Add edge nosing in place, with no clamps

Would adding 3/4x1" edge nosing to a plywood counter with just nails and glue be strong enough or does the edging need to be applied with clamps?


I built 3 cabinets that sit side-by-side, all same height, but with the middle 4" deeper. I have a plywood counter that I now need to add nosing on the front edge. I had planned to route a 1/4" roundover on the trim, miter it and then nail and glue it on, sand and paint since this is all going to be painted white. I can use clamps since the top is not attached yet, but it is the mitered corners that I think I need to add in place to get them nice and tight.

Nails will certainly hold the trim in place for the glue to dry. However, you will be faced with holes to fill before painting, then the filler eventually fails and the nail holes show so it depends on what you are trying to achieve. If you pick up some $1 spring clamps and have some old gift cards laying around, you can do this.

Thanks. Yes, I can do that since I have those clamps as well as bar clamps. It's that nail filler, which yeah, I have no idea how well it will hold up. These are built-ins with cabinets on the bottom and shelves on the top - with the counter/desktop in the middle. I don't think the counter would see a ton of abuse, but over time who knows.

Guess I can do the long edges properly and use the clamps and glue since the counter top is not attached yet. Pre-miter the pieces. Then the little 4" section I can nail that in place at the end. I can even clamp those pieces. Hope and pray it all comes together tight.

You could drill holes with a countersink, screw and plug the holes. With the plugs sanded it's unlikely they will ever show under the paint and you aren't talking about applying a large amount of trim.

Check the back of the trim for flatness, they tend to roll up a little. I like to to remove about a 1/16 th from the center third of the back to get good fit.

You could attach the nosing with pocket screws from the underside of the plywood counter top. The screws and glue would be strong enough. Note that applying glue to plywood edges requires a heavy glue application because the plywood will soak up the glue.

Use packing tape to hold the edging on until the glue dries.

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Originally Posted by Lee Schierer

You could attach the nosing with pocket screws from the underside of the plywood counter top. The screws and glue would be strong enough. Note that applying glue to plywood edges requires a heavy glue application because the plywood will soak up the glue.

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And that was the original plan. I use pocket screws on the face frames and the case assembly since nothing is visible. But I can never get pieces to line up perfectly. There is always some twisting or slight mis-alignment when driving the screws in. Since I have the corners mitered I was worried I wouldn't get it right.

Here is a good reason to own a Domino or at the least a good biscuit joiner - alignment. Pocket screws are good for many applications but the tendency of the angled screw is to pull things out of alignment unless you can apply LOTS of direct pressure to overcome the direction of the screw - IMHO. Your plan to preinstall the edges on the front with glue and clamps and then apply the return piece after install of the top is a good plan.

If you could use Dominos or biscuits to align the top surfaces that would be very helpful but your trim piece needs to be deep enough to house whichever of these "loose tenons" you would use. Clamping blocks along the front edge to sandwich the edge trim between the top and bottom of your top will help the alignment. I apply packing tape to the surfaces of my alignment blocks that might be in contact with glue. If you are nailing your return by hand it would be good to prebore with an undersized drill bit before you drive the nails.

Glenn Bradley's method is completely new to me and I love it. :cool: There are some expensive 2 way clamps out there that will achieve the same result but the simplicity and affordability of this method - that will surely work for a small piece of trim - is elegant. Thanks for the new trick Glenn.

Another way to do that is to clamp the top and bottom of the top of the counter top between a c-clamp or small slide clamp and add wedges between the clamp back and the wood edge you are trying to glue in place.

Just use auto body filler as the bog. It never moves. Clamping is good. Nailing and gluing will work. Whichever way you do it, the glue line will show over time unless you use a good quality cross linking glue at the very least but preferably a 2 part glue. Cheers

I'd probably use biscuits because I have the tool. If possible, I'd cut the slot before ripping the 3/4" X 1" trim piece off a wider board. Wider boards make it easier to not tilt the biscuit joiner while plunging the tool which can lead to slight misalignment.

Biscuits are a perfect application in this case. Should have thought of that also since that is how I make the shelves and attaching face frames. C-clamp to help with alignment is good also. I guess I was just hung up on the mitering of the pieces thinking that was going to look bad if I couldn't do it all in place where I could play with it to get it right. Looks like there shouldn't be any worries. Gotta trust the skills and suggestions.

Thanks for the pointers!