Walnut plywood with walnut edge banding

[andrew whicker]

Hi folks,

I have a project coming up that will have walnut plywood with walnut edge banding (actual wood glued on, not store bought edge banding) and I want to know how this will look with a tung oil finish.

Will this be completely obvious? I'm expecting the plywood to take tung oil differently from the solid lumber.

Thanks and cheers,

[Wayne Lomman]

Can you get hold of any scraps to try it? It's the only way to be sure. Also don't make the edge strips too thick so that any colour difference is minimised. Cheers

[Gregory King]

The solid walnut edge is the way to go. I've never been a big fan of the tape. I've used it, but I'm always afraid something will catch the edge and lift it. Rip your solid walnut about 3/8" thick and approx. 1/16" wider than the ply thickness. Glue the surface well. Use a spreader bar above the piece before clamping. Wait about an hour before blocking planning. Finish with 120 grit in a RO sander. Comes out great every time.

[Larry Frank]

I agree with the solid edging. I have used wide blue masking tape to hold the piece onto the plywood and has worked well.

[Ken Combs]

The solid walnut edge is the way to go. I've never been a big fan of the tape. I've used it, but I'm always afraid something will catch the edge and lift it. Rip your solid walnut about 3/8" thick and approx. 1/16" wider than the ply thickness. Glue the surface well. Use a spreader bar above the piece before clamping. Wait about an hour before blocking planning. Finish with 120 grit in a RO sander. Comes out great every time.

That's been my technique also, but I think I'll try these the next time the need arises:

http://www.mlcswoodworking.com/shopsite_sc/store/html/smarthtml/pages/bit_edgeband_ogee.html

One can make the exposed portion of the band smaller while providing more glue surface and making alignment easier. at least it looks like it would be easier to align.

[Gregory King]

Never tried the router bits. Wanted too, but thought I might regret the purchase if they didn't quite meet expectations. They would probably save the block planing portion no doubt. I wonder if anyone else has tried them. Greg

[John Lankers]

Andrew, yes it will be noticeable. Keep the solid wood edging thin as Wayne suggested and rout on a bullnose profile, if you can, to soften the transition. Try it on some scrap and see how it looks. To bring the edging flush with the plywood use a bearing guided bit in the router table or use hand tools if you desire.