360° Herringbone Layer Gluing Aid

This quite literally came to me in a dream last night. Now I don't know if anyone has ever made and used such a thing, but I've never seen it. After gluing layers together, it can get tricky applying any clamping pressure. So to make this gluing aid, I just glued up a normal 360° herringbone pen blank, I used hard maple and made the little squares larger than normal. After the glue set, I simply cut it in half. I now have two pieces that fit right into a herringbone blank with each opposite end perfectly flat. I attached a small square of MDF board to the flats. It'll be very easy now to clamp layers together, with even pressure. Pictures attached.

Looks good. More valuable info to save.

Very Clever!!

Necessity IS the mother of invention!

Thanks for your continued improvements and updates.

Brilliant! I get some of my best ideas as I am drifting off to sleep. The trick is remembering them in the morning.

Houston we have a problem. The jig only works if the thickness of the small squares match the thickness of the ones in the jig. Not a problem if you know that ahead of time.

Just finished a new jig designed for layers .150 thick. Mind boggling why they have to match, but they do. Since I'll always make these the same thickness, I'm all set. If you try this , don't make one until you settle on a thickness you like. I think this also debunks the thought that you can have layers that vary in the same blank. When I run out of travel on the bench vise, I'll switch to a regular clamp.