Edging

[JackLeg]

What do you folk edge things built from plywood with? :dontknow: I'm building a toy chest/blanket chest with oak plywood and wondered what I can cover some of the edges with. Also, how do you attach it so it will stay? :icon_scra

THANKS!:wsmile:

 

[MarkE]

I have used solid wood edging, glued on or with biscuits.

I have also used the iron on edging. Haven't had any problems with it coming loose. Just make sure you heat it well with the iron, but keep the iron moving so it doesn't scorch/burn the wood. Also make sure to trim it flush and round over or bevel the edge slightly so there is nothing to catch on. The iron edging can be used on all sides of the panel without having to worry about grain orientation.

 

[Steve_Honeycutt]

Like Mark, I have used solid wood (1" to 2" wide) for edging. I have attached this with pocket hole screws. You can leave the wood a little proud of the plywood and use card scrapers to get it flush with the plywood. You have to be a little careful in using pocket hole screws because the angle of the screws will have tendency to leave a gap between the plywood and the edging unless you clap securely before attaching to prevent movement. I like this method because it is quick and you don't have to wait for the glue to dry. Good luck.

Steve

 

[Tim Sherwood]

I'm using pocket screws to attach solid wood edging to some cabinet boxes . So far so good. But if you are not too concerned about getting a "fine furniture look, I like glue and brads.

 

[Bas]

Glue is sufficient to hold it. Biscuits help with alignment, especially for large panels that are little wavy. If you don't want to clamp, brads will hold it until the glue dries As Steve said, leave the edging a little proud so you can sand/ scrape it flush. I usually slip a piece of 220 grid sandpaper under the biscuit joiner for the required offset. You can get fancy with special router bits to create a tongue and groove, but that's probably overkill for what you're trying to do.

 

[CrealBilly]

Interesting thread... I've never built anything out of plywood besides using 1/4 for cabinet backs. I know plywood is a very popular building material in furniture nowadays, I guess because it's cheaper and faster than gluing up solid wood panels. If I were to edge it, I would use dowels and glue because this is what I've see used in my furniture repairing days. I've not seen any manufactured furniture use biscuits, not saying it's not out there I just haven't seen it, it's been doweled.

However even cheaper furniture uses MDF particle board with super thin wood veneer, with a super thin wood veneer edging (no dowels). The cheapest furniture I've seen uses particle board with a vinyl wood grain photo finish and the same vinyl for edging. Both the super thin wood veneer and vinyl is glued to the MDF with some white glue like substance that never hardens, it's almost like contact cement but no quite.

 

[jerrye]

I have also used the iron on edging. Haven't had any problems with it coming loose. Just make sure you heat it well with the iron, but keep the iron moving so it doesn't scorch/burn the wood. Also make sure to trim it flush and round over or bevel the edge slightly so there is nothing to catch on. The iron edging can be used on all sides of the panel without having to worry about grain orientation.

+1 on all of this. Used some on a 3/4" oak sound equipment cabinet, and it turned out pretty good.

 

[EricS]

Reggie, if you want a thin edgebanding type edge glue a wider board no biscuits needed (this is way easier to clamp and will require less clamps) and then rip the excess edging off to your desired thickness
hope this helps

 

[JackLeg]

Reggie, if you want a thin edgebanding type edge glue a wider board no biscuits needed (this is way easier to clamp and will require less clamps) and then rip the excess edging off to your desired thickness
hope this helps

Thanks, Eric. That makes perfect sense to me.:icon_thum I may just make it a little wide and use my Colt with a flush trim bit. :wsmile:

 

[Jeff]

Solid wood edging is much more attractive and forgiving than the so-called iron on veneer stuff.

This is 3/4" x 1.4". Rough cut to 13/16"-14/16" is easy to trim with a flush trim router bit or hand plane.

No clamps or cauls needed for gluing them; just some tape strips every 3-4".

 

[JimD]

I agree with Jeff. I've used both. The iron on is best trimmed IMHO with a plane including the little plastic one they sell just for trimming veneer. It sometimes split if you try to use a router. Solid wood can split too so I usually back cut it. I like to clamp it in place so I do not have to brad or screw it but it takes time. Sometimes I put 3/4 thick edging between two panels and then rip down the center - saves one clamp setup.

Jim

 

[junquecol]

For the cubbies I build for the YMCA, I use 1/4" thick edge banding. (They take a BEATING!!!!) Brads to hold it in place till the glue dries. Rip it over width, plane to thickness. After glue sets, trim to width using router.

 

[Gofor]

I have just used the same species wood as the ply and glued a 1/2"+ band to it with Titebond. I usually cut the band proud and trim it with a block plane. No brads, biscuits, dowels, etc.

Go

 

[gdoebs]

I like 1/4" thick banding just glued on. I made some curved plywood cauls and glued on some 1/4" felt. I can apply glue to the plywood and banding then use two clamps with a caul to get good pressure along the entire edge. After it dries I flush it up with either a scraper or my trim router. Then I'll use the trim router with a 1/4" round-over bit. This helps blend the edging with the plywood.

 

[ehpoole]

If I were to edge it, I would use dowels and glue because this is what I've see used in my furniture repairing days. I've not seen any manufactured furniture use biscuits, not saying it's not out there I just haven't seen it, it's been doweled.

*If* they would have had access to biscuits in the old days they would have gladly used them. Biscuits are just a variation on the spline, which is itself a variation on the loose tenon -- just the same as a dowel. All provide for alignment assistance and improved joint strength.

Biscuits are seldom used in production setups not because they are in any way inferior but rather because they can not be cheaply or trivially jigged for in the same way a line boring machine can be for doweling. This is not a limitation for the DIYer, relatively few of whom own, or regularly use, a line boring machine. Once you own a good biscuit joiner you are likely to find it a go-to tool for it's ease of use and quick setup for such tasks where you want some alignment assistance or some additional strength above and beyond that of two glue faces (esp. where end grain constitutes one or both of those faces). The PC 557 plate [biscuit] joiner even supports a special mini-biscuit (FF size) ideally suited for joining especially narrow or thin materials where a typical #0 biscuit would be too large.

There is nothing wrong with any of the typical loose tenon solutions -- dowels, biscuits, or splines -- and it is really a matter of personal opinion on the part of the builder. Even brads or finishing nails are acceptable if you don't mind filling the nail holes. Pocket hole screws are fine if the pocket holes can be adequately hidden, but often times that is not possible. If using pocket holes, it is a good idea to go ahead and glue the edge banding as well since the screws can create weaknesses in the banding that may result in future splitting (BTDT).

For thin edge banding masking tape or brads are sufficient for clamping (especially if a loose tenon was incorporated into the edge banding. However, for thicker edge banding it is a good idea to glue and clamp for maximum strength -- there are even special 3-way C-Clamps designed specifically for applying edge banding in applications where traditional clamps might not be practical. You can either use a number of such clamps, or get by with just a few clamps per side if you incorporate a clamping caul. If you need the special C-clamps, I know Lowes carries the Bessey version (similar to below).

Edge-banding Clamp

As others have mentioned, when using solid wood as your edge banding, it is a good idea to slightly over-thickness the banding (by say 1/16" or thereabouts) so that it is slightly wider than the board edge it is being applied to -- with that excess thickness equally centered. You can then use a flush-trim (spiral or shear-cut flush-trims are ideal for this) router bit, hand planes, scrapers, or sanding to level the edge banding with the plywood it has been attached to.

 

[Weber]

I have been pleasantly surprised at the durability of the iron-on stuff. I have some that's been on about 15 years and still sticking fine. Not elegant but a quick and easy treatment of things that don't ned to be elegant.

For the good stuff, I generally face it out with about a 3/8" thick piece glued and clamped. At times I'll use the 23 guage "brads" to hold it. They are virtually unnoticeable. I then trim to the surface with a flushcut bit.

For relatively quick, easy, and inexpensive drawers, I'll rip plywood to width, glue on the 3/8 piece of trim the entire length of the pieces using 23 guage brads and then cut the drawer parts to length and cut my rabbets, etc. No problems with tearout, etc. I tend to use poplar plywood with poplar edging. All in all, it yields pretty decent looking drawers without a lot of hassle.