I use PVC board for a lot of my projects. Occasionally i need to make a project that is larger that the 11 1/4 board with that is available locally. I know i can buy PVC panels 4 x 4 or 4 x 8 but i don’t have a lot of use for larger sizes. I initially made my own set of clamps to glue up my own larger project panels. Since i don’t have a Joiner I just trim one side of the PVC boards on my table saw to give me a straight edge. Then clamp them and use PVC Plumbing cement to clamp and glue them together. Cement sets up in only about 20 minutes and is very solid. I tested a glued up panel by pounding on it with a sledge hammer and could not break the joint. This works pretty well but its hard to get the boards perfectly matched up across the surface and keep them from bowing.
I decided i needed a better process for gluing up my panels and found these panel clamps at rockler. You can glue up a 36 inch wide panel and since these clamps have 4 way pressure they keep the boards perfectly flat (Dont Bow) and also clamped together. Their a little pricey but they work great and if you sign up for email notifications you can get a 20% discount. I didn’t want to pay the 17.95 shipping charge so i want to the local Rockler store and picked up three of these. Stock used, wood or PVC needs to be at least 3/4 inch thick and you can use stock up to 4 inches thick which would be great for gluing up cutting boards.
Nice addition to the shop inventory, and I’m sure they will come in handy.
Do you use the purple primer? I do & find the glue joints are stronger than the rest of the pvc.
I bought 2 4x8 sheets for my enclosure, shelf & drawers on my table. Then used the remainder for projects. You could buy full sheets & cut them down on your table saw if you think you’ll use it all up eventually.
Crazy thought though… What if you had a really flat surface… with t-slots for clamps… put some straight edged boards across the top & clamp it down? (Your machine )
Of course that ties up your machine while the glue is drying, but saves the cost of the clamps.
I’ve done this I clamp it down with the 2-way tape in the position I’m going to machine it, so once the glue dries I’m ready to go.
I don’t use the purple primer. Just clear PVC cement. Since I’m gluing the end grain, its a little porous and the primer isn’t needed like if you were gluing smooth PVC pipe. This make a super strong joint. Your idea of gluing directly on the spoil board with tape would also work. And it wouldn’t tie up the machine for long because the PVC cement sets up in a short period of time.
For gluing up wood panels i use this product that a friend of mine turned me on to. Its awesome and is kind of a commercial version of gorilla glue. It does expand so needs to be clamped. But the setup time is less than an hour.
My friend does commercial woodworking and uses this product to glue up Live Edge table tops. Its waterproof and can even be used on wet wood.
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I clamp it down with the 2-way tape in the position I’m going to machine it, so once the glue dries I’m ready to go.