Workshop Veneer Press
There’s nothing better than shop made plywood panels, but gluing boards together can be a pain, especially when using cauls and a million clamps. You could use a vacuum press, but it generally requires some pricey equipment and can seem like overkill if you make smaller things like I do. Instead, I built a homemade veneer press to clamp together boards. The design is similar to a classic book press, used to flatten book pages.
My shop made veneer press will allow me to laminate boards up to 12 inches wide and 18 inches long. Outside of furniture, just about all of my projects are under those dimensions. The construction is fairly straight forward. I used two pieces of MDF to make a thick base. It has oak posts and beams that run across the width. Two veneer press clamps are installed per beam.
The clamps have over 2,000 pounds of clamping pressure, but that’s overkill for laminating panels. Snug up the clamps, and give them a slight turn and that’s all this veneer press needs to get even clamping pressure across the entire surface of the material.
•• About NewtonMakes••
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Here’s a list of tools and materials that I used to make this project. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
•• Tools & Materials ••
My Amazon Store: https://www.amazon.com/shop/newtonmakes
Veneer press clamps: https://amzn.to/3Fh6a6w
Brass Setup Bars: https://amzn.to/3hDT350
Table Saw: https://amzn.to/2RwQTJa
Ripping Blade: https://amzn.to/30ZOJEV
Cross Cut Blade: https://amzn.to/3kezMHf
Bosch Router: https://amzn.to/30Yus2A
Planer: https://amzn.to/38LarPW
Jointer: https://amzn.to/310uabK
Drill Press: https://amzn.to/36yRj5U
Narex chisels: https://amzn.to/36dM4dk
Titebond Glue: https://amzn.to/3pjRPAu
Combination square: https://amzn.to/3aPMN6n
Random Orbit Sander https://amzn.to/2RxjkXo
120 grit sandpaper: https://amzn.to/2QW835c
180 grit sandpaper: https://amzn.to/39y5kVM
Briwax: https://amzn.to/321dxxp