Plano glue press

[Dave Novak]

I do a lot of glue-ups, and my next project is no exception. I always struggle getting the heights right. I've tried every trick in the book, and still end up with a significant (from a time spent sanding standpoint) ridge here and there. Has anyone used the Plano glue press? it looks to be just what the doctor ordered, but I have to assume more people would mention it if it worked as advertised.

http://www.advmachinery.com/default.asp?pg=plano

It's a pretty expensive purchase without a little feedback. Any thoughts?

[frank shic]

it's not going to fix those ridges that you get unless you use a biscuit, a dowel or a spline to align beforehand. i was hoping that it would solve all my glue-ups but it's easier to just use the besseys to clamp two pieces together, align them, squeeze, unclamp, the repeat the process for the next board.

[Ron Dunn]

Dave, have you tried dowels?

I love dowels, primarily to solve this very problem. I used to spend hours creating panels of random thickness because of the amount of planing (and poor planing technique) needed to get rid of the ridges.

Any of the following three products are great panel-aligning jigs:

Dowelmax (www.dowelmax.com)
Veritas Dowelling Jig (http://www.veritastools.com/Products/Page.aspx?p=166)
Ozzie Jig (http://www.ozziejigs.com.au/)

I own each of these jigs. Any one of them will solve your problem in stock thicker than 12mm (all) or 10mm (Veritas, Ozzie).

The only reason I own all these jigs is because I'm a bit of a collector, always looking for the next/best dowelling jig. That said, if I'd bought the Dowelmax first, I'd probably have had no need to buy the others ... great product.

[Dave Novak]

Thanks for the suggestion Ron. I have a biscuit jointer and used it for years with much success. I've been trying to go without biscuits lately primarily because I've read so frequently in these forums that their really not necessary for strength and there are other equally effective ways to keep the layout flat. I just haven't been as successful without the biscuits as I was with them. Do you think the dowlmax is as quick as biscuits?

It's shame the Plano glue press isn't as effective as they claim. It's a great idea, on paper.

[frank shic]

It's shame the Plano glue press isn't as effective as they claim. It's a great idea, on paper.

too true!

biscuits will work for alignment and you'll be able to plunge it a lot more quickly than having to clamp the board on its side and then move the dowelmax jig up and down the board.

[Steve Milito]

Does it keep the panels from bowing?

[Frank Martin]

I know it costs a lot more, but using the Festool Domino improves alignment significantly over using biscuits with lower tolerances. I used to use Porter Cable biscuits, but the panels were not aligned as well as they could have been. I suspect using a higher quality biscuit joiner and biscuits might yield better results.

Also, very recently I started using a belt sander (4"x24") with a sanding frame to level out the panels after glue up. It is actually very fast and reliable. The only problem I have with this method is even when hooked up to a vacuum, the dust collection is not as good as say using a Festool Rotex. It is far faster than Rotex though, which is why I prefer to use the belt sander.

[Tom Cowie]

You guys should try to work with something other than wood

The Plano press is not going to join your boards to the nearest .0001 but it's a darn site better than using the old bar clamps. Faster loading and applies pressure from all four sides.

I won't sell my Bessey's or Jet bar clamps but I don't use them for panels anymore.

Tom

[J.R. Rutter]

I have a bunch of Plano clamps in my production shop. They require some wall space and are not engineered to flatten glue ups by themselves. But they do work well. I prefer them to tripping over bar clamps. We recently upgraded our panel clamping system, so I may have some surplus in a month or so...

[glenn bradley]

What a coincidence. I just used these for the first time tonight to glue up a proto-type panel for a nightstand idea I'm playing with. They are easier than doing it without but, they do not guarantee a flat panel. My rails are oak but just through the physics involved this type of system will not flatten errant boards no matter what the rails are made of. They do work well although I am not yet sold on the idea that they save any time.

[Mike Wilkins]

Fine Woodworking magazine has had one or more articles within the past year dealing with this very subject. I am at work now so I can't tell you which issue it is, but according to this article, you can get good gluing results using everyday clamps and cauls. The cauls help pull all the boards in alignment to make a flatter surface; this is the same principle of the Plano clamp system.
I have seen these clamps in a catalog, and the idea looks sound, but at a premium price.

[John Karas]

I do a lot of glue-ups, and my next project is no exception. I always struggle getting the heights right. I've tried every trick in the book, and still end up with a significant (from a time spent sanding standpoint) ridge here and there. Has anyone used the Plano glue press? it looks to be just what the doctor ordered, but I have to assume more people would mention it if it worked as advertised.

http://www.advmachinery.com/default.asp?pg=plano

It's a pretty expensive purchase without a little feedback. Any thoughts?

Hi Dave

I have 4 Frontline clamps & i got not problems to keep the boards align no metter how big or thick the panel is i never got any problems & every time best flat panels & stroger joints you not need biscuits or dowells with this system . with very minimum sanding after the Frontline Clamps is by far one of the worlds best clamping system works very wel for me & never use anything else no matter .how cheep or expensive are.

Check it out

www.frontlineengineering.com.au

[John Karas]

I have a bunch of Plano clamps in my production shop. They require some wall space and are not engineered to flatten glue ups by themselves. But they do work well. I prefer them to tripping over bar clamps. We recently upgraded our panel clamping system, so I may have some surplus in a month or so...

Hi have you ever use Frontline Clamps? i do have four & i never look back is by far one of the worlds best clamping systems.

Is the only system in the world that has a real down pressure first & than on the same time brings the boards together. Makes the panel very flat & stroger joints with very minimum sanding after.

Check it out for your self there is not comparison with anything else.

www.frontlineengineering.com.au

[J.R. Rutter]

Well, I don't know if it is better than the system I went with!

http://www.rosenquistinc.com/electroglue.html

[Ron Dunn]

*lol* ... going from the sublime to the ridiculous.

If Dave thought Plano was expensive, he'll hiccough when he sees the Frontline price, and he'll have a stroke over the Rosenquist