Hi, I really want to make my own snowboard but have limited funds and I think a vacuum press would cost alot! I thought instead I could have a positive and a negative mould and clamp the board inbetween them as shown in the attached picture. Do you think that this will hold together and give enough pressure to form the board?

Thanks Greg

Would the epoxy stick to the rubber??

Colby

Probably but I would put something inbetweento stop that. I thought rubber mainly to try and counteract differences between the +ve and -ve moulds.

I was mainly just wondering if I could get enough pressure to form the board using this sort of press.

I've heard of a lot of people having trouble with clamp presses. It's hard to tell how much pressure you're applying and you run the risk of tightening to the point of failure (bent angle iron, stripped rod, broken mold ribs, etc.). The other issue is the weight of the upper assembly. It will likely be pretty heavy so you'll need a friend to help you position it at press time.

If you decide to go this route I think you should make the base mold perfectly flat from edge to edge and use sheet metal or lexan for the surface. Don't use any rubber down there so you know your base will be flat. Instead have all your buffer material (rubber) on top.