Which vacuum press is best for curved lamination

[Bill Wyko]

Just wondering which vacuum press you would recommend for bent laminations and veneering. I most likely won't be building anything very big because of the size of my shop. Small furniture, humidors or jewelry boxes. I'd like to stay under A grand unless it makes a big difference. Thanks.:)

[Larry Fox]

Check out JoeWoodworker.com as he has free plans for various presses there. If you have a decent sized-compressor check out the venturi model. I built it and have thus far been very pleased with it. Very affordable.

[Mike Armstrong]

Ditto the joewoodworker site. There's a lot of good info re: selecting/building the right system for your needs.

I took a veneering class a while back and didn't want to fiddly-fart around making a system, so I went with Joe's Excel 1 system. I got a 2x2 bag and a 4x4 bag, nice 30 mil stuff. It's been a great setup to use. It'll do everything I'll ever veneer. You can save a few bucks building your own if you're inclined, but in my case, I didn't think it was worth it.

He still has my "review" on that system posted on his site. He is an excellent guy to deal with. I highly recommend him. He took care of a major order problem that was not his fault.

Mike

[Bill Wyko]

Thanks guys. Looks like I get a lot more for my money with Joe's setup. I'll most likely go with one of his.:)

[Mike Wilkins]

Check out the system from Woodcraft. Somewhere around $330. Includes the vacuum system, hoses, 54 X 54 inch square bag, and easy to follow instructions. So far I have only used mine for flat work; should be no problem doing curved work within the capacity of the bag.
There are larger systems available, but if you are like me, shop space is at a premium (16 X 24).

[Dave Avery]

If you don't feel like making your own, check out www.vacupress.com - both the small vacuum press system and videos have served me well.

[Doug Mason]

Like Dave, I have the VacuPress system and am very happy w/it. Expensive, but it is solid.

[Rich Schneider]

Like Dave and Doug I have a VacuPress as well and wouldn't trade it for anything...support is great..service is great....heck you can build your own too..the Vacupress pump is a name brand pump in a nice housing....the biggest issue to me no matter which system you end up with is not to oversize your bags....in other words size the bag to the type of projects you primarily do, even if it means ultimatley 3 or 4 different bags...don't buy the biggest bag you think you'll ever need to cover everything you do since it will give you tiny fits when pressing small stuff (e.g. a using 49"x49" bag to press a 6"x6" panel..it is doable this way, but you'll have to conquer some slippage as the bag draws down and your pump may cycle more than is really necessary...). If you are doing large curved laminations with skeletal forms, such as a Carlo Molino table base, make certain your forms are reinforced to adequately handle to load from pressing.

[Jim Becker]

Joe helped me out quite a bit getting setup with my bag and other accessories. I already had a pump from my vacuum chucking setup for the lathe and just dived in from there. Unless you plan on doing a LOT of vacuum work, using high quality bags and building your own forms is the way to go, IMHO.

[John Michael]

I you are willing to hunt around you can make your own equivalent high vacuum, high CFM system (Vacu-Press) for less than half the cost. I managed to assemble 2 systems each using a SSD 1/2hp Gast oiless rotary pump controlled by an industrial Square-D variable switch, each pulling 7 CFM, using all NOS parts. Both of them together for less than the cost of one 5 CFM model.

[Mike Henderson]

For bent lamination work you can make a form of MDF and clamp the laminations for glue-up. You can make a two part form to get equal pressure against all of the bent lamination. I find it easire to do lamination work that way than in a vacuum bag, especially if you're putting quite a bit of bend in the laminations. Once you have the laminations complete and prepared, it's easier to do the veneer work in a bag.

The reason I find that sequence easier is that it takes a lot of force to bend laminations unless they're exceptionaly thin. A vacuum bag sometime just can't apply the needed force and you can have slipage problems. But veneer doesn't take a lot of force so it's easy to do in a vacuum bag.

Mike

[Bill Wyko]

Thanks everyone. It'll be a couple weeks before I purchase anything so I'll take all this info and figure this out. I knew I could count on you all. Once again, thank you.:)

[Jim Tobias]

One more vote for VacuPress. Had their set up fro about 2 years and have had no problems with it. Simple to st up and use.

Jim

[Earl Kelly]

Bill,

No one's mentioned poly bags. They have a tremendous amount of strength compared to vinyl. The only drawback is the initial cost is greater. Corners and curves create a lot of stress on the bags. Even when taking great care to protect the bag.

Earl

[Bill Wyko]

Lots of good info. One more question. What difference does a 3-cfm vs a 5-cfm make?

[Jamie Buxton]

Lots of good info. One more question. What difference does a 3-cfm vs a 5-cfm make?

Higher cfm gets you two things. First, it allows you to pump down to clamping vacuum faster. If you're doing complicated glue-ups with fast-drying glue (e.g. PVA), that might be a difference you care about. However, if you're using a slow-curing glue (urea-formaldyhyde or epoxy), it is of less value. Second, it allows you to maintain clamping pressure against larger leaks in the bag or its closure.