Clamping Plywood with a Vacuum Press (Veneer Press) and other Best Techniques
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 28 ก.ค. 2024
- Clamping Plywood with a Vacuum Press (Veneer Press) and other Best Techniques for Clamping Plywood
So how do you get pressure into the middle of a large plywood panel glue up? It can be a very difficult task. Many people simply resort to putting some weights into the middle of the panel, but that is not nearly enough pressure. WHAT ABOUT SCREWS? In many circumstances that will indeed work. But only if you are not going to see those pesky screws. WHAT ABOUT CLAMPS? That will work on narrower panels, but what do you do when the panels are larger? You better have some pretty big clamps. WHAT ABOUT CAMPING CAULS? This technique has been used for hundreds of years, but the cauls are large, and need to be stored, and often take quite a few minutes to get into place, which means you are fighting the gluing setting/drying before the clamping pressure has been applied.
THE BEST WAY I have found to clamp plywood is with a VACUUM PRESS. Using a vacuum press will allow you to clamp to pieces of plywood as large as a full sheet together with as much pressure as 1800 pounds per square foot. For a small workshops there is no other way that we will be able to put that much pressure uniformly over that big of an area. And it is extremely quick, much quicker than using regular clamps. It also does not have to take up that much space. Today I am using a vacuum table that is 4 1/2 foot by 6 foot. But you can do the same thing with a bag that can be rolled up and put away until it is needed again.
A vacuum press also open up the amazing world of veneering, which can literally transform your woodworking and your final projects, allowing you to use woods that would otherwise not be available to you.
So why not give vacuum pressing a try. My vacuum press if from a company called Vacuum Pressing Systems. I purchased it 30 years ago and it has been trouble free for me over those years. They have a range of pumps and prices. Give them a try. You can also purchase vacuum bags, or table packages.
Vacuum Pressing Systems: www.vacupress.com/
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Timestamps:
0:00 The Problem: How to get pressure into the middle of the panel.
0:41 Possible Solution #1: Screw together the plywood.
1:02 Possible Solution #2: Clamping the plywood together.
1:43 Possible Solution #3: Use bowed clamping cauls.
3:00 MY BEST SOLUTION: USE A VACUUM PRESS.
3:45 Gluing a Plywood Panel in the Vacuum Press. (3 minutes total time)
4:10 How Does the Vacuum Press Work.
6:55 Removing the Panel from the Vacuum Press.
7:38 The Vacuum Press Is the Easiest Solution! - แนวปฏิบัติและการใช้ชีวิต
As usual, another great video! Would love to see your shop someday!
If you are ever going to be in the Owego area, let me know. Until then, the shop tour video is the best I can do. Although it is better in person. Thanks for watching and commenting.
Now I’ve not seen this sort of press before but a mate of mine does a similar thing using this technique 🤠🍻👍👍👍
It really does add a great bit of versatility to the shop. I hope to have a video up soon about just the vacuum press and showing the bag options which don't take up so much room in a small shop. As always thanks for watching and commenting.
showed. Tom, really enjoyed the video. I'm a new subscriber to your channel. So far, haven't tried centering but hope to in a project this summer.
James, thanks for subscribing. I think there was a typo in your comment. I assume you were talking about veneering (auto correct strikes again). I am hoping to have a video about the veneer press and basic veneering in the near future. Especially with a vacuum press, veneering is a very doable addition to most workshops that really does add a lot of versatility. Thanks for watching and thanks for commenting.
Great video Tom, I assume the wooden frame and table is shop built, could you give us more details of how you made the press, size construction etc...
Hey Alan, thanks watching and commenting. Yes the vacuum press is shop built. I had info in the recorded footage for this video that included comments about the building of the press, but I took them out because they weren't complete and were lengthening the video. I told myself that I would do a separate video about the press at some point...maybe that point is in the next couple weeks. Thanks for the interest in the press, I will get more information on the press soon. Once a veneer press is in you workflow it will be hard to live without.
@@MadebyWolfe I would definitely be interested in seeing that also!
I just published a video that discusses the making of the veneer press. th-cam.com/video/SvCpem1abwU/w-d-xo.html.
Thanks. I'm gluing together 2 pieces of AC plywood. Can a vacuum press wrangle slightly warped pieces more straight during glue-up?
Yes. It does a good job at that providing that the platen is flat.
@@MadebyWolfe Does it provide side clamping pressure?
@@farmcat3198 The simple answer is no. Its main use is to glue larger "flat" material together. It does well with simple curved panels, and you could say that for panels that form a half circle that there is "sideway" pressure at the bottom of the of the curves, but it would not work well to glue boards together.
A vacuum veneer press does not create 1800 psi force. More like 12.5 psi. That 1800 number is per square foot. I've vacuum laminated two 4x8 sheets of bendable plywood on a seriously rigid arch for a rounded panel project and the press worked great.
The psi of total pressure can be calculated by multiplying the vacuum (in Hg) and dividing by 2; then multiply this number by the total square inches of one platen. Therefore, if you are applying 23" of Hg to a platen that is 1' x 2', the calculation is as follows:
(23 ÷ 2) x (12 x 24) = 3,312 total pounds of force. 3312/(12" x 24") = 11.5 psi.