Clamping Jig?

[will_s87]

There are 41 pieces of 18mm plywood. (scrap left over from building a climbing wall)

I want to clamp them all together to create a table top, with the grain on the counter top. Any tips on procedure?

I figure it would be better to glue say 10 together and then clamp and glue 4 groups of 10 together, as opposed to trying to clamp all 40 at once.

I don't have a biscuit joiner or anything similar.

Any pointers would be great!
thanks, Will.

 

[Phil Pascoe]

A tip from years ago - if you wish to glue several pieces together, assuming that they are not to be machined afterwards is to get some short veneer pins, knock them 80% or 90%( if the wood is hard) and then nip the head off with sharp snips. Cramp them up carefully, and once the sharp ends dig in the opposing piece they don't slip.
(Actually this works o.k. with stuff to be machined - use brass pins)

 

[will_s87]

Thanks, that sounds like it would work quite effectively.

I did consider setting up a drilling jig and then running a length of m8 stud through the width of the board in a few places. Any opinions on that? It seems to me as though it would still slip...

 

[AndyT]

You don't have to glue them all at once. Glue a pair together, then when they have dried, glue two more pieces on to the outsides. Repeat till done. Slower, but there's less to go wrong.

You could double all this up if you have enough clamps.

You could even use countersunk screws instead of clamps if you know they won't be a problem in the finished item. (Except for the outside pieces of course.)