Tips for quick edge banding...

[Michael Dunn]

I have 9 table tops I'm building for a restaurant/bar. I used 3/4" BB plywood. I doubled up around the edges for support. 9-1/4" around the perimeter. I'm using 1-1/2" Poplar to edge band.

Does anyone have any tips to help speed things up a bit?

5 of the table tops are 43-1/2"x31-1/2" with 6" of all four corners taken off. These are for booths. I cut the corners off because the booths so people don't smash their jewels and whatnot.

3 are somewhat football shaped. 56"x28". A full two sheets of 18mm BB from a 60"x60" sheet of plywood. I made an elipse along the length of each side. The ends are 24". So the elipse brings the ends in 2" on each side.

Then there is one table that was sort of pentagon shaped until I cut off 3 of the corners for the same reasons listed above.

I'd like to get this done in one day if possible. At my current rate it looks like it may take me 3 days. I don't have enough clamps to clamp it all. I was thinking glue and brad nails then flush them up and sand. This doesn't yield the tightest glue line though.

At the moment I don't have any pics. Doh! I'll post some in a bit. I trust you know what I'm describing.

Thanx guys!

[Sam Murdoch]

You might consider using band clamps http://www.toolbarn.com/jorgensen-1215.html or this version http://www.amazon.com/Adjustable-Clamp-1225-Rapid-Acting/dp/B00006JSPX These work best on more rounded perimeters but for your shapes you could surround with the band clamp and then just add tapered shims as needed between the clamp and your edge banding. Might take a ton of shims but could be pretty fast once you work out the system. Spray your shims with some type of releasing film/oil or the like so that you need not concern yourself with them sticking to the work. Just a thought.

UPDATE -

I should have waited for more info and photos before responding because now I see that my suggestion above it totally irrelevant. I think of "edge banding" as one piece flexible veneer and so responded accordingly. I understand that Michael is asking about solid wood edging. This is a perfect use of the Festool domino - see this post I wrote. It pretty much tells the how and why. http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?193719-Praise-for-the-Domino-and-a-neat-trick (http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?193719-Praise-for-the-Domino-and-a-neat-trick) Could very easily and accurately apply these cropped edges mitered into the straight runs. 1/2" edging is a bit thin though you would need to bump it up to at least 5/8", better yet 3/4" thick.

[Jamie Buxton]

Don't edgeband them. You're fortunate that you used Baltic birch. It is the only plywood whose edge I let customers see. It looks modern. You see it in store displays all the time. To my eye, it'd look better than poplar banding mismatched with birch ply. So just sand the edge, finish it with the rest of the top, and call it good.

[Michael Dunn]

Don't edgeband them. You're fortunate that you used Baltic birch. It is the only plywood whose edge I let customers see. It looks modern. You see it in store displays all the time. To my eye, it'd look better than poplar banding mismatched with birch ply. So just sand the edge, finish it with the rest of the top, and call it good.

I hear ya. They're expecting it though. 4 of the 9 tables have the nice 13 ply. The 5 identical tops were made from 3/4"x4'x8' which have less plys.

Here's some pics...

[Michael Dunn]

Don't edgeband them. You're fortunate that you used Baltic birch. It is the only plywood whose edge I let customers see. It looks modern. You see it in store displays all the time. To my eye, it'd look better than poplar banding mismatched with birch ply. So just sand the edge, finish it with the rest of the top, and call it good.

Also, they want a dark stain. Brown Mahogany they chose. I'm counting on it being dark enough to offset the green streaks and the mismatched color.

[Thomas S Stockton]

Michael
If you make a couple of cauls with some bow in them you will need to use less clamps. I would use cauls any way to spread out the clamping force. It looks like your banding is about 1/2" thick, have you tried using masking tape. stretch it across the banding and press the ends onto the top. Works well for thinner stuff, might be worth a quick test run.
Tom

[Michael Dunn]

Michael
If you make a couple of cauls with some bow in them you will need to use less clamps. I would use cauls any way to spread out the clamping force. It looks like your banding is about 1/2" thick, have you tried using masking tape. stretch it across the banding and press the ends onto the top. Works well for thinner stuff, might be worth a quick test run.
Tom

Yeah, I was thinking about the bowed cauls. I cut the edge banding 1/4" thick.

[Michael Dunn]

You might consider using band clamps http://www.toolbarn.com/jorgensen-1215.html or this version http://www.amazon.com/Adjustable-Clamp-1225-Rapid-Acting/dp/B00006JSPX These work best on more rounded perimeters but for your shapes you could surround with the band clamp and then just add tapered shims as needed between the clamp and your edge banding. Might take a ton of shims but could be pretty fast once you work out the system. Spray your shims with some type of releasing film/oil or the like so that you need not concern yourself with them sticking to the work. Just a thought.

UPDATE -

I should have waited for more info and photos before responding because now I see that my suggestion above it totally irrelevant. I think of "edge banding" as one piece flexible veneer and so responded accordingly. I understand that Michael is asking about solid wood edging. This is a perfect use of the Festool domino - see this post I wrote. It pretty much tells the how and why. http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?193719-Praise-for-the-Domino-and-a-neat-trick Could very easily and accurately apply these cropped edges mitered into the straight runs. 1/2" edging is a bit thin though you would need to bump it up to at least 5/8", better yet 3/4" thick.

I'm so close to buying the DF-500Q. If I win the bid on this next job (approx $3500 profit if all goes reasonably well), I'll absolutely NEED the Domino. Trouble is, these tables need to be done before that. AND, the hard wood banding I cut is only 1/4". I've never used the Domino, but I don't imagine 1/4" stock is ideal for use with dominos.

[johnny means]

I question the use of poplar for tables in a commercial environment. Also, hoping that you can stain away poplars streaky nature is bad business. Clear maple wood have not cost much more and would be much more durable and more predictable when staining.

Anyway, as far as applying the edging. I would have built the tops with a single layer of ply with a 2" wide strip of build up aroud the edge. Like a laminate counter top would be built. This would let me pull out every single clamp in my shop including spring clamps to clamp the edge in place. This also allows one to screw on the edge from inside if clamps are not available, DAMHIK. The center void is then filled with a piece of ply cut to fit.

[Jamie Buxton]

The clamps and cauls approach is low-investment, but slow. If you're going to make a lot of tables like this, and want to do it quickly, get an edgebanding machine. A big edgebanding machine is quite expensive to buy, but is fast. However, there is a smaller edgebander made by Adamik that's intermediate in speed and cost. Here's a video of the Virutex version. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-963ugOjl7A Notice that the machine can apply 1/8"-thick edgebanding -- much more durable than the inexpensive veneer edgebanding. Other importers bring in the same machine. I think I've seen it for about $2000.

[Sam Murdoch]

I don't imagine 1/4" stock is ideal for use with dominos.

That's right but if you do continue with this type of work and can go with 3/4" or thicker edging the Domino will eliminate any need for flush trimming. It is not a production tool though for doing edging. There are dedicated edge banding machines that do that work as fast as it can be done. Still I highly recommend the Domino as a shop essential. The list of what it can be used for is long and varied. Good luck with growing your business.

[Michael Dunn]

I question the use of poplar for tables in a commercial environment. Also, hoping that you can stain away poplars streaky nature is bad business. Clear maple wood have not cost much more and would be much more durable and more predictable when staining.

Anyway, as far as applying the edging. I would have built the tops with a single layer of ply with a 2" wide strip of build up aroud the edge. Like a laminate counter top would be built. This would let me pull out every single clamp in my shop including spring clamps to clamp the edge in place. This also allows one to screw on the edge from inside if clamps are not available, DAMHIK. The center void is then filled with a piece of ply cut to fit.

That's a really good idea. I'm still learning some of the more thoughtful ways of designing things. The client wanted to keep the cost down, yet improve the look. My first thought (cost wise) was Poplar. The old tables they had were oak ply with oak edge banding. We all thought they looked hideous. Not to mention extremely small at roughly 28"x22" for a SIX person BOOTH!!! Crazy huh?!?

I only have one table banded so far. I do have some 8/4" Maple in the shop. However, it is shorter than the longest piece I would need to make one piece banding.

It's not entirely too late to rethink this. What would you do? Do you think the poplar will look that bad?

[Julian Tracy]

I'm sure you could make it look great, finish-wise, but I'd agree it's not really that durable for a restaurant table setting. Maple would hold up much better and it's not that spendy in the size you'd be using.

JT

[johnny means]

Of course, their are ways to finish streaky poplar to match a dark stain. But, in my professional opinion, the labor involved far outweighs any material cost savings to be had. Especially for what amounts to a very small portion of your total material and finish area.

I recently added a bathroom to my home. I must have cut twenty holes in the drywall to run plumbing and electrical. Afterwards I did the whole blocking and patching thing. Took a couple of days and looks like poo. Looking back it would have been so much easier to just open up the entire wall then through up 4 fresh sheets of drywall.

Your finishing begins with your material choice. Choose well and every top involves minutes of finishing time. Or save a few nickels and spend hours on your knees doing touch-up type work. I've got an artist friend who does stain matching for historic buildings and such, I think he demands like $100 a sq ft and people pay it because they don't want to spend the time it takes to do that sort of work.

[keith micinski]

I agree in the maple over poplar and I also have seen a router but set that cuts a v groove male and female to use with edge banding that I have really been wanting to try out. I would look into that since u think I saw the marched set was only 100 bucks or so.