12 ton Bottle Jack Press

Good idea. I like the design!!

-- Michael Mills, North Carolina, http://www.scicaskets.com

Good idea well done.

-- W James Brokenbourgh Custom furniture maker http://artisticwoodstudio.com/

Nicely done, looks very effective.

Very clever! May I ask what type Glue you used on the pined finger joints?

-- Tony C , My high school shop teacher said "You can do it"... Now I can't stop!

I’d like to know some dimensions of this, like the size of the upper and lower cauls etc.

Paul

-- The nicer the nice, the higher the price!

Nice work and great press. The projects look great as well.

-- Ken, "Everyday above ground is a good day!"

I like it. I’ve been trying to decide whether to build this type of press or a vacuum press. They each seem to have advantages depending on what you are working on, but this method is simpler to build. Good work. I noticed your Chevy in the background of the last photo.

-- Dr. Ken, Florida - Durch harte arbeit werden Träume wahr.

That’s a good looking press. I am building one to glue up laminated hardwood blanks 55” X 10” X 3” in size. To get 250 lbs/sq inch it’s going to take at least 70 tons of pressure and the frame can’t deflect and bow the walnut and maple blank. I built a prototype out of laminated construction 2X4’s that works and I’ve used it for 3 or 4 years. This week I cut several real 2” X 4” red oak boards to build two presses based on my prototype. I hope they turn out as professional looking as yours.

-- Hal, Tennessee http://www.first285.com

Nice job Mat. ..........................and nice marquetry as well.
When do we get to see the chevalet?

-- Paul M ..............If God wanted us to have fiberglass boats he would have given us fiberglass trees. http://prmdesigns.com/

Looks really effective and well made. I need one of these and this one will probably be the one I copy. Thanks for posting.

-- Mike, American in Norway

Thanks for posting. I’m keeping it in mind for when I’ll commit making veneerer small boxes.

Best,

Serge

http://atelierdubricoleur.wordpress.com

-- Learn from yesterday, work today and enjoy success tomorrow. -- http://atelierdubricoleur.wordpress.com

I’m also curios what glue you used that is strong enough and has an open time long enough for you to stop and take pictures in the middle :) Even when I know everything fits, I always experience a sense of urgency and panic once I start spreading glue on everything. Really like your press, cool design, well executed.

-- Lucas, "Someday woodworks will be my real job, until then, there's this http://www.melbrownfarmsupply.com"

That should exert enough pressure! Great idea, since most of these smaller bottle jacks are cheaper than the veneer press screw jacks. Very nice marquetry panels. Thanks for the post.

-- Tim-- http://www.tmuli.com

Thanks for all the nice comments everyone. I am very pleased with the results I get using this press, and for the most part it was built with low cost materials I already had in the shop.

The glue is nothing other than good old fashioned yellow Titebond 1. The reason it is able to withstand the force exerted by the jack is the large surface area of the finger joints. Here’s the jig I used to cut the finger joints on my table saw.

Each finger is 0.5” thick and there are five glue surfaces for a total of 45 square inches of glue in each joint. Even so, I feel like adding a 0.5” dowel to pin the joint through its center added significant mechanical strength to the joint. Under full load there is no deflection in the joints at all. Like everyone else I get a bit nervous during glue up as time is of the essence but I find if i do a dry fit rehearsal and brush glue into a partially assembled joint I can usually avoid problems.

This press was designed accommodate up to a 24×24 square picture. The top platen is 12×19. The torsion boxes are 4” thick and reinforced with an internal support every 4”. The press frame itself is 30×24x3.

The other neat thing about this design is that it breaks down for easy storage when not in use. The frame is not physically attached to the base, so when I am done using the press I just remove the frame from the channel of the base and store the whole thing flat underneath my assembly table.

This was not a difficult project to build, and I encourage everyone that has a need for a press to give it a try. I’m happpy to answer any questions.

-- You either think you can, or think you can't. Either way you are right. Henry Ford

very good idea to use the jacks :-)
but a 12 ton isn´t that a little overkill….............unless you want the high of it compared to the smaller jacks

thank´s for sharing

Dennis