On Thu, 22 Mar 2018 15:51:45 +0000 (GMT), "Dave Plowman (News)"
wrote:

In article ,
The Natural Philosopher wrote:
Wrong. We used to veneer 10 8x4 slabs with PVA in a huge sandwich using
a 2 ton press.

Ah - right. I'll just pick the one out of several I keep in the tool
cupboard.

All that matters is maintaining contact while things dry.

Err, why the two ton press if all that's needed is to maintain contact.

2240lb x 2 / 8 x 4 ft / 144 = a massive 1psi

With a decent vacuum setup you get around 14psi which really does ensure full
contact with the substrate with next to no human mechanical effort.

With a vacuum bag you can stick veneer to curved surfaces and when finished just
chuck away the peel ply, and breather fabric, roll the vacuum bag up under the
bench alongside a vacuum pump, a bit of pipe and a vacuum breach fitting. It
helps when you already have these bits for doing composite work.

A 10 tonne hydraulic press already sits in the workshop for bearing
replacements. I'd hate to think where I'd even fit a 8ft x 4ft 2 ton press and
what I'd ever use it for...torturing politicians might be useful I suppose but
an oxy-acetylene torch and a branding iron would probably be better if one had
access to a decent positive pressure fed respirator... which I do.



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