Thread: Make a veneer press

Now lay the four main bearers side by side with the camber up and set out the cross bearers. The first one is 75mm in from the end of the main bearer, and the other three are evenly spaced. Fasten the cross members to the main bearers, with 45mm screws, through those deep holes, so that the main bearers are about 50mm end of the cross members. See first photo.
Now fix a good sheet of ply down with face screws. Photo 2. I have used 16mm melamine coated form ply. Build the other half in the same way. The two main bearers with the 45mm holes bored in them will be the top platten.

The original press had to have the top platten lifted manually and held up with blocks, which was a real pain in the butt. This has been overcome by re-designing the bolts so they lift the top platten clear during the stripping process, (taking out the panels). I have used four lengths of 12mm continuous thread with plates welded to the end. These plates fit under the ends of the lower main bearers. The fourth photo shows the the bolts made up. On the top end I have welded a 15mm diameter washer to a 12mm cyclone bolt joiner. This washer fits into the 45mm hole bored on the top edge of the main bearer. Photo 5 shows the joiners welded to the washers. The flat plates fit over the long nuts and the washers bear up underneath, to lift the top platten. End of lesson 2...

The first photo shows the nut and washer sitting in the 45mm hole. Photo 2 shows the plate in position over the top of the washer with enough clearance for the nut to turn. Photo 3 shows an end view of the nut, washer and cover plate. Photo 4 shows the end plate on the long bolt, fixed under the bottom bearer and the cover plate reday to be screwed down.

And finally the finished press. All it needs now is a set of legs. I haven't glued any of the joints, it is not really necessary, and will allow you to increase the amount of camber, if it is necessary.

In practice. we used about 20 sheets of newspaper to absorb any minor discrepancies, especially for veneer jobs. If you use newspaper, use a plain paper against the job because the newsprint will probably come off the paper onto your job. Now days I get the large styrene posters from the video shop, instead of newspaper.

Before you start any gluing job, get ALL the gear together before the job is started, including a wet rag to clean up glue spills. For ply panel doors, a 15mm brad in two corners of the panel will stop the ply from slipping. Veneer is usually held in place with a couple of strips of adhesive tape.

If you are doing a number of similar sized panels, put a plain sheet of paper between each panel, to stop them from becoming a single panel.

I hope this is all clear enough, if not fire some questions.
Jim

Forgot to add.... Don't forget to wax the surface of the plattens to stop glue from leaving lumps on the surfaces.
Jim