How do you edge band plywood?

[Dave Anthony]

I've been banding solid wood to plywood for some bookshelves. My process is as follows:
1. round over both sides of solid stock with 1/4" roundover bit
2. rip 1/16" strip (I have a jig so the thin cut is on the left of the blade & I don't have to measure).
3. repeat 1 & 2 until needed strips are cut
4. carefully hand cut miters on strips, cussing as needed when thin strip tears out
5. glue strips to shelf, using 8 clamps
6. wait for glue to dry 'cause i'm out of clamps....
This seems very inefficient & time consuming. Is there a better way for a home hobbiest? I'm using cherry, if that matters.

[Richard M. Wolfe]

I do it rarely these days so pretty much do it the way you are doing it. Some time ago I did some cabinets and used commercially available banding which had hot melt glue on one side. You got it started and then ironed it down. It was slightly oversize so the edges weren't really critical and could be sanded flush and was thin and pliable enough that corners weren't a problem. What I used was ash - I don't know what others are available. Like most things you need to use some for a while to get the right technique. On some of mine I used either too hot an iron or didn't move it fast enough because some glue bled through and made for blotchy staining in spots. If you're adept enough at cutting and have a hot melt glue gun you could probably make and do your own that way. Another way could be to cut slightly thicker stuff and use 'regular' wood glue with a pin nailer although bending around a corner might present a problem.

[Peter Quinn]

What exactly is your goal at the end of this? Not sure I understand why you use a 1/4" roundover, then rip strips at 1/16" thickness. doesn't this change the width of your strips versus the thickness of the plywood, and why would you want to edge band with 1/16" thickness in solid stock? I suppose this is some advantage over hot melt iron on edge banding, but not sure I would bother to miter the corners on 1/16" banding in any event. Are the ends of the shelves visible?

For shelves I typically glue a piece of solid stock 1"X1" with a 3/4"X3/4" rabbit ripped out of it to the leading edge of the plywood, the other three sides remain raw. I make sure the lip that forms the front edge of the banding is just proud of the face of the plywood and flush trim after the glue is dry. Whenever possible I glue two shelves nose to nose to save on clamps and allow each to act as the others caul. This stiffens the plywood for load bearing considerably and makes it appear to be a 1" piece of solid stock when observed casually from the front.

[Prashun Patel]

A couple things may speed yr process:

1) Use a pin nailer instead of (or in addition to) clamps.

2) If the edging is thicker than 1/2", consider using a biscuit joiner to help with alignment

3) If the edging is thin, consider not mitering, but just butt jointing it, and then routing the edge profile after it's been glued on.

[Jason Hanko]

I havent actually done this yet - but for an upcoming project I have I plan on using contact cement. Coat each side, let it dry, align carefully and press into place. A lot like veneering... My project wont be seeing a lot of wear and tear, so I dont expect any problems with the banding coming off.
(anyone think this wouldnt work and want to let me know before I find out the hard way?:))

[sean m. titmas]

for edgebanding a kitchen full of cabinets i use one of two options.
1. pre-glued veneer tape (commercially available)applied with a iron or hot-air tool.
2. 1" wide prefinished veneer strips(made in the shop) and contact glue. flush trim after assembly

for furniture i cut the strips about 4mm thick and 7/8" wide. i glue them to the plywood with Titebond red cap and use blue painters tape to "clamp" the strips down. flush trim and round over the edges.

EDIT: to help with trimming the panels i apply the edgebanding to the plywood first, than trim, than assemble the pieces. sometimes i even prefinish the banding to make the process quicker.

[David DeCristoforo]

"...anyone think this wouldnt work and want to let me know before I find out the hard way?"


I would want to. If you are talking about applying solid wood edging with contact cement, all I can say is "Don't". If you want to use contact, you need to use a backed veneer. Trust me on this.

[Stephen Tashiro]

When people make their own edge banding, do they try to match the thickness of the plywood precisely and do very little sanding to thickness? Or do they make the banding too fat and trim it? Is there a tool for this? (Yes, yes, a new tool!) I imagine something like an edge trimmer that could be set sideways on the surface of the plywood so it trimmed the banding or anything else sticking up proud of the surface. You could set an ordinary router or trimmer sideways, but you'd have to have one heck of a wide blade on it to cut flush with the surface of the plywood. The idea tool would probably use a gear on the shaft instead of being direct drive so the shaft could be mounted close and parallel to the surface of the plywood. The end of the bit would be tapered, so you that as you moved it onto the banding, it would gradually begin to cut deeper. The upper part of the blade would be flat and nearly on the same level as the surface of the plywood.

[sean m. titmas]

When people make their own edge banding, do they try to match the thickness of the plywood precisely and do very little sanding to thickness? Or do they make the banding too fat and trim it? Is there a tool for this? (Yes, yes, a new tool!).

for 1.1mm edgebanding or backed veneer you can use a knife edge tool that cuts the banding flush with the plywood surface. there are about a dozen different makers of this type of tool. i like use a single edge razor blade stuck in a block of wood to trim my edgebanding. when banding 3/4" plywood i cut my veneer about 7/8" wide so that there is very little waste or trimming required.

for thicker veneer or p-lam i use my laminate trimmer with a bevel edge bit to trim the material flush and beveled.

for solid wood edging i use a regular flush trim router bit in my laminate trimmer.

[Stephen Stark]

Cut your strips a little thicker and sandwich between 2 pieces of plywood and when dry rip up the centre and final dress on a jointer. Finish off with a flush cut bit in your router table to clean up the protruding edges. Voilà!:D

[Danny Burns]

You might find these interesting.

http://www.leevalley.com/wood/page.aspx?c=2&p=50698&cat=1,46168,62157

http://www.leevalley.com/wood/page.aspx?c=2&p=53250&cat=1,46168,62157