Clamps & Presses

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afuege
Posts: 47
Joined: Tue Sep 19, 2006 8:11 pm

Clamps & Presses

Post by afuege »

I spent this weekend retrieving a few of my recent purchases. On Saturday I was in Brooklyn, NY to pickup a bandsaw and the Wetzler sectional clamps pictured below. These clamps are pretty neat with 4 screws per section and a hinged frame so they can be loaded from the end or the side.

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On Sunday I headed down to Woodbury, NJ to pickup a Rowley & Hermance door clamp and a very large sectional veneer clamp. The clamp was tucked away in the corner of the building where it had been for over 30 years.

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To get it out I had to remove each section from the timber supports and roll it out to the door on a pallet jack. This process was made difficult by a rotten floor. Every few inches of movement would result in the pallet jack going through the floor. Once at the door, the sections had to be moved outside and leaned against the building. Once all the sections were outside, the timbers were removed and placed on the trailer. The next step was to reassemble the entire clamp on the trailer. Each section was strapped to the trailer and then all sections were strapped together. I figured that if one fell over, it would have to take all of them with it. The "oh crap" strap runs from the top of the last clamp to the back of the trailer.

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Each section weighs approximately 900 Lbs. Needless to say, I has excessive tongue weight. The Hermance clamp helped balance things out a bit, but not quite enough to make it a smooth ride home. It was only an hour away, so it really wasn't too bad.

I haven't determined the manufacturer of the veneer press yet, but I did find some tags that were unreadable. I'll work on getting that question answered over the next few days. (edit: I've just determined that the press was manufactured by "Charles E. Francis & Brothers")
AF
Somerset, New Jersey

http://www.owwm.net
crzypete
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Location: New York State
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Post by crzypete »

We had one at school. Perhaps it was a wetzler, because the side opening rings a bell. They are cool and beautiful contraptions. Everytime I see one fpr sale - especially the cast ones like the second one you bought- I am tempted by their beauty.

Functionally, I remember sweating away while trying to muscle that thing closed or open. They are a bear to operate, and the steam boiler in the same room did not make pressing easier.

The results from that press always felt superior to the vacuum bag. The high pressure achieved gave me faith that the veneer being pressed would form a great bond.

Set-up is crucial. If they don't sit flat, every panel produced will be curved to the press.

Thanks for sharing the pics. Also sorry I missed the broadalbin adventure posted on your site- broadalbin is just ten minutes down the road from my new shop. I remember the auction, but I was not in the area at the time.

Pete
afuege
Posts: 47
Joined: Tue Sep 19, 2006 8:11 pm

Post by afuege »

I aparently have a real affliction with these things. I just picked up this nice little 25 Ton Die Press at the Gorham auction in South Jersey:

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It came with the original manual and I was able to buy all of the die plates for an additional $15.
AF
Somerset, New Jersey

http://www.owwm.net
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