Clamping Plywood with a Vacuum Press (Veneer Press) and other Best Techniques

Clamping Plywood with a Vacuum Press (Veneer Press) and other Best Techniques for Clamping Plywood

So how do you get pressure into the middle of a large plywood panel glue up? It can be a very difficult task. Many people simply resort to putting some weights into the middle of the panel, but that is not nearly enough pressure. WHAT ABOUT SCREWS? In many circumstances that will indeed work. But only if you are not going to see those pesky screws. WHAT ABOUT CLAMPS? That will work on narrower panels, but what do you do when the panels are larger? You better have some pretty big clamps. WHAT ABOUT CAMPING CAULS? This technique has been used for hundreds of years, but the cauls are large, and need to be stored, and often take quite a few minutes to get into place, which means you are fighting the gluing setting/drying before the clamping pressure has been applied.

THE BEST WAY I have found to clamp plywood is with a VACUUM PRESS. Using a vacuum press will allow you to clamp to pieces of plywood as large as a full sheet together with as much pressure as 1800 pounds per square foot. For a small workshops there is no other way that we will be able to put that much pressure uniformly over that big of an area. And it is extremely quick, much quicker than using regular clamps. It also does not have to take up that much space. Today I am using a vacuum table that is 4 1/2 foot by 6 foot. But you can do the same thing with a bag that can be rolled up and put away until it is needed again.

A vacuum press also open up the amazing world of veneering, which can literally transform your woodworking and your final projects, allowing you to use woods that would otherwise not be available to you.

So why not give vacuum pressing a try. My vacuum press if from a company called Vacuum Pressing Systems. I purchased it 30 years ago and it has been trouble free for me over those years. They have a range of pumps and prices. Give them a try. You can also purchase vacuum bags, or table packages.

Vacuum Pressing Systems: https://www.vacupress.com/

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Timestamps:

0:00 The Problem: How to get pressure into the middle of the panel.
0:41 Possible Solution #1: Screw together the plywood.
1:02 Possible Solution #2: Clamping the plywood together.
1:43 Possible Solution #3: Use bowed clamping cauls.
3:00 MY BEST SOLUTION: USE A VACUUM PRESS.
3:45 Gluing a Plywood Panel in the Vacuum Press. (3 minutes total time)
4:10 How Does the Vacuum Press Work.
6:55 Removing the Panel from the Vacuum Press.
7:38 The Vacuum Press Is the Easiest Solution!