Book Style Kydex Press

Instructions

Cut one spine piece and two side pieces. Cut the recesses for the hinges 4mm deep before cutting the profiles. On the spine piece it is best to "pre-drill" the screw holes using the 1/8" cutter to about 1/16" shy of breaking through. You could cut everything using a 1/4" cutter (with the exception of the spine screw holes) but it may require minimal cleanup. The plastic hinges can be found on eBay for about $3.00 for 10 hinges by searching for "30mm 40mm plastic hinge". Look for a slight radius to the ends of the hinge. Shipping will take ~3 weeks, but the hinges can also be found on Amazon with faster shipping for more money. The configuration of the hinges is a little unorthodox, using wood screws to attach to the spine and machine screws to attach to the sides. This was done for 2 reasons: to make the hinges stronger when the press is clamped and to allow you to adjust the "preload" of the foam by shimming under the hinges on the sides. Be careful when installing the T-nuts in the sides. The bases of the T-nuts may be big enough to require rotating them so that the cuts for the spikes best together. The T-nut stems should not be taller than 5/16". You can use a hammer to start the T-nuts but it is probably best to fully seat them by tightening the screws with the hinges installed to avoid damaging the wood. Cut the foam seat pad into two 6 1/8" x 10 1/2" pieces. The foam pad I used measured 22mm thick and the spine is sized accordingly. For alternate foams you can easily edit the spine width or, with creative use of the grid function, place two instances of the spine at the desired distance apart and cutting half from each. Attach the foam to the frame using spray adhesive. This type of foam may not handle the heat well if you get your Kydex too hot so use a piece of cloth between the Kydex and the foam when molding Kydex (or just replace the foam every so often if it gets damaged).