Don Stephan
Posts: 825
Joined: 2003-07-18
Location: Cincinnati, Ohio
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When you groove your platen, you might want to start with one on the lengthwise centerline, then make additional grooves 6-8" apart. You'll need a properly sized hole (to hold the metal end of the vacuum line) drilled on a groove (ideally on an intersection of grooves) so you might try to plan your cross grooves accordingly.
I'm not able to leave my vacuum press set up, and don't usually press larger panels, so I have about 3 platens, one monster 4' x 8', one about 4' x 4', and one about 3' x 4'.
The nice feature of melamine is glue usually won't stick to the plastic coating, but ideally you're bottom caul will catch any glue drips and not the platen.
One material to consider for cauls is 1/4" "melamine" (which usually is foil coated and not exactly the same as 1/2" and 3/4" melamine). It's relatively light and relatively inexpensive.
I'd certainly suggest getting some inexpensive veneer to work with initially and to gain experience - "backer" veneer is often listed by suppliers, is wide and uniform, and easy to work with. You can cut into narrower strips to practice assembling joints, and don't have to worry about "uh-oh's" with more expensive veneer when starting out.
As said earlier, the dvd's will save countless hours and help make initial experiments much more satisfying, and if time is money . . .
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