I'll reply by PM.Originally Posted by Joe Gorleski
Mike
Contributor
I'll reply by PM.
Mike
Go into the world and do well. But more importantly, go into the world and do good.
Member
Mike I like CW too. I cut most of my veneer to get the extra thickness. I am on the edge for a JWW press. I was thinking of getting a venturi package but I am rethinking. Maybe the vacuum pump is the better route?? I don't want the compressor grinding away for long periods.
I have read that Joe's reman pumps are good?? Any inputs?
dan
Contributor
I have one of Joe's rebuilt pumps and it's worked fine for me. I don't see anything wrong with a rebuilt pump if its done well. I'm sure Joe wouldn't be selling them if he was getting a lot of complaints.
Mike
Go into the world and do well. But more importantly, go into the world and do good.
Member
Dan,
Mike is right. I wouldnt sell them if I had complaints. There's already quite a bit of email in my inbox every hour so I wouldnt want more for the sake of making a buck on a bad pump. It wouldnt be worth it, I wouldnt ruin any reputation I have, and honestly its just not how I do things.
I've shipped several hundred of these pumps and to date, I've had only two bad ones. One of those was unmistakably bad. It only pulled half of the pressure it should have. I fixed it with two drops of oil and then Ebay'd it. The other pump was suspicious. I suspect it was dropped and the housing was bent causing the piston to stop turning. In both cases, the customers got quick replacements.
Attached is a picture of the pumps in my garage when I got my first batch. This bunch are long since gone and I've continued to order more and more when they are available (not often enough). I wouldn't continue to make the insane "investment" in these if I didnt have faith that they were reliable and durable vacuum pumps.
Cheers,
Joe
Member
I told my woodworking buddy that I ordered the vacuum press and he said he had good news for me. I went to his shop today and he showed me all of the veneer pictured below that was GIVEN to him. He told me to take whatever I wanted and even though I really wanted the curly maple I opted for some zebra and curly ash.
The first photo is everything he was given. The tall roll is about eight sheets of paper backed mahogany 8X4. The rest is zebra, curly maple, quarter sawn ash, curly ash..... The flitches seem to have about 15 or 20 sheets and some of the rolls seem to be multiple flitches. A LOT of veneer and he told me to come back for more when I need it.
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Question: Should I unroll it and store it flat or wait till a few days before I use it. Anything else I should do with it in the meantime?
Contributor
Couple of comments:
1. Congratulations on your good luck, and your generous buddy.
2. Don't use paper backed veneer on furniture. The veneer is way too thin.
3. Many people recommend storing veneer flat. However, that's not practical for most of us - we just don't have room. I store my veneer rolled up and unroll it right before use. It has a bit of a curl because it was rolled up but it's not a problem in use. Most people use some tape to hold the veneer panel to the substrate when you slide it into the bag (so the veneer doesn't shift in the process) and that helps to keep it down until the press takes care of it.
If you store veneer flat and it's not really out of the way, what usually happens is that you bump it and break the ends up pretty bad. If you're going to store it flat, make sure it's really out of the way.
Mike
Go into the world and do well. But more importantly, go into the world and do good.
Member
Thanks Mike and you'll be glad to know I'm sure he'll be donating a bunch to Cerritos. He's takes classes there and really speaks highly of the place and people. Probably why there were cloud lifts on all his furniture.
Member
Don't fear veneer.
Veneer work is not tricky and anyone can do it. Veneer is just wood. It's just wood sliced thin. You're gluing 2 pieces of wood together, nothing more.
And you don't need power tools or expensive machinery to do it... unless as Mike stated you are doing large panels. You just need an effective means of spreading clamping pressure.
Curved cauls are your friend. Make a simple press with a couple of cheap clamps, using some scrap MDF platens to make a sandwich, either with cauls on top and bottom... or cauls on top pressing down to a flat rigid surface.
Bowclamp "good caul"
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