plywood drawer construction: edge cover

[keith ouellette]

I am making some drawers for a cabinet out of 1/2 in birch ply (I ha just enough scrap pieces to make the drawers thats why I want to use it) but I want to cover the top edge. I don't know what it is called but I know their is a thin birch veneer tape that can be used for this.
Would this be good to use, would it stay in place or would placing thing in the drawer and hitting the edge be to hard on it? would I be better off gluing on some wood to cover the edge?
while I'm at it. Does anyone clear coat the inside of drawers?

[frank shic]

keith, what you are referring to is called edgebanding. it comes in many different species to match your plywood stock and it can be either ironed on or stuck on. it also comes prefinished or unfinished. many of us do clear coat the inside of the drawer although it's not absolutely necessary depending on where the drawer is going to be utilized (kitchen vs bathroom). as far as durability goes the thinner WOOD edgebanding is a little bit more brittle than PVC edgebanding although it holds up fairly well by itself.

[Chris Schoolland]

I attached 1/4" thick oak on the top of the 1/2" drawer sides in my work truck. I used actually a thin layer of PL Premium and micropinned (23 gauge) the oak on. It's held up to 4 years of daily use in a mobile application--I'm a finish carpenter. Absolutely no problems, even on the edge of my largest drawer (which has 3/4" sides) where I have to rest my ~100lb Delta 22-580 planer as part of it's extraction process.

I waxed all drawer surfaces with paste wax, which worked well for keeping the sides sliding smoothly. The drawer bottoms ride on teflon impregnated furniture slides let into the bottom back of the drawer and front edge of the carcass. But I digress. In short, 1/4" thick edging has worked well for me.

[keith ouellette]

Do they have either type (pvc or wood veneer) edge banding at home depot and does the pvc match the birch as well as the wood edge banding?
(thanks for the replies)

[Jim Becker]

Keith, I wouldn't get your hope up for sourcing edge banding at the 'borg...I'd be very surprised to find it there. But you can get it from a variety of places, including JoeWoodworker.com, Rockler, Woodcraft and any number of veneer places. The downside is that the narrowest material is typically about 15/16" and is designed for banding 3/4" nominal material. For your application, you might want to buy the wider stuff and spit it manually to avoid waste on your 1/2" drawer stock. But you could also make your own thin veneer via re-sawing and glue it on...just use painter's tape to "clamp" the material to the edge while the glue cures.

[Thom Sturgill]

I bought some 3/4" birch edgebanding at HD last week. I did not see any other specie, or the PVC stuff.

[Jim Becker]

I bought some 3/4" birch edgebanding at HD last week. I did not see any other specie, or the PVC stuff.

Where in the store did you find it, Thom? Heat-adhesive back? Just curious as I'd like to look for it for grins the next time I'm at HD.

[frank shic]

birch edgebanding as well as white melamine HEAT activated edgebanding is readily found at the orange giant. it's next to the lumber section, jim.

[Jim Becker]

In the sheet goods area, Frank? Like were they keep the pre-cut melemine stuff?

[alex adkison]

I have seen it at the HD hanging by the precut ply panels. They had birch, red oak & white oak. All iron on

[Bill Huber]

You may want to take a look at this..

http://thewoodwhisperer.com/category/videos/


It will show you your options on edge-banding.

I got mine at HD, on a rack but the plywood, I think they have 3 different colors. I have used it and it works very well.

[Ed Peters]

I use ½" Baltic Birch plywood for all my drawers (I make more than just a few drawers) and I like the look of the edge laminations. Once they are clear coated they are really quite attractive, assuming you are actually using BB plywood which comes in 60" x 60" sheets. As to finishing, yes, all drawers live longer, happier lives if they have a seal coat. I also makes cleaning a lot easier. I choose to use lacquer both inside and out.

Ed

[Craig D Peltier]

Keith, I wouldn't get your hope up for sourcing edge banding at the 'borg...I'd be very surprised to find it there. But you can get it from a variety of places, including JoeWoodworker.com, Rockler, Woodcraft and any number of veneer places. The downside is that the narrowest material is typically about 15/16" and is designed for banding 3/4" nominal material. For your application, you might want to buy the wider stuff and spit it manually to avoid waste on your 1/2" drawer stock. But you could also make your own thin veneer via re-sawing and glue it on...just use painter's tape to "clamp" the material to the edge while the glue cures.

At the Borg its always under the Wood/ Composite shelving in bins at all the local stores here. White PVC, Birch and Maple.Iron on type.

[Randy Cohen]

does the iron on stay on? the words 'iron on' makes me think it will peal off soon.

[Ellen Benkin]

Different HDs hide this stuff in different places. If you want a good laugh, try to find an "associate" who knows what you're talking about. Edge banding? HA!

[Chris Padilla]

My personal preference is for edging plywood is glue and hardwood. A router table with a flush-trim bit will flush it up pretty (or a hand plane) and then trim the ends and you'll have a very durable edge.

"Iron on" and wood just doesn't feel right to me.

[Thom Sturgill]

Where in the store did you find it, Thom? Heat-adhesive back? Just curious as I'd like to look for it for grins the next time I'm at HD.

It was hanging next to the 2'x4' panels. Yes, it was heat activated.

[Bill Huber]

does the iron on stay on? the words 'iron on' makes me think it will peal off soon.

The ones I have put on are doing very well, there are no areas that have come loose.
I used the ones from HD and then work just fine.

[John Lucas]

does the iron on stay on? the words 'iron on' makes me think it will peal off soon.

Randy,
Yes and no. I find that if you use an iron to heat and press the banding down AND FOLLOW THIS WITH A HEAT SINK it will stay forever. What most people do is just iron and hope it will stay. The heat sink can be anything cool that can press the hot edge banding into the edge of the wood. It doesnt take any real time...no more time than heating the edge banding with the iron. You can use a 2 x 4 scrap. My best "heat sink" is my trusty block plane with the blade retracted but I often just pick up a scrap block of wood. What you want to do is put pressure on the edgebanding when it is hot and once cooled, move on.

http://woodshopdemos.com/bkcs-412.jpg

[frank shic]

if you bevel the edges of the edgebanding, it'll decrease the likelihood of something catching and ripping it somewhere down the line. although i started with the heat activated edgebanding, i much prefer the PVC edgebanding that fastcap makes as it's much more durable than melamine or veneer edgebanding.

ed peters has got the easiest solution though: just use higher grade plywood and leave the edges alone! for a few bucks more you can save yourself all the extra time and expense over applying edgebanding by hand!