I Think I Missed My Cauling

[LCHIEN]

You can Caul me Al (song by Paul Simon.)

https://youtu.be/uq-gYOrU8bA
(with Chevy Chase).

[Jim Frye]

I use cauls to keep panel glue ups flat by clamping them down to my 30"x48" assembly table. I have some 1" wide maple cutoffs that can span the table to hold the panel down with minimal force. I ran into an issue gluing up the bowl blank for the first bowl turn. I needed more down force due to the increased area of the pieces (13"x15"). I strapped two of the maple cauls together to concentrate pressure on the workpiece, but wanted more to apply more even pressure. After digging through the scraps in the shop, I found the best solution. A 2 1/2" wide piece of 3/4" plywood is really stiff and doesn't deflect under clamping pressure. It's the piece just left of center in the picture. The next project that calls for plywood will have some caul pieces planned into the cut list.