Pressing project

[drbassman]

While doing up the recent bass bodies, I got really weary of clamping the bodies up with a gazillion clamps and doing it twice, once for the front and again for the back.  So, I built a press for doing the bodies and developed a method, ala Gibson, using 1/4" wood pins to align the top and bottom wood to the sides/center block piece.  Then, I can just make a sandwich of the 3 pieces, put it in the press, tighten things down and we're done.  I could even fit two sandwiches in the press at once if I had to.  This is going to be a lot easier on down the road.  I thought about building this a couple years ago and just never got around to it.  It will be handy for numerous gluing projects.

I used the threaded rods so I can adjust the height for thicker projects.  I don't have any in mind right now, but you never know!

[Dave W]

Looks like a clever setup. Will you be aligning the pieces before or after you cut out the final body shape?

[drbassman]

Looks like a clever setup. Will you be aligning the pieces before or after you cut out the final body shape?

I cut the sides and center block piece first.  Then I rough cut the top and back.  Glue them all together, then trim the top and bottom to match the sides on my router table.  It works really well and is quite efficient.

Sides and center block first.


Once the top and back are glued on, it's easy to rout around them and have a nice finished body.

[BTL]

Looks great!

Your work over at Reranch was definitely among my earliest inspirations/influences.

[drbassman]

Hey thanks, it's nice to see you here!  I don't go to RR much these days.  Pretty busy with work and this forum.  I am thinking of doing a series of pics on my next build with the press and alignment pins.  Maybe I'll share that at RR too.  You've done a nice job with your project, I hope I can get mine off the ground soon.  I am about 18 months away from full retirement, so we'll see how things go!

[drbassman]

Finally had a chance to use the press for the first body.  Why did I wait so long?     I took me about 5 minutes to spread the glue and attach the top and bottom.  Into the press, a little adjustment and tada!  A couple notes on final set up. 

I put a sheet of acrylic plastic on the bottom and top platens to keep glue from adhering to the wood.  I used to use wax paper, but it's a pain in the butt to deal with and isn't a permanent fix.  I also put the entire machine on a work table that has wheels, so I can easily spin it around as I apply pressure and watch my progress.  Finally, with this set up, I can take a damp rag and wipe off most of the excess glue which makes final edge sanding so much easier.  The less glue the better for finishing too.

With my million clamp method of the past, I always had trouble clamping the center section because the edge clamps were always in my way.  Plus it seemed to take forever to apply those clamps and I always felt rushed. This is much more satisfying.  And I could do up to 3 bodies simultaneously if I ever need to.

Glue applied to bass.



Acrylic sheet on platen.



Bass sandwich!



Wiping off excess glue.



Bass comes out of the oven in 24 hours!

[Pilgrim]

 

[Dave W]

Nice to hear that it's working well for you.

[drbassman]

It worked great!   Just loosened the screws and it popped right off of the acrylic.  And, there was minimal glue residue.  A nice even glue joint all the way around the 65" circumference!  I'm very pleased.  Sometimes the homemade tools aren't as good as they could be but this one is a winner.  Later in the year, I might try a carved top with the same press.  That will be challenging and require some fancy tooling, but could be very cool.

[Highlander]

Fascinating...

[Pilgrim]

I am imPRESSED.

[Granny Gremlin]

I thought this was gonna be about putting out records, but this is cool too.

[Lightyear]

Too cool Doc!  Now you just need to add some gearing, a stepper motor and foot switch!  Load up a stack of glued bodies and step on the foot switch to activate the motor and voila - hands free clamping! 

[Pilgrim]

Yes, it does appear that there's a heavily manual approach to tightening the press.  But the price is better that way.

[Lightyear]

Yes, it does appear that there's a heavily manual approach to tightening the press.  But the price is better that way.

What?  You mean two minutes of manually tightening clamps is better than 20 hours of work and few hundred dollars in parts!?  Where's the fun in that?