What's the best way to trim iron on edge banding?

[Rich Engelhardt]

I've tried one of the trimming tools Lowes sells and it didn't work that well.
I also tried a single edge razor blade. That worked, but, was extremely slow.

I have some good sized panels I'll need to trim & I don't think I can do them with a router & a flush trim bit.
My smallest router is a PC 690.
I might be able to swing getting a Colt or a DeWalt trim router - if that would help.

[Lee Schierer]

When using a plane type trimmer you have to watch the grain direction carefully, otherwise you'll get tear out and a ragged edge. What works best for me is to use a bastard cut file and file at a slight angle so the teeth don't hit the face grain and file off the edge banding toward the panel. Once you get the majority of the excess off, sandpaper works to get to the final finish.

[Loren Woirhaye]

You can make a base for the router to hold it flat on the panel and skim the banding down to about .5mm using the end of the bit. There are lots of ways to do it. I've done plenty with a Virutex blade trimmer. You just have to be attentive and go carefully and here and there you may find you need to peel the banding off and do it over. The drawback of the routers is you can damage the panel too if you aren't careful. A flush trim bit and a steady hand works with a laminate trimmer. You can also set up a router table for it with a little gap under the fence and featherboards with a spacer underneath them.

[Bernie Kopfer]

I have used a sharp chisel,1in width or so. Held at the right angle it works fast
And smoothly. follow up with fine file. Suggest a bit of practice first. you are so correct about the so called trimmers, POJ.

[Victor Robinson]

You can use the router on the face of the panel by using an offset oblong base where half the router isn't on the base - can knock one out for your router in 5 minutes. Then it's just a matter of setting the bit to the correct height to ensure you don't rout too deep.

This works best with trim routers but would also be fine with mid sized routers provided you make the base long enough to give sufficient leverage and keep things balanced.

[Richard Coers]

Trimming with a router will foul the bit really quickly. It's all that hot melt on the tape that gums it up. As mentioned, read the grain first, then I lay a 1" chisel on the surface of the panel, skew it so the tape is near the outside edge, then slowly run it along. Follow with a light touch with 180 grit on a wood block. I stopped using iron on years ago. I rip 1/8" thick hardwood and glue it on. I clamp the strip on with 3m packing tape. Cheap tape doesn't work. The 3m will stretch a little and really let you put on the pressure. If you are working on plywood, make sure the tape doesn't have too much tack so it will pull some fiber. I only let the tape on about 15 minutes, but wait longer to flush trim the edge. If it does seem to pull wood fiber, very lightly touch it to your t-shirt before applying. The 1/8 strip will work so much better, plus let you soften the edge more.

[Mark Wooden]

Use a smooth cut, flat bastard file. Wrap 1/2 dozen layers of masking tape around the end to prevent scratching the panel and to give a slight angle to the edge.The edges of the file will cut the edge tape and the smoothing surface will give a finish that can be touched up with 220 sandpaper. Start carefully at the corners and work to the middle, always cutting in towards the panel.
Start slowly and get a feel for it, but as you get used to it, you can cut quite aggressively, as much as 8' in 15 seconds or so. I use a heat gun and a fine brass brush to to un-gunk the file.
If you want to make the investment, a lipping planer works great also and then you'll have it to clean up thicker wood edges also. I agree with everyone on the trimmer routers and bits; I have a PC 7301 and a PC 3102 and have set up all kinds of jigs, guides, tables and what not over the years and all have just been a PIA. A countertop guy showed me how to use the file and I haven't looked back.

[Mel Fulks]

I've used a chisel,too. Depending on how much you have to remove,sometimes you can just hold the back of chisel flat on work and push,but you have to remember the stuff is spliced so grain keeps changing . Good way to decide which chisel really excels. Even with a new 25,000 $ bander ,(years ago money,not the stuff we have now) I've had to trim some by hand.

[Steve Rozmiarek]

After doing several hundred feet of it for a project for my wife, I found that there is no good way to do it. It's the worst "woodworking" job I know, and I'm buying a dedicated edgebander if a moment of insanity gets me another project that requires it.

I found in my ill fated attempt, that routers gunk up, chisels slip, sandpaper gunks up, haven't tried the rasp, but sounds like multiple passes, so slow, and the store bought "solutions" are junk.

I wonder if a tablesaw jig could be used....

[johnny means]

I've got a shop made trimmer that consist of a small block of wood and a utility knife blade. The blade is double face taped to the block. Trimming is done by holding the blade , the block serving as a handle,flat against the face of the board and scoring the glue side of the edge tape. A couple of passes cuts the edge tape cleanly with no splintering or gouging. The bevel of the blade leaves the tape just proud of the work piece so it can safely be sanded flush.

[Mark Wooden]

After doing several hundred feet of it for a project for my wife, I found that there is no good way to do it. It's the worst "woodworking" job I know, and I'm buying a dedicated edgebander if a moment of insanity gets me another project that requires it.

I found in my ill fated attempt, that routers gunk up, chisels slip, sandpaper gunks up, haven't tried the rasp, but sounds like multiple passes, so slow, and the store bought "solutions" are junk.

I wonder if a tablesaw jig could be used....

Try a file, not a rasp. A 10" Nicholson Black Diamond smooth bastard is a good one for it. A Plasticut, made for laminates is good also but can be a little aggressive.

[Ethan Melad]

+1 for a chisel, then sandpaper.

[johnny means]

Couldn't get these on my original post. Best thing about this method is that it takes skill and dexterity out of the equation.

[johnny means]

277094Anyone else using Forum Runner think it's difficult?

[Rich Engelhardt]

Johnny,
Thanks for the pictures!
I'm going to give that a try.
I like it - it's simple and easy!

[Sam Murdoch]

I have one of these and it has been a great tool for many hundreds of feet of edge banding. Wood edge banding that is.

277115

I use a hard wood block with sandpaper to clean up any residual - mostly glue. This tool is fast, safe and effective.

[Rich Engelhardt]

Sam,
Did you make that or buy it?

[johnny means]

Rich, the important thing is to make light passes. Almost like using a pipe cutter. I'll often make a couple of scoring cuts and just snap off the excess.

[Vince Shriver]

277094Anyone else using Forum Runner think it's difficult?

Johnny, it's amazing what a simple picture can do to clarify an explanation. Also cool tool for trimming edge banding.

[Sam Murdoch]

Sam,
Did you make that or buy it?

Store bought about 20 years ago. (Could use a bit of sharpening :rolleyes:). Just do the Google on "edge banding trimmers." One like this and new blades can be had from - http://www.northwestabrasive.com/products.asp?Cat=BC&Section=Edge%20Banding

There are some double sided version but those aren't really faster - even wood edge banding has grain. You can work very fast with no tear out simply doing one edge at a time. I can't write about other similar tools but this has been EXCELLENT and I do not hesitate to recommend it. Firm pressure and steady motion and the edge banding slices away easily - either push or pull.

[Dave Kirby]

If you can manipulate the part that has the edge banding, what I've found best is to place the edge banded edge down on a bench or scrap plywood and score the banding (on the exposed underside) repeatedly with a razor knife then you can break off the overhanging banding. It's best when you can support the banded edge if at all possible. Then take a 180grit sanding block and sand the edge lightly at a 45 degree angle where it contacts the stock. You should be able to pretty much make the edge line disappear and end up with a smooth feeling edge. I've found most of the "trimming tools" made for the task are pretty worthless.

[Tom Ewell]

Unrelated perhaps but thought this guy's solution is pretty neat.


277174
http://dc105.4shared.com/doc/y21TB8Wf/preview.html

[Ole Anderson]

I did a ton of edge banding on my kitchen euro boxes, Hickory which is difficult to work with. I bought one of those razor trimming tools, didn't work worth a darn, never could figure out why. I set up a tall fence on my router table and used a flush trim bit for both solid edging and banding. That worked fine, all I had to do was power sand the edge with just enough of a radius so you couldn't catch the edge of the tape or see any glue. To trim the ends I just stood the panel on edge with the banding down and used a 1" chisel held flush to the end and with one whack with the mallet on a sacrificial board the excess would pop right off. When I had only one or two pieces to do and the router table was set up for something else I just used a sharp chisel held flush and watched the grain pattern. Oh, don't bother buying a banding iron, just use your wife's iron on the hottest setting.

[Jerome Stanek]

I have an edge band trimmer that I made years ago. All it is is a block of wood with a 45% groove and a forstener hole drilled at an angle the a utility blade is mounted in the hole.

[Matt Meiser]

I use the Fastcap trimmer. With real wood you do need to be careful about tearout, but I read a tip somewhere to stick some banding on the insides of one side of the trimmer. Then use that side to waste off most of it, flip and do the other side for a flush trim. I did that to mine years ago and have almost zero problems with tearout, even on red oak.

And stop using the old-fashioned iron on stuff. The Fastcap self stick stuff is awesome.

[Julian Tracy]

Had a large job with a lot of iron on edge banding and figured it'd be the perfect place to utilize the Festool MFK700 kit I had recently picked up. Ended up being more trouble and less efficiency than you'd think...

So I just use the same edge banding trimmers everyone else does and you do have to be a bit more careful with the real wood stuff, though I like Matt's idea of shimming out one side of the trimmer for a first pass.

For the plastic stuff, I no longer use a file to soften the edge, I've found that a razor blade drawn sideways across the edge does a good job of it - as well as a file with less issues.

For corners, keep a sharp chisel nearby as previously mentioned.

[Mike Cozad]

I use the Fastcap trimmer. With real wood you do need to be careful about tearout, but I read a tip somewhere to stick some banding on the insides of one side of the trimmer. Then use that side to waste off most of it, flip and do the other side for a flush trim. I did that to mine years ago and have almost zero problems with tearout, even on red oak.

And stop using the old-fashioned iron on stuff. The Fastcap self stick stuff is awesome.

Which do you use, the un or prefinished? How well does it match and if unfinished, how well does it take stain, etc.? I guess I'm assuming you don't use the pvc on natural wood applications....

[Matt Meiser]

I've used the PVC on prefinished maple because they had one that was a perfect match, and honestly its a pretty good fake. I've also used the unfinished real wood in oak and cherry and both finished the same as the real wood and plywood parts.

[Rich Engelhardt]

Thanks Matt,
I remember to hunt down some Fastcap next project or when the iron on I bought runs out.
Iron on was the only kind Hartville had on the shelf so that's what I picked up.

[Peter Kelly]

Best way I've found to manually trim wood edgebanding is with a nice sharp cabinet scraper held about 45º to the edge of the panel. Trim ends with a 1" chisel with the taped end of the board facing down on the work top.
http://peterakelly.com/media/diagram.png

I'll do a video of this one day.

[Phil Thien]

And stop using the old-fashioned iron on stuff. The Fastcap self stick stuff is awesome.

How does it compare in holding strength? And what if I screw-up a piece and need to remove/replace it? The iron-on stuff can be ironed-off. Can the self-stick stuff be peeled off?

[Matt Meiser]

Yes, early on it can be peeled off. It might pull up some bits of the plywood core. After time the adhesive grabs more and I haven't had to peel it off and haven't had a single failure--2 kitchens full of shelves and even some stuff in my shop. Ironing-off when I've done it left some rough adhesive behind. This doesn't.

[Matt Meiser]

Thanks Matt,
I remember to hunt down some Fastcap next project or when the iron on I bought runs out.
Iron on was the only kind Hartville had on the shelf so that's what I picked up.

I get it from Woodworker's Hardware which is my usual hardware source.

[Richard McComas]

Since we are not allow to post links.

Go to the WoodWeb's site and do a search "trim iron on edge banding". You will find in the results "Entry-Level Edgebanding". Look through that tread and you'll find a video of a shop made banding trimmer using the razor blade. Looks like it works well. It's a bit different than the razor trimmers in this thread.

Good Luck finding it.

[Erik Christensen]

I have the Virutex Hand Edgeplaner and only use hot glue wood edge banding - done a couple hundred feet and maybe had a total of 3 or 4 sections that did not trim well - with hot melt it is dead easy to re-heat, remove and try again. Sandpaper and a wood block at a slight angle to clean up the cut edge and replace the paper often as the glue does gunk it up quickly. this is the only system I have ever used and as I am not that good a ww'er it never occured to me that others would have a problem (usually that is me)

[john bateman]

I wonder if one of these flush planes would work.
Seems like you could really bear down on the face surface which might help prevent the blade from following the grain of the edge banding.

[Bill Waslo]

277094Anyone else using Forum Runner think it's difficult?

4 years later -- johnny, that is absolutely brilliant. I've bought and thrown out several of band-it razor tools, I'm convinced they were designed to waste band-it veneer tape so you have to buy more! Your solution looks ideal to me. Now, to go get some double-sided tape

[Jim Morgan]

Back in 2013, I wrote a review of the FastCap Quad trimmer on A***n.com:

"With a single-edge trimmer, direction of cut can be varied so that you are always cutting with the grain. With a double-edge trimmer, like this one, unless you are trimming man-made materials with no grain, no matter which direction you cut, you will be cutting with the grain on one side of the banding and against the grain on the other side. Sure you can pull the trimmer apart and use one side at a time as a single-edge trimmer, but there's a better way.

When you cut, the bevel of the blade (like the chip-breaker on a plane) tries to push the shaving away from the surface at a fairly radical angle. One of two things will happen. The grain can break at or shortly in front of the edge of the blade, the shaving will curl, and you'll get a clean cut. Or the grain will resist breaking, causing cracking well ahead of the blade edge, and you get a ragged cut and tear-out. Grain resistance is related to both grain direction (if it is sloping out, there is little resistance) and thickness (or in the case of a trimmer like this, width) of the cut: fine cuts minimize tear-out.

I pulled the trimmer apart and on the 'bottom' of each side, I stuck pieces of UHMW tape (about 1/64" thick) on the little bits of plastic to each side of the horns of the blade that normally bear on the front and back faces of the stock you are banding. I left the 'top' of each side (on the other side of the posts) as it was. After re-assembling the trimmer, I make two cuts to trim the banding. The first is with the trimmer right side up, with the added tape bearing on the stock. This holds the blades a bit away from the faces of the stock, hogging off most of the material, leaving the banding with 1/64" overhang on each side. There is tear-our on the downhill grain side, but this tear-out is confined to the overhang. For the second cut, I turn the trimmer over, so that the blades are now snug to the faces of the stock. The remaining overhang is narrow enough that the grain easily fractures, the shaving curls tightly, and the resulting edge is quite clean. If any additional clean-up is needed, I'll take a pass or two with a finely adjusted block plane.

As always, the blades benefit from honing. I flattened and polished the backs of the blades on a succession of waterstones and honed the bevels with sandpaper wrapped around a bamboo skewer. Carbide blades are much more difficult to sharpen and typically come from the manufacturer less sharp than carbon steel blades. If you are trimming abrasive materials, carbide blades will hold up much longer, but they will produce a poorer quality edge."

[Bill Waslo]

277094

johnny means -- I got a chance to try this today, after stopping for a $2 roll of double-face tape at Harbor Freight. Works like a dream! I just did all around two medium large boards, results are absolutely perfect, and without requiring stress, skill or concentration! Better than any other technique I've ever tried.

[Andy Giddings]

Back in 2013, I wrote a review of the FastCap Quad trimmer on A***n.com:

"With a single-edge trimmer, direction of cut can be varied so that you are always cutting with the grain. With a double-edge trimmer, like this one, unless you are trimming man-made materials with no grain, no matter which direction you cut, you will be cutting with the grain on one side of the banding and against the grain on the other side. Sure you can pull the trimmer apart and use one side at a time as a single-edge trimmer, but there's a better way.

When you cut, the bevel of the blade (like the chip-breaker on a plane) tries to push the shaving away from the surface at a fairly radical angle. One of two things will happen. The grain can break at or shortly in front of the edge of the blade, the shaving will curl, and you'll get a clean cut. Or the grain will resist breaking, causing cracking well ahead of the blade edge, and you get a ragged cut and tear-out. Grain resistance is related to both grain direction (if it is sloping out, there is little resistance) and thickness (or in the case of a trimmer like this, width) of the cut: fine cuts minimize tear-out.

I pulled the trimmer apart and on the 'bottom' of each side, I stuck pieces of UHMW tape (about 1/64" thick) on the little bits of plastic to each side of the horns of the blade that normally bear on the front and back faces of the stock you are banding. I left the 'top' of each side (on the other side of the posts) as it was. After re-assembling the trimmer, I make two cuts to trim the banding. The first is with the trimmer right side up, with the added tape bearing on the stock. This holds the blades a bit away from the faces of the stock, hogging off most of the material, leaving the banding with 1/64" overhang on each side. There is tear-our on the downhill grain side, but this tear-out is confined to the overhang. For the second cut, I turn the trimmer over, so that the blades are now snug to the faces of the stock. The remaining overhang is narrow enough that the grain easily fractures, the shaving curls tightly, and the resulting edge is quite clean. If any additional clean-up is needed, I'll take a pass or two with a finely adjusted block plane.

As always, the blades benefit from honing. I flattened and polished the backs of the blades on a succession of waterstones and honed the bevels with sandpaper wrapped around a bamboo skewer. Carbide blades are much more difficult to sharpen and typically come from the manufacturer less sharp than carbon steel blades. If you are trimming abrasive materials, carbide blades will hold up much longer, but they will produce a poorer quality edge."
Good idea, James. I have the same trimmer and have had some success using light pressure only for the first pass which has a similar result to your tape idea, but will try out the UHMW tape next time. I would also argue that even if the edge is a bit ragged, by the time you put a small radius on (I typically use a 1.5mm round over bit) its ready for finishing