I have a couple of applications in my home for some custom table tops (a desk, and a sewing center) and have been thinking of using the torsion box type construction from FWW #219 p. 90, FWW #151 p. 76.    What prompted me to think this way is the versatility of the torsion box workbench in FWW# 202 p. 74.  Anyway, in the articles that use the paper honeycomb, they both say a vacuum press is needed for assembly.  I can’t really justify the cost of such a system right now so I’m wondering if I’ll regret just trying to stack lots of heavy stuff on top of the table top while the glue dries.

For those who are interested, my house includes a turret sort of thing (sorry, don’t know the architectural term) which is basically where a corner of a nominally rectangular room has been replaced by 5 sides of an octagon.   This is on both floors of the home.  On the 2nd floor I want to make a sewing work surface which follows that shape.  Downstairs I want to basically complete the octagon for an office desk.  Since this would end up producing something very custom to the particular house, I’m planning on basically building free standing pieces that look like filing cabinets and then putting table tops on them but in a way where I can disassembly later.  The idea is if/when I move, I can salvage the bases which will likely represent the most work.  For the table tops, I’m planning on making a few rectangular pieces, a few triangular pieces, and joining on the bottom side with latches like what might hold a leaf snug to the rest of a table top in a dining room table.  I don’t really have an  visions of this being a fancy woodworking showpiece.  I need something which is functional (my current desk and sewing setup are only marginally functional) and not horrible to look at.  For the sewing surface I’m likely to laminate with formica or some such thing anyway.  Not sure about the work desk.  The work desk has to hold a fairly substantial amount of computer stuff as well as things like scanners, stereo, etc. 

Thanks in advance for any tips.

-Dan