Looonnnggg edgband...go really thick, or thin?

[Matt Meiser]

Next on my list for the kitchen is some various red oak plywood pieces. One is this divider panel that goes next to the fridge. Since it runs all the way from the floor to the top of the 36" upper cabinets, its 90" long. I'm trying to decide if it would be better to go with a thin (thinking 3/8") edge banding that I can easily pull and push into place as I clamp it, or a really wide (2") one that I can get some Dominoes in for alignment.

This is going to be a high traffic area so I don't want to use thin off the shelf edge banding. If the edge gets dinged or worn I want some real wood that can be repaired. I think 3/8 would do it.

Plywood is rift sawn red oak veneer, so the real wood should match pretty well.

[Jamie Buxton]

I'd use solid lumber banding -- think an eigth or so. Don't worry about alignment much. Cut the banding wide -- like an inch. Glue it on with ordinary wood glue. Trim it flush. You can trim flush with a router and a flush-trim bit if you're a power-tool guy, or with a handplane and scraper if you're a neanderthal.

[Jeff Duncan]

Yup 1/4" or 3/8" give or take should be fine, and don't bother clamping....takes too long. Get yourself some decent strong tape and just tape it on! It'll go quickly and easily and allows you to center the edge easily as you clamp/tape it down;)

good luck,
jeffD

[Matt Meiser]

Cool tip. I was dreading getting it clamped!

[Chris Atzinger]

I just trimmed a bunch of carcasses with 1/4" curly maple. I used wood glue and masking tape to clamp it and had no problems. You might want to stack a couple of pieces of ply together when you go to route off the excess with a flush trim bit to keep your router from wobbling. ymmv.

Good luck!
-Chris

[Tony Rodoracio]

Another method is to use 2 similar sized pieces and lay them flat with the edgebanding facing each other. Then apply a couple of clamps. Works good and uses less clamps while clamping double the linear footage.

[Peter Quinn]

I'd rip it out of QS stock so the face is plain sawn, the edges match the plywood. Any where from 1/8" to 3/8" should be fine, I'd go thinner personally for asthetics. I'd tape it in place , then clamp it with a 2" wide caul and gentle pressure, let it sit a minute for the glue to grab before the big squeeze so it doesn't dance around on you.

[Jim Neeley]

An alternative to tape or clamps are 23ga headless pins. They're headless and quite a bit smaller than the body of a straight pin.

[scott vroom]

Matt,

I use 1-1/2" x 3/4" face frame stock on the exposed fridge panel edge, using the same T&G joinery that I use to attach face frames to cabinets. I prefer the look, but more importantly the ff stock provides a solid backing in which to screw my over-fridge and base cabs that sit on either side of the panel. I'm not comfortable screwing these 2 cabs into plywood....not enough holding power to really pull the 2 pieces tightly together.

[richard poitras]

Matt,

I use 1-1/2" x 3/4" face frame stock on the exposed fridge panel edge, using the same T&G joinery that I use to attach face frames to cabinets. I prefer the look, but more importantly the ff stock provides a solid backing in which to screw my over-fridge and base cabs that sit on either side of the panel. I'm not comfortable screwing these 2 cabs into plywood....not enough holding power to really pull the 2 pieces tightly together.

Plus one .... This is the way most stock cabinet companies make theirs..

[Matt Meiser]

I wasn't planning to do it that way because of space--I need somespace between that panel and the dishwasher for something to support the end of the granite. However, I realized that a piece of 1/8" thick 1-1/2" angle bolted to the panel with the horizontal face at the right height to support eh counter would not interfere with the dishwasher and would support the granite just fine. I already have the steel, just need to cut, drill, and paint. And I have to fabricate a steel support for the bar area so I'll be doing some steel work.