Panel Glue Press: The Reluctant Project

I am currently in the middle of a rather interesting project that requires two rather wide panels produced from rather thin stock relative to their width. This project therefore justifies the acquisition of a panel glue press clamping system shown here in the photo. The experienced woodworker will know that wide panels are rather difficult to glue up without having them bow across their width due to uneven clamping pressure applied by typical bar clamps even when those clamps are alternated on both sides of the panel during the glue up process.

I call the project to build a panel glue press a reluctant project because I rushed the production of its large supporting frame through the workshop. I rushed it because even though it will support a client commissioned project, it impacts the timeline for that client commissioned project which in this case just luckily happened to be slightly ahead of schedule.

But if the client based project happens to go south as projects sometimes will, then I may need that extra margin which now is no longer available because I spent it on building the new panel glue press. I think that every woodworker I know who operates his or her organization within any sort of business model must often make workshop upgrades within the time allotted to client based projects without seriously impacting the timeline for those projects. This is often difficult to do.

I rushed through the panel glue press project to minimize the impact it had on an ongoing client based project even though it ultimately improves the quality outcome of that project. The glue press frame turned out well, but with minor flaws that could have been avoided if I had taken more time to complete it with greater care and patience.

I find it somewhat difficult to balance that tradeoff between making a workshop change to benefit a client based project against the time it takes to effect that change though in the end, I usually value a better design or build outcome at the expense of the client project timeline. Communication with the client is very important in this instance. Some people will understand, want a better outcome, and tolerate a minor delay. Some though will emphasize the importance of schedule despite the fact that their project has durable value.