I'm about to build a new top for my bench. The original bench top was built quickly since it was for a new shop in a new house and I had to bootstrap the entire shop. I couldn't spend a lot of time building a bench top when I didn't have a bench to work on. I ended up laminating 3 layers of mid-grade (no knots) 3/4 plywood by screwing them together (no glue). The end result is functional but ugly. I neglected to track where the screws were so putting in holes for bench dogs has been problematic.
This has worked well for 6 years while I've built most of the furniture for the new house but it's time for a new top.
I have no interest in building a top that qualifies as fine furniture. I've never viewed a bench top as fine furniture; to me it's a tool. What I'd like to do is do the same thing again, laminate plywood, but with much higher quality material and a better technique: 3/4" apply ply, and a nice solid wood edge
Ideally, I'd use a vacuum press to glue the 3 layers of plywood together. I have a vacuum system but my bag isn't big enough. The cheapest bag big enough is over $140 from veneer supplies.com. I really can't justify that much money for use only once.
The question is, can I just use contact cement? I've used contact cement several times for attaching formica to work surfaces and never clamped it. Seems like I should be able to use it to laminate the 3/4 ply. Once they are in contact, with a surface area of over 20 sq feet, I can't imagine the layers moving.
Anybody try something like this?