Vacuum Pressing Laminations1

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Comment by Matt Seiler on June 11, 2009 at 3:39pm

Hey, Andy
Why not pose these questions on the General Woodworking forum at WOOD Online. Then we'll be able to kick the ball around and others who are interested can see what we're talking about.

-Matt-

Comment by Andy Gilbert on June 11, 2009 at 2:08pm

Nice video. A couple of questions. I've never done any veneering so I apologize if these are dumb questions. What prevents any of the glue squeeze out from adhering to the vacuum bag and ruining it? Is there any structural difference between bent laminations and pieces cut from solid lumber? Does the unibond accept stain? Are the glue lines visible after finishing? Thanks

Comment by Mauricio Ulloa on June 11, 2009 at 10:48am

Really good video! Thanks!

Comment by Matt Seiler on March 6, 2009 at 12:49am

Hey, Steve

Yes, the pump needs to remain on for the entire duration that the piece is in the bag. It's not very loud, and the pump is specifically designed to do this. Turning off the pump yields a total loss of vacuum inside the bag after about... an hour or so.

If you're gluing up a small panel with, say, yellow glue, you might only need 2-3 hours in the bag, tops. But because of the cold weather, and since I was using plastic resin glue, the time in the bag was longer.

But the flipside is that if it were, say, 90° outside the time in the bag might have only been 3-4 hours. Unibond cures faster in warm temperatures and MUCH slower in colder temps.

Upshot: the type of glue used and the thermometer tell you a lot about what to expect.

Comment by Steve on March 6, 2009 at 12:37am

Matt- Do you have to keep you vacuum pump running for the entire curing time?