Pro Woodworking Tips.com-Vacuum Systems pg 2

Vacuum Systems

Vacuum Systems Part 2

Curved parts aren't a problem.

My learning experiences with vacuum technology continued to expand, and I was totally blown away by the uses we could come up with.

For example the eighteenth century dressing table shown on previous pages, benefited by the use of the vacuum bag system. The entire front of the unit is cut from a wide piece of Mahogany. This includes the curved center drawer. Upon inspection, one can see that the grain is continuous, from the top to the bottom, and from one side to the other. This was accomplished by drawing the entire face of the unit on a single wide board.

After cutting the rough sizes from the board, and maintaining the original order, we took the area to be used for the curved drawer front, and sliced it vertically into thin strips, on the band saw, roughly 1/8" thick, by the height by the width. This is basically homemade plywood, that matches the lumber perfectly. Doing this requires a small waste factor on the height and width. This allows for some slipping, during glue up. We then built a form, to the exact curve we wanted, and covered the form with packing tape. This keeps the form from becoming a permanent part of the drawer. Each layer, sliced from the blank was surfaced on both sides to keep them uniform in thickness. The pieces were then placed on the form, with a rigid glue, such as Unibond 800, ( a urea resin glue), between the layers, and then placed in the vacuum bag. The curve of the form wants to be a little tighter than the final drawer face, as it will relax slightly after removing from the bag. It you were to use a yellow glue, the front would be flexible, as the glue remains flexible. With the rigid glues, the piece becomes as stiff as the original board.

As you can see, the small mirror unit has a more pronounced grain, so the match is more obvious. One more thing to notice, would be the top of the mirror unit is cut from the same board as the top of the dressing table. This too, ensures continuity, between the pieces. This type of attention to detail, will separate good work from great work! We are able to obtain the highest quality work, and the highest prices , for our work, due to these details. We are basically driven by pride in our work, but are usually able to capitalize on it financially.
It's our own standards in our workmanship, that provide us with very challenging , and satisfying work. If your going to make something, it may as well be nice!

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