Hey guys.
How wide is your press and are you happy with it? Do you wish it was wider or narrower?
I plan on making a cage style press like ben_mtl has done so it can be disassembled easily but I am unsure of how much extra width I should incorporate into it.
My board design is 315mm at the widest point, I cant see myself building a board wider than 350mm ever. Is 400mm wide enough?
Here is a pic of the press I am referring to.
I have just finished cuttin drilling my I beams and will be building skis and boards.
we did alot of thinking and reading prior to making the choice to go with 17'' wide.
Thanks for the input. That is roughly 430mm.
The I beam style has the advantage of unrestricted side access so there will never be an issue with overhang from fibreglass etc.
My press is 400mm (16 inches) wide
I have pressed skis with widest points at 145mm (two at a time) with no troubles. My press is based on the design of mongo/kingswood/benmtl and others.
I did make a few modifications so that the arms on the side sit out a further inch. This allows my cassette aluminium to overhang the sides of the MDF mold. It is good for my allignment system (90 degree angle riveted to the bottom aluminium sheet that sits against the lower MDF mold ensuring the cassette is straight in the mold), and also any epoxy that oozes out doesn't go directly onto the MDF mold. You shouldn't let glass hang out the sides of the cassette if possible and really there isn't a need to do it - just trim it to the correct width before layup.
Here is my press in its youth!
If you think the widest you will ever build is 350mm then 400mm wide will be fine. 2.5cm on each side will be ample. It is also important to note I think reading benmtl's journal I think I recall he had problems with convex bases because the cross members were flexing under pressure. If you find the thread of the mongo press you will see he made the stand for his press have cross members that matched those of the actual press and helped strengthen the press in lateral flexion. My design has the vertically alligned metal bars across the press that inhibit flexion in the cross members that accomplish what mongo's stand did.
