 15 seconds, release vacuum for 10 seconds, repeat cycle.
Pump up to 4"Hg, hold for 3 minutes, release vacuum for 1 minute, repeat cycle.
There are many threads here discussing various vacuum levels and hold times so every guy needs to decide for themselves what works best for them and their goals.
Hope this inspires further discussion and development.