FWIW, I bought a vacuum pump from William Noble who posts on this BB
occasionally. I use it for a vacuum chuck I built. I don't know if one of
the pumps he has will meet your needs, but I found William to be a help.
The pump I bought pulls about 25 in and works well. Quiet little thing too.

http://www.wbnoble.com/

Peter

"Chuck Sherwood" wrote in message
...
My 11 year daughter is showing a strong interest in science.
We received a Edmunds catalog with lots of cool stuff in it.

I have always wanted to play with vacuum stuff when I was a kid
and I didn't get much of a chance so I figure now is my chance.

I figure it would be cool try to make a crude light bulb inside
a bell jar and things like that.

I looked at ebay and there are many vacuum pumps FA.

Do I need a two stage pump and how big of a pump do I need?
The killer is these things are heavy and shipping is expensive.

chuck