Clamping two/three polished surfaces together..

[MCTWoodwork]

Hi there,

This piece of furniture I made & designed whilst on my course at Rowden Atelier in Devon a few years back - I never finished it, but I finally insulated a small workshop last year (at home) to finally complete this piece I designed.

I was really after some advice from you wonderful people (!) with regards to clamping polished surfaces. The surfaces will be shellac & waxed (aka part French polished) so require delicate handling & then all clamped together. I'm really after some tips from you experts out there please - someone must have done this before, surely??
I'll domino the 'hats' together for alignment purposes but don't want the clamps to ruin the polish. I could put them together first and then polish afterwards but this can be very tricky getting the polish right over multiple surfaces. I wish i could afford to send this off to a finisher... i don't know about you, but i really hate finishing!!

See the 3D cad design attached & the photo of the cabinet (doors just hung - unpolished!) so you know what i mean...

Thanks in advance..

Matthew

 

[peter-harrison]

Hi Matthew, it looks fairly straightforward to me. You need 2 cauls made from mdf or similar, cut to size, and possibly padded with a bit of old blanket or whatever. The main issue is going to be getting them all aligned properly- are you dowelling them or similar?
Pete

 

[Cabinetman]

Crikey, that’s not a piece you can ignore is it !
Sorry to disagree with you Peter but I think if you use material it may imprint the weave into the top surface I would use something like formica / bit of old worktop perhaps. Ian

 

[MarkAW]

Paper shouldn't leave any weave....
Might work

 

[MCTWoodwork]

Hi Matthew, it looks fairly straightforward to me. You need 2 cauls made from mdf or similar, cut to size, and possibly padded with a bit of old blanket or whatever. The main issue is going to be getting them all aligned properly- are you dowelling them or similar?
Pete

Hi Pete,

Hi Matthew, it looks fairly straightforward to me. You need 2 cauls made from mdf or similar, cut to size, and possibly padded with a bit of old blanket or whatever. The main issue is going to be getting them all aligned properly- are you dowelling them or similar?
Pete,

Hi Pete, thanks for your reply & the information - although, I'm just not sure that might still leave an impression using cloth? I'll use domino's for alignment purposes.

Regards,

Matthew

 

[MCTWoodwork]

Crikey, that’s not a piece you can ignore is it !
Sorry to disagree with you Peter but I think if you use material it may imprint the weave into the top surface I would use something like formica / bit of old worktop perhaps. Ian

Thanks

So you reckon the polish (once fully cured) won't be damaged by the work top / formica pressing down on the two surfaces?

 

[Cabinetman]

Can’t think of any reason why it should, as long as you don’t pick a worktop that has a texture to it of course, that other suggestion of using a few sheets of paper that was a good one as well. Ian

 

[johnnyb]

if the weave impression is left on the polish then the polish isn't very fresh. also I wouldn't stress to much as it could be easily fixed.

 

[MCTWoodwork]

Crikey, that’s not a piece you can ignore is it !
Sorry to disagree with you Peter but I think if you use material it may imprint the weave into the top surface I would use something like formica / bit of old worktop perhaps. Ian

Cheers Ian, and thanks to everyone's help & suggestions.