Has Anyone Made A Hydraulic Veneer Press??

[Joel Wesseling]

I was thinking of adding a platen to 2 cheap bearing presses to make veneer press..

I do flat objects only..

Havent found anyone that tried this..

Thanks, Joel

[HANK METZ]

Absolutely no reason why not Joe, as some guys use little more than deadweights to press flats as well as sandbags for contours- you really don't need bone crushing force anyway, just a thorough spread of force across the surface area.

- Beachside Hank
Improvise, adapt, overcome; the essence of true craftsmanship.

[Brian Tymchak]

I've considered off and on doing something like this myself, adapting book press design, for a specific project I never seem to get around to. I think that there might need to be a slight crown on the plate to put pressure down on the middle first and then to the outside edge, to force out bubbles. kind of like long cauls for gluing up panels.

[Jamie Buxton]

As I understand it, the big feature of a hydraulic press would be that it applies a whole lot of pressure. However, that's not really what you need for veneering. You don't need much pressure to push veneer into contact with the substrate -- 10-20 psi will do it. What you really need with veneer is to get that pressure applied everywhere. A vacuum press does that very well. A press operated by a hydraulic cylinder -- well, you get into issues of making an exactly flat pressure plate, or maybe one with a slight crown like Brian says. And you get into worrying about whether the substrate is exactly the same thickness everywhere too. (Plywood is often not exactly the same thickness everywhere, an issue when you're trying to get a glue line that should be only a few thousandths thick.)

[Mel Fulks]

For work that is flat the plastic resin glue has a remarkable quality of pulling down as it sets. Mixed thin enuf to drip,and applied to both surfaces ,spring clamps on the edges holding a caul can be effective on a lot of area. Especially with a weight in the middle. Run a test.

[Mel Fulks]

I neglected to mention that the technique is just for veneer,not solid wood.Sorry

[Joel Wesseling]

As I understand it, the big feature of a hydraulic press would be that it applies a whole lot of pressure. However, that's not really what you need for veneering. You don't need much pressure to push veneer into contact with the substrate -- 10-20 psi will do it. What you really need with veneer is to get that pressure applied everywhere. A vacuum press does that very well. A press operated by a hydraulic cylinder -- well, you get into issues of making an exactly flat pressure plate, or maybe one with a slight crown like Brian says. And you get into worrying about whether the substrate is exactly the same thickness everywhere too. (Plywood is often not exactly the same thickness everywhere, an issue when you're trying to get a glue line that should be only a few thousandths thick.)

You Guys got me thinking.. I Use clamps and cauls now and have done a fair bit with excellent results.. I clamp at center first then outward..
I was hoping to speed things up on some speaker cabinets.. Now I think it might not work because the clamps put the pressure everywhere and perfectly flat platen could be a problem... The hydraulic press makes perfect sense for flat sheet material..

I'd still like to try in on the smaller cabinets and it might be good here and it where I need the speed anyway.. I'll post results if I do it

I guess I'm back to arm curls with the clamps..

Thanks

[Joel Wesseling]

I use Better Bond veneer glue and its great.. I should try the plastic resin sometime

[Andrew Joiner]

Try a go- bar deck .

Simple and cheap. I tested this recently for some 3'x3' table tops. I tested wood 1"x1" go- bars and got uneven pressure on a make shift sample . I think fiberglass rods would work better.

For my tops I used homemade curved cauls and lots of handscrews. Worked great.

[Thomas Hotchkin]

Joel
A friend of mine built a veneer press using flat fire hose and air press. IIRC it will press a 4' X 6' table top. I think operating pressure is around 25 psi. Tom

[Joel Wesseling]

Joel
A friend of mine built a veneer press using flat fire hose and air press. IIRC it will press a 4' X 6' table top. I think operating pressure is around 25 psi. Tom

WOW! This has got me intriqued.. I'm picturing how this might work for me..