Veneer Press

Looks to me like that should press just about anything you put in it!!!! Nice construction with the pegged through mortise and tennon joints. Should be able to apply a lot of pressure with the six screws.

-- Max "Desperado", Salt Lake City, UT

Looks great. I’m jealous of your garage sale find. I want to get into more marquetry and veneering someday.

Great build. Looks like you could build several of these and press larger pieces as well.

-- If you can dream it, I can do it!

Looks good.
Nice score at the garage sale. Those are really long screws.
They look almost twice as long as my Lee Valley ones.
Can you turn the spacer blocks 90 deg and press two separate panels half the size of the press with three screws each? I have two ten by twenty platens so I can press two 10×20 or one 20×20. With long clamps like that you can stack and clamp several different sizes at once. It will serve you very well.

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

Super nice. I have been trying to come up with something like this, when i am building big sections of wood to be glued together to keep them from bowing out on me. My problem now is finding those screws at a yard sale. You were one lucky guy to get those.
Thanks for the idea. Going to put in my favorite so I can go back to this project later on.

-- Tom Godfrey Landrum South Carolina (tom@thcww.com) 864-384-4938

One heck of a nice press.

-- Roger from KY. Work/Play/Travel Safe. Kentuk55@bellsouth.net

Nice…should do about anything you need it to. Question: How did you thread the hole for the acme thread rod?

-- Tim Harrelson

Super lucky garage sale find! Looks perfectly made, John. How did you tap the screw holes?

-- Paul - The sweetest sound in my shop, next to Mozart, is what a hand plane makes slicing a ribbon.

Nice job. Looks evil somehow.

-- --- It's the little tools that get you ---

I calculate that a vacuum bag would apply about 5378 lbs on your platen. How much do you think your screws would apply?
It certainly is a beautiful piece well made. And I, too, am jealous of your yard sale find.
Dan

-- Dan Krager, Olney IL http://www.kragerwoodworking.weebly.com

Thanks everyone for the kind words.

Max; You are right I think I could press most anything. I think I went overboard, this thing weighs a ton. Now, if I could just get it to press my uniforms.

Paul; I can turn the blocks 90 degrees. I tink I will cut some smaller platens. Thanks.

Tim and Paul; The press screws come with a treaded metal piece that fits into a 1” whole. They fit through the bottom of the top rail and you secure them with wood screws. I will try to add a picture.

Dan; I have no idea how much pressure can be applied but it seems like plenty.

-- John, Colorado's (Wooden Wizard)

The big difference from a vacuum bag is that sometimes a vacuum bag will seal the sides before the top gets big pressure. This can trap glue under marquetry. I love my vac bag but I’ll stick with the press for marquetry.

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

I don’t have either, so your information is valuable. Thanks, Paul.

-- Dan Krager, Olney IL http://www.kragerwoodworking.weebly.com

Great looking press John…with 3×3 hardwood pinned joints like that it will be able to withstand as much pressure as those screws can generate. It will provide you with years of service, I’m sure.

Now let’s see some projects coming out of that press!

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

Mat; Thanks, but now the pressure is on (pun intended) to do projects. And actually use this contraption.

-- John, Colorado's (Wooden Wizard)