The thread I followed was mainly for acoustic guitar sides. If you are familiar with a Fox Universal Side Bender they were used in conjunction with parts from that. Unfamiliar with the above. Well.... it is set of 2 forms that are constructed of 3/4" ply. These are then spanned with 1/2" iron bars. This comprises the mold. A set of flexible steel plates with the side material are sandwiched between them. This assembly fits into a "holder" that houses 2-3 100 watt light bulbs as the heat source, which in turn heats the steel plates. A screw type press forces a foot into the waist to conform to the mold and some springs and a platten assembly force the rest of the sides into the shape of the mold. This thing revolutionized side bending as consistant sides were achieved. I have bent curly maple, flamed walnut, bubinga, and monterey cypress with no cracks. Go to www.lmii.com for pictures.
To get to a point, dump the heat source, the steel plates, keep the mold, use 2 lams of veneer, one thick lam of inner material, glop some polyurethane glue or WEST epoxy and bag it and add a vacume source. Wait till the glue dries and presto instant strong sides. This should lend itself to tops as well. Thanks for submitting the plans Keith and have more fun than necessary building guitars....
Perfect Tommy