My thoughts.
How about a cutting board for the 'sheet maker'? They tend to be dense wood
and very smooth.
The Sep/Oct 1995 'Countryside' has an article about making a 'foundation
press'. I haven't read it yet, just skimmed. Looks a lot like the
discussions here a few months back.
To be honest (engineer's opinion here) I like the sheet idea a lot. Forget
the molten wax in a press. Make sheets then impress the pattern in them
using the press warmed to the wax softening point.
Logan