Laminating 25mm stock

[yan89]

Hi all

As title suggests, I’m after some advice on laminating 25x25mm stock timber.

I’ve got 12 in total to glue up for the wellboard on my workbench. Instinct tells me it’s best to glue one at a time because I’d assume they’re more prone to slipping during clamping, but I’m also a bit concerned they’re a bit brittle to clamp with the heavy duty clamps I’ve inherited so thought I’d best ask whether I should use some packing to protect the pieces from the metal clamp shoes too?

If I’m right in thinking I should do one at a time, should I still wait the full 24 hours for the glue to set? Any corner cutting I can do here to aid my impatience to get the project moving would be appreciated!

 

[rogxwhit]

What sort of cramps? With sash cramps I'd do the lot at once.

 

[Oakydoky]

Yep all at once. The easy way to keep them flush with each other is to biscuit them if you have such trickery at your disposal. Or dowels, a bit of careful marking of holes and drill glue, clamp and your away.
Or.... knock some panel pins in along one edge of each join, cut the heads off with pincers leaving 2-3mm and that will be enough to stop them sliding. Its only a tool well after all hehe

 

[Adam W.]

I do 3 or four at a time, then glue the lot together at the end.

 

[yan89]

What sort of cramps? With sash cramps I'd do the lot at once.

Yeah I’ve got 4 sash cramps but they’re over 1300mm so I assumed they’d be too strong potentially and might crush the timber.

 

[yan89]

Yep all at once. The easy way to keep them flush with each other is to biscuit them if you have such trickery at your disposal. Or dowels, a bit of careful marking of holes and drill glue, clamp and your away.
Or.... knock some panel pins in along one edge of each join, cut the heads off with pincers leaving 2-3mm and that will be enough to stop them sliding. Its only a tool well after all hehe

Ahh I didn’t think of doing that actually - great shout

 

[rogxwhit]

The strength of the cramps will remain in accord with the degree to which you crank them up! In other words, it's up to your judgement.

You can alternate them to equalise the pressure - 2 over & 2 under, but with light pressure it may not be necessary. Two not too far from the ends then the other 2 equally spaced along ...

But you did say 25 x 25 lamina, quite narrow so the outer ones may try to spring away from the joint, and you'd get a more even containing pressure with flanking cauls (can I call them that?) of wider stuff if you can find some - which would pad the cramp heads at the same time ..

Ps no biscuits, dowels or anything else are required!

 

[Oakydoky]

True, definitely not actually required BUT that advice is given as intended to make it very easy for a budding woodworker.
Yes, they can be referred to as cauls.

 

[Ttrees]

These are supposedly going on sale in Eire next week.
Maybe they might be across the drink a week after?

They look tempting if that pipe is 3/4" ?

 

[rogxwhit]

Yes, they can be referred to as cauls.

Thanks!

 

[Adam W.]

These are supposedly going on sale in Eire next week.
Maybe they might be across the drink a week after?

They look tempting if that pipe is 3/4" ?
View attachment 139861

They look just like the Bessey pipe clams.

 

[rogxwhit]

I've always looked askance at pipe clamps for some reason. How do they compare in stiffness to (non-T) bar cramps?

 

[Jacob]

Seems a lot of bother. My bench well is just chipboard. It's just to close the hole, doesn't carry weight or other structural forces. I've improved it with some offcuts of bright yellow formica. Quite handy as it's easy to clean, even dried on glue, and helps you see where things are as it fills up with bits n bobs.

 

[Phil Pascoe]

I was about to say the same - a piece of chipboard, ply or MDF. It's a lot of effort for nothing. Or design a top without a well.

 

[Ttrees]

They look just like the Bessey pipe clams.

The castings look similar to the newer heavy f clamps,
which I tested to destruction, using them as levers with pipes attached.
These ones I guess would be fairly malleable cast iron also,
and likely not to snap, but IIRC the Pony knockoffs sold few years back had some
problem, whether it was the castings or not I cannot recall.
Just incase brittle castings were to blame, then these would likely be alright for light stuff.
Keen to see if anyone has some suggestions on the design of these.
Will do a review of sorts if they appear decent.

Cheers
Tom

 

[Oakydoky]

My bench is flat. I know it's a deeply held tradition but I've never quite got the idea of a well.... apart from a dust and rubbish trap.

 

[yan89]

All good points - to be honest I’m just following a Paul Sellers build guide and his dimensions were 300x25mm so I got some 25mm stock which I’ll laminate and use for this because I’ve no other use for it. Thanks for the info though!

 

[rogxwhit]

A little well at the back is always handy because it catches stuff from falling ...

But we all need an assembly place and if that's also the workbench then the bigger & flatter the better.

Circumstances vary ...

 

[Orraloon]

A few tricks to stop wood slipping during the glue up.
Stop Slippery Wood Glue Ups: 5 Quick Gluing Hacks - Woodworking Tips and Tricks - YouTube
There are some others if you do some searching.
Regards
John

 

[Jacob]

My bench is flat. I know it's a deeply held tradition but I've never quite got the idea of a well.... apart from a dust and rubbish trap.

It's not a tradition it's just a useful feature - it traps not only dust and rubbish but also tools and other bits and bobs being used, which could get in the way of the work going on above them.
It's also easier to keep flat if you happen to be a flatness fetishist.