A Vacuum Press for a Small Woodworking Workshop: Bag Presses and Flip-top Presses

[@brianlange9010]

So Easy to understand with help from your fine way of explaining how to do it 😊

[@MadebyWolfe]

Hope you get a chance to do veneering some day.

[@PerformanceFestiva]

Excellent video! Thank you for sharing. I just picked up that exact model of pump for 20 bucks at a thrift shop. My parents have some antique furniture that has had veneer separation. I'm going to build a table and practice on some projects and eventually repair some furniture.

[@donesry2902]

Excellent video. Thank you for the education!

[@denney69]

Thank you for this video, I found it very helpful!

[@MadebyWolfe]

Glad it was helpful!

[@treyrees9153]

Great video, and congrats on reaching 1000 subscribers! Hopefully you get many more

[@MadebyWolfe]

Thanks for all the encouragement along the way and for all the comments.

[@jamestaulbee4791]

Excellent video. Appreciate the detail

[@MadebyWolfe]

James, I am glad it was helpful. I have been veneering for over 30 years and it really does open up a world of new possibilities. Thanks for watching and for commenting.

[@AAOnline-hx5ov]

Excellent video and hope that you don't mind if we share it as it is a great tool for others.

[@GrabouwAl]

Thanks for the great video, well explained and detailed.

[@MadebyWolfe]

Thanks Alan. I am glad it was useful. I have been using my vacuum press so long that it is just a part of my workflow, that I would not want to be without any more than I would want to be without my table saw. Thanks for commenting.

[@jeffscott3160]

Great informative video! I'm looking into doing my own veneering for my cabinet business. Some sheets of hardwood veneers are up to $400.00 a sheet now and I almost always need one sided sheets. That same species of veneer can be had for under $100.00 so it just makes sense to do it myself

[@MadebyWolfe]

Best of luck.

[@mattbowers5342]

Very informative. The cost to enter is a little more than I expected, but like anything the payback comes with enough work! Congrats in advance on passing 1000 subs, which you will do soon!

[@MadebyWolfe]

Thanks Matt. I actually am at 997 right now with the live subs page open so I can do a screen recording when it happens. Thanks for watching, I am glad it was helpful. And as always, thanks for commenting.

[@mattbowers5342]

@@MadebyWolfe well you made it and breezed right by, congrats again!

[@MadebyWolfe]

yes. Lots of fun and excitement! @@mattbowers5342

[@randywright7933]

Thanks for the video. Wondering how this would do with end grain cutting boards and such. Congratulations on 1k subs too!

[@MadebyWolfe]

Interesting question. Because the nature of the platen and the air being evacuated from one side, the effect is one of forcing layers together (plywood and veneer for instance) but very little side ways pressure, which is what you would need if I understand your question correctly. So, I do not think it work for end grain cutting boards. Thanks for watching and thanks for the question.

[@randywright7933]

@@MadebyWolfe awesome response thank you. That's kind of what I suspected but doesn't hurt to ask thanks again for your response

[@fijnwoodcraft1451]

Hi there, thanks again for the video. I’ve recently built my own smaller version. I now have it to a point where it’s pulling full vacuum, but loses vacuum fairly quickly. The pump cuts back in again after about a minute. I’m scratching my head as to where I’m losing air, I’ve even siliconed the seal to melamine junction in case the double sided tape is not creating a seal. Just wondering if you had any similar problems or if you might be able to point me in the right direction? Thanks again, have a great day!

[@woodworkpro7538]

Same here..

[@afbigfish1]

Thanks for the details on the lift top table. I am trying to carve out some room in my overcrowded shop now to build one. What are your thoughts on Silicone film vs. polyurethane film. Looks like the silicone stretches more for doing form work, more durable, more heat resistant and more puncture resistant. Im mostly concerned with having enough give for making curved cabinet doors and such. No budget for a vacupress fliptop at the moment. I found 30mil silicone sheet down the road from me for about 150 bucks. It seems like the better option at this point.

[@MadebyWolfe]

Glad you found the video informative. I am not familiar with silicone films. I have only ever owned extruded polyurethane. Like I said in the video, I mainly use the flip top table for flat work and pull out my bag for form work. If you want to do curves and shapes of any thickness, a bag is the way to go. good luck.

[@fijnwoodcraft1451]

Thanks for the detailed video, excellent. Just wondering what type of foam you used as your sealing edge? I know you mentioned it’s ‘P’ shape, but is it a specific type, ie. closed cell? Thanks again.

[@MadebyWolfe]

Yes, it was a closed foam, but I could not find the exact shape at McMaster-Carr. But it was 20 years or so ago when I built the table. It really could be just about any closed cell foam extrusion. You just need to be able to stick it down. Some of the foams actually have adhesive on them. Good luck. I am sure it will be fine.

[@fijnwoodcraft1451]

@@MadebyWolfe That’s great, thanks very much for that!

[@juancamedino6173]

Quiero comprar una máquina para doblar láminas de madera . Cuál me recomienda.. es verdad que hay una variedad pero me gustaría la opinión de la experiencia.. gracias.

[@bw162]

Question: Could a vacuum press work for gluing in inlays? Keep in mind that the male side being pressed into the female stands proud of the female board thus there is a gap between the male board and female board. The two boards may be 12x12 but the male and female area of the inlay itself may only be an odd shape and maybe 6x6 inches. When using clamps, there is about a 1/4" cap between the respective boards. Would the vacuum collapse and break the board material around the inlay? The male inlay board may only be 1/2 thick depending on the depth of the inlay.

[@MadebyWolfe]

There are a lot of variables here, but the basic principle is that you do not want there to be an unsupported overhang. My understanding is that this is what you are creating. That being said, there are several things to consider. First, what is the difference in thickness between the inlay negative area and the thickness of the inlay. If it is 1/4 inch then I would proceed with caution. But if it is only 1/64 of an inch I would not be concerned. I have also used cork board as a backer when there are some uneven surfaces. For veneer, it is stiff enough to still clamp the veneer, but has enough give that it will compensate for differences in thickness of materials. Second, what is the thickness of your inlay. if your inlay is thick enough, you may be able to place substrate down against the veneer press and let the bag pull the inlay down agains the substrate. If your inlay is 1/2 inch, I think that this would be more than sufficient in many cases. Finally, how delicate is your inlay. if it is not extremely delicate, I think that suggestion that I just mentioned, putting the substrate down against the veneer press and letting the bag pull the inlay down against would work well. If you are doing many of the same inlay, you could also create a cull that overhangs the inlay about 1/4 inch in all directions. This would make sure the pressure is distributed evenly and that the inlay is pulled down evenly and could be reused. Just make sure you have waxed it well to make sure it does not stick to any glue that sneaks out. Hope this helps. Good luck.

[@mattdebono8833]

Wow mate, I am converted. I am building wooden spearguns so laminating five 35mm wide x10mm thick strips to each other at about 1300mm long with west system epoxy, some with carbon cloth between. I rekon I could resaw 150mm wide strips and then cut them into four 35mm wide lengths after curing. Seems like a far more repeatable process. So it would be essentially a 150x50x1300 board made up of five 150x10x1300 veneers to make the 50mm. Any thoughts on this? I am not asking too much of a vacuum system?

[@MadebyWolfe]

It definitely is not asking too much of a vacuum press. I have done bent laminations that have were roughly 300 x 2000 out of 6 layers of plywood that was 3mm and it has no problem pulling it down onto the curved form. I have never used epoxy in a vacuum press, but I don't think it would be an issue. There is another glue called urea resin glue that has excellent water resistance and rigidity, but that can clean up with water. I am not sure if it would work for your application, but might be something to look into. Here is where I purchase it in the United States ( www.vacupress.com/product-category/veneering-glue/unibond-800/ ). I googled spearguns, and they look really cool...and deadly. What is your current setup for gluing the spearguns up?

[@johncole9964]

Sorry, but a $365 entry point is too high. When they get the price down to sub $200 I might look at them. In the meantime there are lots of alternate sources of pumps in that lower range.

[@MadebyWolfe]

hmmm...interesting comment on a hammer video.

[@johncole9964]

@@MadebyWolfe You've got the wrong video, the one I commented on was about vacuum presses

[@MadebyWolfe]

​@@johncole9964 John. I am so sorry. I have a 11 second video of my comparing the regular mallets that I made to the dead blow mallet that I made and it has over 11 million views in the last month and WAY too many comments from people thinking I am trying to trick them. I was plowing through some of those comments and didn't realize this was for the vacuum press video. Anyway, I am all about saving money. I am the family tightwad. When I purchased this pump 30 years ago, there were not a lot of other options. And anytime I have used something consistently for 30 years, I will recommend it, even if it costs a bit more, because of the over all value. But you are right, there are many pump options out there for less, and if I was purchasing my first pump I'd probably try one of them out. However, the things you can do with a vacuum press, are pretty amazing. It is a great tool to add to a shops capabilities. So, if you too think it would be useful, I'd encourage you to try out one of the lower price pumps. If you do, I'd love to hear about your experience. Thanks for commenting and sorry about the mixup.

[@johncole9964]

@@MadebyWolfe Congrats on the viral video!

[@jeff1872t]

Are systems like this suitable for gluing up two thicker panels of material together?

[@MadebyWolfe]

If the panels are flat then it should not be a problem.

[@jeff1872t]

@@MadebyWolfe Awesome. Thanks for confirming that.