Step 4: Pressing time!
Time to press those sheets of wood into a board!
First off you want to outline your template onto one of the sheets of wood.
Draw a center line on one of the wood sheets.
Place your template on the center when outlining onto the wood.
You can tape it down so it does not move.
Trace your outline onto the sheet. (see picture 1)
Materials:
(see picture 2)
First off lay out all your materials, here is a list of materials you will need:
- Tiebond 1, 2, or 3 Wood Glue (I do not recommend Gorilla Glue)
- Paintbrush for spreading glue, roller also works
- Sandpaper or a sander
- Drill
- Jigsaw
- Pencil
- Tape measure
- Clamps
- Trucks and wheels and hardware
- Griptape
- Spray paint (if you want)
Gluing:
Set down a blanket or something when you are gluing and put your sheets of wood on top.
Glue the bottom sheet nice and evenly, spreading it with the brush/roller.
Remember its always better to use more glue than less.
Do this in a timely fashion as time is of the essence, you do not want your glue to dry on you! *Some glues dry faster than others*
Once you are done gluing your sheets, put the top sheet with the design on the very outside so you can see it. (see picture 3)
Pressing:
Put the glued sheets into your press making sure they are where they should be. Tighten down your bolts until you get the desired amount of concave (see press 1 option on page one)
Once the sheets are in the press tightened down, you can add some clamps to the areas lacking in pressure. Wipe off extra glue from your board so it does not get in the press.
Finally, leave your sheets overnight (at least 24 hours) and then take it out.
Your board should have concave too it, and it should be nice and solid.
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Home depot has something they call birch plywood, but it is just weak pine ply with a thin layer of birch on the outsides, and is designed to make the furniture look nice, rather than provide structure.
proper birch ply, maple plywood, ore any other strong wood ply would work
(for instance my first board was made from 1/2" spruce ply and is still going strong, even without concave)
real baltic birch is good though, because the short growing season in northern europe makes its grain really fine, providing extra strength.
building out of solid wood is also an option, but it needs to be cut into strips and glued together with the grains in different directions. (like a butchers block) Using two or more hardwood stringers made of Oak or some other strong wood, with a cheaper more flexible wood on the edges and middle. The picture below is of a snowboard core (photo from graf snowboards) but uses the same system for construction. The dark wood is the hardwood and the rest are strips of softer wood.
sorry if my description of this is a little hard to understand...
I really don't want to make a third trip out to the hardware store this week, do you think I could just use this? Not as good as maple or baltic, but considering you have more experience than me, I figure I'd ask your opinion on it before I put time into making it.
happy smily monky face!!