need ideas for a lamination table
 

geting ready to ramp up production on composite panels , i would like to do solid 4 x 8 sheets then cut to spec. also , what will it take to do vacum bagging on these sheets?

seems simple enough to build a table , but more than 1 way to skin a cat . glassdave , wardy , joker , and the rest of the glass heads , need ideas! pics would help too.

eric

Re: need ideas for a 4 x 8 lamination table
 

I've seen it done much larger than 4 X 8 and they skinned the table
with formica. Not sure of my spelling on that. LOL

Anyway's counter top material, I have a picture, but not sure
I can post it ,due to the project being laid up, is somebody else's fun.



Cougarman

Re: need ideas for a 4 x 8 lamination table
 

formica , don't want to build it larger than 4x8, putting casters to roll around, i will use as a work / assembly table after lamination of these sheets. i will cut the core sheets smaller than 4x8 to fit table if i bag. just looking for ideas.

Re: need ideas for a 4 x 8 lamination table
 

formica at homedepot is already cut to fit a 4x8 and is around 52.00 depending on what color you want.

Re: need ideas for a 4 x 8 lamination table
 

Surface it with masonite, also called press board, the brown stuff available at Home depot. You should coat it first with sanding sealer to make the initial waxing easier, but it will work with just wax and no sealer as that's how I did mine. Put on a couple good but not too heavy coats of release wax and buff. To avoid having to re-wax every few parts I've been using and really like Fibrelease (http://www.fibreglast.com/showproduc...leases-23.html). It works great and is much easier to use than PVA. Just wipe it on with a soaked paper towel, let it bead and partially dry, then wipe over again for full coverage and let dry for about 5 minutes.

You can use bag film and tape and seal the film direct to the table, but it is difficult to get all the edges sealed for no leaks, so for most stuff I use a smaller back-board (same release process) and put the whole assembly in a bag and use the plastic bag end clips.

For a pump I bought mine from McMaster-Carr. It's ok for small parts (it's .5 cfm, #41675k31), but it your really doing 4x8 stuf I'd recommend spending the $$ and getting a higher capacity pump, probably 2-3x as much. Getting the initial bag pull down on full table parts (mine is 3x6) takes a long time, and it's really hard if you have some small corner leaks on the tape.

If your doing a lot of stuff as setup like we have at work is nice, it is a high volume pump (I think ~5 cfm, it's like the $600 pump on the Fiberglast site) mounted on a 30 gallon tank. Pump it down first, then when you open the valve to the bag it really pulls down nice.

You can get the hose and bag fittings from Fiberglast or others, I use the 1/2" hose and bag fitting which works well and makes it easy to get fittings. Don't forget a gauge in the system.

Check my Corvette pages and you can see some of my setups in the Sept04 and later pages.

-Greg

Re: need ideas for a 4 x 8 lamination table
 

thanks Greg , you love projects! :D thanks for the info. i'm building today , already had 3/4 ply , framing with 2x4 . a nail gun sure would be sweet about now , gioing to the hdepot this evening for wheels, and formica. that vacum set up is the sh!t. i may just do smaller pieces than the whole sheet , probably easier too. some one told me a few years back you can use like a 1/2 hp electric motor hooked to a car a/c compressor via belt to vacum. ever try that ?? back to the splinters :rolleyes: :D

Re: need ideas for a 4 x 8 lamination table
 

I've seen some glass top tables.

Ernie