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I quickly discovered the limitations of flat membrane presses when I tried veneering 3" thick shelves with my first press. This press was my first attempt at a vacuum frame with a box shaped membrane. The frame design is similar to my first press, but the dado runs around the inside perimeter of the frame. The folded corners of the membrane come through the corners of the cleats (1x1s that fit the dado) and are sealed with 2 sided tape and aluminum clamp strips.
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A job calling for long thick floating shelves prompted me to take the 2x3 press a step further. For this press I cut and glued the corners of the box membrane and tried what I hoped would be a more forgiving frame design. While it works well it does leak a bit and I'm not sure if it's the corners or the rabbet (VS dado) and cleat design.
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Two jobs bigger than the frame presses I had motivated this 4' x 8' press. I decided on a torsion box design for the platen and a frame design similar to the one I used on my first press. When in use the press sits on my tablesaw (~8' wide with extension and sliding table attachment) and faces my primary workbench.
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Presses
Vacuum frame presses I've built in chronological order: 3x4, 2x3, 2x7 and 4x8
3x4 Vacuum Frame Press
I'd done a bit of work with veneer on small projects using curved or flat cauls and clamps. A small cabinet job, where a single sheet of figured veneer plywood would have cost me more than $400, motivated me to build my first flip-top vacuum press... more
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2x3 Vacuum Frame Press
I quickly discovered the limitations of flat membrane presses when I tried veneering 3" thick shelves with my first press. This press was my first attempt at a vacuum frame with a box shaped membrane. The frame design is similar to my first press, but the dado runs around the inside perimeter of the frame. The folded corners of the membrane come through the corners of the cleats (1x1s that fit the dado) and are sealed with 2 sided tape and aluminum clamp strips.
[ page | comments (2) - Wednesday, 19-Oct-2011 | top ]
2x7 Vacuum Frame Press
A job calling for long thick floating shelves prompted me to take the 2x3 press a step further. For this press I cut and glued the corners of the box membrane and tried what I hoped would be a more forgiving frame design. While it works well it does leak a bit and I'm not sure if it's the corners or the rabbet (VS dado) and cleat design.
[ comment | link | top ]
4x8 Vacuum Frame Press
Two jobs bigger than the frame presses I had motivated this 4' x 8' press. I decided on a torsion box design for the platen and a frame design similar to the one I used on my first press. When in use the press sits on my tablesaw (~8' wide with extension and sliding table attachment) and faces my primary workbench.
[ comment | link | top ]