How to make laminate flush with edging?

[Ian Scofield]

I'm building a workbench and am going to be using formica as the top. I'll be putting in on top of a 3/4" piece of baltic birch. Then I'll be gluing 1x4 boards to make a decorative edge.

Now my question is how do I make the edging 100% flush with the laminate? Normally I'd just sand it, but this would mess up the laminate and scratch the surface. A hand plane maybe? Any thoughts? I see this design all the time and the edging feels almost seamless.

First photo shows where the laminate would be (printer paper for now) and the 2nd shows the rough design.

[Jim Matthews]

If you can prepare the edge pieces in advance, so that they're uniformly flat along the show face -
a straight edge or sheet of known to be flat plywood could be used to help guide your assembly.

Will you pin the edging in place?

Start from the corner that you'll see, every time you enter the room and work out from there.

[lowell holmes]

I would install the edging after the lamination. You can level the edging with a trim router and a pattern bit.

Or, a hand plane will level the edging if it is close.

[Ian Scofield]

Thanks for the replies. I haven't started building anything yet this was just a quick mockup to visualize my design with scraps I had in the garage.

I'll be installing the lamination on the plywood with an overhang and trimming it with a router/flush trim bit. Then I'll be installing the edging. I hadn't thought about using a flush trim bit again to trim the edging down till it matched perfectly. I don't have a routing table only a handheld (I'm in the process of building the routing table which is what this project is) so I don't have a lot of faith in making them extremely flush without nicking the laminate.

[Sam Murdoch]

I would install the edging after the lamination. You can level the edging with a trim router and a pattern bit.

Or, a hand plane will level the edging if it is close.

This is best - and if you have a biscuiter or a Festool Domino these would help immensely to align the surfaces.

My preference however is to apply the wood edge first and laminate over the top. Just flush trim on the face. This is a very clean look that is much easier to achieve and still results with a nice wooden face.

[Sean Tracey]

In order to get that edging flush with the top, a laminate trim bit will do the job. Adjust the depth of the bit so that the bearing will be on the very edge of the laminate. If you have the laminate top facing up and put the laminate router base on the edging, gravity will tend to tip the router down which will make the laminate bit move away from the laminate and nick the wood edging instead of the laminate.

If you put the wood edging so it faces up and you are careful, you can avoid nicking either.

You don't want a lot of wood edging sticking up to trim. I would also consider making the wood edge thinner or rabbetted so that the thickness from the laminate top to the outside edge of the wood edging is thinner, maybe 3/8 or 1/2". Eagle America and Whiteside have bits with a glue well that makes keeping the laminate bit blade away from the laminate top easier while still having the bit deep enough to give good registration on the top. The glue well is just a little more length between the bottom of the cutting edges and the top of the bearing. They also make bits with a slight taper to them.

I would be wanting to use my Festool MFK 700 on this job, because it has a 1.5 degree base that is designed for this exact purpose. The only thing is that you probably need to buy Festool's bit for the job which is at least twice what a good quality bit from Eagle America or Whiteside would cost, but it comes as close as possible to making the job goof proof.

[johnny means]

Tongue and groove is pretty much how most laminate shops handle this. Do a couple of test pieces and the real thing is a piece of cake.

[Ian Scofield]

Tongue and groove is pretty much how most laminate shops handle this. Do a couple of test pieces and the real thing is a piece of cake.


Could you please elaborate on how a tongue and groove would handle this? I've never done one but upon looking it up online, it seems suitable for putting flatter pieces together as if you're making flooring or a table top, not necessarily edging?

[Richard McComas]

The best and most expensive would be a "lipping planer". I have a Lamello Cantex lipping planer and it excels at this type of work. If you do much solid wood banding such a shelves or cabinet boxes it a great time saver and very accurate.

Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S7yjmLuXwnk

[Jim Matthews]

$1700?

That's about what I've got invested in ALL my handtools.
That might be out of reach for a one time use...

[Huck Schwee]

Tongue and groove is pretty much how most laminate shops handle this. Do a couple of test pieces and the real thing is a piece of cake.

I think this (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TBac8PbFIZw)is what johnny was talking about.

In terms of what is the best method for this, I would suggest clamping a few blocks of wood to the laminated table top that overhang the edge by an inch or so. Then, you can use this edge as a reference when attaching the side trim. This will make trim and table top in the same plane and should only a require a minimal amount of extra work.

Otherwise, a handplane or sanding block with tape over the laminated portion is the best method if you don't want to use the flush trim bit with the router.

[Wayne Jolly]

I just went through this with the router table I am building. All of my careful planning and setup when applying the edging came out "pretty good". But there was still a few areas where a workpiece would catch on the edging. I thought about just using a flush trim bit in a router, but the alignment and setup would have to be PERFECT. If it wasn't, the lip would remain, or the edge of the laminate would be trimmed too. Then there was also the problem of making sure the router did not tip at all. If I had one of those compact (trim) routers, I might have tried that, but all I had was full-size 2 1/2HP routers which would have been a little unwieldy for this operation.

Since I was only looking at removing at most a few thousandths of wood in a few areas, what worked best for me was to clamp a straight edge onto my top so that the laminate was protected, and just the edging was exposed. Then I used either a shoulder plane (with a freshly sharpened plane iron and very shallow depth of cut), or a block of wood with sandpaper glued onto it and some elbo grease. Mostly the sandpaper block.

Wayne

[Art Mann]

My advice is to do your best to install the edging exactly flush with the laminate to start with. I recently built a router table top just like what you are proposing and I didn't find it very difficult. It is going to be difficult indeed to hand hold a router riding on a narrow band so that the trim bit will cut in the exact plane as the laminate.

[Ken Fitzgerald]

This is best - and if you have a biscuiter or a Festool Domino these would help immensely to align the surfaces.

My preference however is to apply the wood edge first and laminate over the top. Just flush trim on the face. This is a very clean look that is much easier to achieve and still results with a nice wooden face.

I agree with Sam....and I take it one step further. I used a chamfet bit and router to ease the edge to prevent catching or slicing by the sharp edge. Check out the top on my router table:

http://www.sawmillcreek.org/attachment.php?attachmentid=264114&d=1370829182

[Charles Taylor]

I agree with Sam....and I take it one step further. I used a chamfet bit and router to ease the edge to prevent catching or slicing by the sharp edge.

I made my router table top the same way Ken did, chamfer and all. I've also gone the way of applying the laminate first and wrapping the top with solid wood. What Sam and Ken recommend is much easier.

[lowell holmes]

You know, the small trim routers so popular today are an outgrowth of the laminate trimmers we used back in the 70's.

The "Formica" (that's what we called plastic laminate in those days) bits did a good job of trimming formica to an edge.

We even used 14" course mill bastard files to level the formica.

I feel like you are over thinking the issue. You can make a practice piece of top to see how it works before you commit to trimming it.

[Steve Menendez]

Maybe I'm misunderstanding the surface you are trying to trim, but would it be possible to flip the surface "upside down", so that the laminate rests on a flat surface, then install the edging against the same flat surface?

Steve.

[Art Mann]

Maybe I'm misunderstanding the surface you are trying to trim, but would it be possible to flip the surface "upside down", so that the laminate rests on a flat surface, then install the edging against the same flat surface?

Steve.

That is a good idea. What I did was clamp some guide blocks onto the formica work surface that protruded out over the edge and used those as a guide to rest the edge material against. I couldn't turn the laminate face down on a flat surface because I had already mounted the table top to the cabinet base. It just wasn't that much trouble to get it right.

Edit: Having seen Ken's top, I might do it that way if I need to do it again. That looks nice.

[Sam Murdoch]

Here is my kitchen counter top done as I described and as Ken did with his router table. You can see I just eased the edge of the laminate with a small round over bit.
Not better - just different.

290286

[johnny means]

This is what I'm talking about. Pretty much standard operation in the countertop industry. The idea being to use pre finished edging in laminate tops.

[Kevin Post]

I agree with Ken and Sam when they advise applying the edging to the plywood then covering the whole thing with laminate is the easiest. The countertop fabricators do it this way and chamfer the edge as is shown in the photo of Ken's router table.

That said... When do we ever do anything the easy way. I applied the banding after (just like you want to) because I wanted to feature more of the hardwood edge than a chamfer would. I carefully applied masking tape to protect the laminate during sanding and machining then trimmed it flush using a router and pattern bit. It was not 100% flush yet.

I obtained the perfectly flush and finish-ready surface using a cabinet scraper to carefully clean everything up. If you've never used these, they're magical. :) Test your methods on a mock up first in case you have a no-cuss policy in your shop.

[johnny means]

In the industry the lam over option is the considered pretty cheesy. Its defeats the point of the wood edge. The wooden edge allows you to create a softer or fancier profiled edge. It is also a way to prevent chipping and lifting of the laminate. Neither of these objectives is achieved with a lam over.

[Mel Fulks]

Interesting observation, Johnny. Sam's method is so rarely used around here that I can't comment other than to say I
like it. Have done a lot of tops where the wood had to be hand leveled to the laminate,and I don't like that. I do think that
the industry always has a bias toward the more expensive option. Rounded wooden edges are more expensive but the rounded post formed edges are a sign of going cheap and square edges cost more. Makes no sense to me.

[Sam Murdoch]

In the industry the lam over option is the considered pretty cheesy. Its defeats the point of the wood edge. The wooden edge allows you to create a softer or fancier profiled edge. It is also a way to prevent chipping and lifting of the laminate. Neither of these objectives is achieved with a lam over.

But for a kitchen or bathroom counter where standing water is often an issue - the lam over method results in a seamless top and you still get a nice wood edge. No brainer for me - cheese I'm happy to eat :D.

[Andrew Pitonyak]

I would install the edging after the lamination. You can level the edging with a trim router and a pattern bit.

I have done this a couple of times, worked great. I own a Festool Router, an edge plate

http://www.festoolusa.com/power-tool-accessories/routers/other-accessories/edging-plate-486058

and the angle arm

http://www.festoolusa.com/power-tool-accessories/routers/template-guides-imperial/angle-arm-486052

IF you go there, they have a nice picture of how to use these to handle this with no problems. Where do you live? I am in Columbus Ohio... If you are close, I am happy to help you with this.

[Ian Scofield]

I have done this a couple of times, worked great. I own a Festool Router, an edge plate

http://www.festoolusa.com/power-tool-accessories/routers/other-accessories/edging-plate-486058

and the angle arm

http://www.festoolusa.com/power-tool-accessories/routers/template-guides-imperial/angle-arm-486052

IF you go there, they have a nice picture of how to use these to handle this with no problems. Where do you live? I am in Columbus Ohio... If you are close, I am happy to help you with this.

I live in WA, unfortunately nowhere close to where you live otherwise I'd take up your offer in a heartbeat. Looking at those festool pictures, that's of course exactly what I want. It's always the festool products...


I agree with Ken and Sam when they advise applying the edging to the plywood then covering the whole thing with laminate is the easiest. The countertop fabricators do it this way and chamfer the edge as is shown in the photo of Ken's router table.

That said... When do we ever do anything the easy way. I applied the banding after (just like you want to) because I wanted to feature more of the hardwood edge than a chamfer would. I carefully applied masking tape to protect the laminate during sanding and machining then trimmed it flush using a router and pattern bit. It was not 100% flush yet.

I obtained the perfectly flush and finish-ready surface using a cabinet scraper to carefully clean everything up. If you've never used these, they're magical. http://www.sawmillcreek.org/images/smilies/smile.gif Test your methods on a mock up first in case you have a no-cuss policy in your shop.


Thank you for the tips/advice. I've never used a cabinet scraper before and this describes the process I think I'm going to go with to a T. I do want to show off the edge more than just a regular chamfer...but who knows after a quick mockup I may decide to laminate the whole top and chamfer the edges.

Do you have any recommendations for a cabinet scraper that you use?

[Chris Padilla]

Do you have any recommendations for a cabinet scraper that you use?

Cabinet scrapers are a dime a dozen. Just search online for some and pick up the cheapest. The key to a cabinet scraper is SHARPENING them so google that as well.

[Larry Browning]

I built my router table top like Ken F. did his. However if you are dead set on your design, I think the tongue and grove concept is good. But I think doing a spline would be easier, quicker, and more accurate. Install the laminate and trim flush to the top. Get yourself a slot cutting router bit and cut a 1/2 in deep slot centered in your top. Then without changing the depth of the bit in the router, cut the mating slot in your edging boards. Then make your splines out of 1/8" hardboard 15/16" wide. You should make a prototype like your pictures for practice. It should lineup perfectly. I used this method to join together cherry plywood. Of course the cherry veneer is thinner than paper so getting the edges aligned perfectly was a must. It worked great!.