Replies

1. 
   ral3wood | Aug 29, 2021 05:09pm | #1

   I have done a fair bit of veneering in the past couple of years, smaller boxes, larger curves and even some fair sized panels - mainly using veneer, glue, vacuum bags and presses via Veneersupplies.com. Bought the Excel 5 model and it has worked well for all my needs - have a few different size bags now. Also, the advice from the owner on a few issues has been invaluable.

   Only issue I have had is shipping costs for gallons of the glue, so am going to experiment with Titebond Veneer glue which I can buy locally.

2. 
   steven84 | Aug 31, 2021 05:55am | #2

   I've been using vacuum presses for woodworking about 20 years. Here's some suggestions for a hobbiest on a tight budget:

   * Make your own bags. There's nothing tricky about it. For $20 in materials and a half-hour's labor, you can make a bag that commercial sources would price at $200.

   * A big vacuum pump isn't required. Almost any pump designed to make a vacuum will make enough vacuum to press veneer. A higher-volume pump might be a minute or two faster in getting down to high vacuum, but that doesn't matter much in a home shop.

   * A pump controller is a luxury, and you may not need it. The controller cycles the pump on and off to regulate the pressure inside the press, just like a thermostat regulates the temperature inside your house. For a veneer press, you can do without. The pump will run 100% of the time, and will make its maximum vacuum all the time. For a home shop, this is okay.

   https://www.myaarpmedicare.guru/

3. 
   jake_w | Aug 31, 2021 07:22am | #3

   I can second the recommendation for VeneerSupplies.com. Lots of good information on the site and everything I have purchased from them has been of good quality. When I was looking for my set up 7 years ago, there were only a few sites targeting home shops. You can get everything you need and plenty of good advice.

   There are many different options for your set up. I went with a large (5x10) polyurethane bag and a decent sized pump. I have around $1000 in my press. This allows me to press anything I want and not have to deal with a collection of different sized bags. I have had zero problems with the polyurethane bag and I do a fair amount of veneer work. There was definitely a learning curve with large panels (The longest was 9 ft and the largest overall has been a 3x7 counter top). This was my approach to an initial set up, but I knew I wanted to do lots of veneer work.

   If you are unsure of how much you will do, you can start with clamps and plattens on panels up to 2x2 with good results. You can make a bag as recommended above and even make a vacuum pump with an air compressor. This will get you started with a low initial dollar investment, but it does take time to make stuff.

   My last recommendation is that if you do plan on making larger panels or using burls, take the time to get comfortable using precatalyzed glue like Ultra-CAT. It gives me the fewest problems in bigger pieces and is the option I use the most.

4. 
   mapletrim | Aug 31, 2021 10:47am | #4

   Many thanks to all of you for these excellent suggestions. It is so helpful to get advice before investing in new gear like this.

5. 
   Rheerdt | Aug 31, 2021 03:27pm | #5

   I used a kit from Roarockit.com. It uses a manual pump and the cost is very reasonable compared to a electric pump. I was pleased with the results.

6. 
   hoovermd | Aug 31, 2021 11:19pm | #6

   I did an entire house worth of kitchen and bathroom cabinet veneers using something similar to the Excel 3 press from: https://www.veneersupplies.com/categories/Vacuum__Press__Items/Vacuum__Press__Kits

   I sprung for the big HD bag due to my volume reqts: https://www.veneersupplies.com/products/VS-Extreme-Polyurethane-Vacuum-Bag-4-x-9.html

   The key is a good platen with grooves and breather mesh: https://www.veneersupplies.com/products/Vacuum-Breather-MeshNet.html

   also, a printers brayer is a necessary piece of equipment: https://www.dickblick.com/items/speedball-deluxe-hard-rubber-brayer-with-heavy-duty-steel-frame-4

   I did all my panels with Old Brown Glue: https://www.oldbrownglue.com

7. 
   [email protected] | Sep 14, 2021 09:35pm | #7

   If you go on line you will find vacuum pumps used by AC repair folks.Also,T created a pvc pipe with lots of holes to insure good vacuum distribution(overkill).I too made my own bag and it served me well.I also hooked a empty propane tank that acts like the tank on your compressor .Also the vacuum switch keeps the noise level tolerable.

1. 
   woodshedding | Sep 14, 2021 10:32pm | #8

   What did you use to make the bag and where did you get the supplies? Thanks