I Beam spacing

[heretic]

Im getting ready to weld up my press, but am looking for some insight on whether I can gap the I beams to get to a longer cavity width. Each beam is 6.5" wide with two laying side by side. What are potential issues with creating a gap between them? Is a 2" gap too much? Thanks for any/all comments.

[Dtrain]

My press has gaps between the beams, top and bottom. 3 inches. No issues!

[prospectsnow]

I'd say it depends on the rest of your design. There is no support for your form block along the gap. It is possible you'll get light pressure there if your forms sit right above the gap or it might break your form block. An easy fix would be to lay up some 3/4" mdf below your form and you should be fine.

[Dtrain]

yup! thats what we did. 1 inch mdf top and bottom between beams and molds

[Richuk]

Skis - a gap could be a good thing! Wider cassettes mean the skis aren't so close together during the cure cycle.

[heretic]

I was thinking the same thing - wider space giving me more "elbow" room for skis, especially as I intend to press a pair at a time. Thanks for the insights...this community is awesome!