First Commission

jg2259

Jim
Senior User
Hello all,
I’m building my first commission for my first client and want this to be right. It is a shoe rack made from red oak, with the sides made of frame and panel construction. I haven’t glued up the sides yet, because I’m waiting for the client to finalize stain color, and I want to pre-finish at least the panels, or as much pre-finishing that I can.

I need some help with a few issues before I proceed any further.
The shelves (4) will be 3/4” red oak plywood, set into 1/4” deep dados. The bottom in the front will be a solid 3/4” piece 4” high and will be doweled into the sides for strength.
My issue is, do I use 3/4” solid edgebanding on the plywood shelf fronts, or iron on veneer?
When I make the dados in the sides, do I make stopped dados or let the shelves protrude to the ends of the sides?
Im wanting to put some type of profile on the front edges of the sides, to give the piece some character, and if I do, I should probably put the same profile on the shelf fronts. I have an Ogee bit, which is what my rail and stile bit is.
I am relying on the shelves, the bottom front piece and the back, to give the whole piece some strength, but I’m not sure that will be enough.
I have many more questions, but this post is long enough as it is.
Thanks in advance for any guidance or direction that you might offer.
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creasman

Jim
Staff member
Corporate Member
My thoughts:
My issue is, do I use 3/4” solid edgebanding on the plywood shelf fronts, or iron on veneer?
Use 3/4" solid edge banding glued to the front of each shelf. Your plywood is probably about 1/64" less than 3/4". Keep the banding slightly proud and sand it flush after the glue dries. I'd make the banding 1/4" - 1/2" inch thick. With this being a shoe rack a thin veneered edge banding will eventually get snagged as a shoe slides out and begin to come off.
When I make the dados in the sides, do I make stopped dados or let the shelves protrude to the ends of the sides?
This has more to do with aesthetics than anything else. My personal preference is stopped dados. There's less of a joint to hide that way. If you use a 1/2" thick banding on the front of a shelf then you can stop the dado a half inch back from the front.

Nice project!

Jim
 

Bas

Recovering tool addict
Bas
Corporate Member
+1 on solid edgebanding. You don't want iron-on edge banding to come off a year from now because the owner drags the shoes off the shelf vs. lifting them. You could even go with a contrasting wood if the client would like that. If you go that route, then iron-on veneer would be fine (and quicker) for the back of the shelves.

I think stopped dadoes would look better. A bit harder to cut, but I think that's worth it. As for edge treatment, ogees can get very busy very quickly. A simple chamfer or roundover is often best. A roundover is probably also best on the ede banding, since it's least likely to snag/ get damaged.

Nice looking piece, that's going to be a great shoe rack!
 

Jim M.

Woody
Corporate Member
+2 for what Bas and Jim said, more durable and a cleaner look. Great start so far.
 

Roy G

Roy
Senior User
How wide is the piece? What are you going to use for the back? Are you going to rabbet the back into the sides? Glue the back of the shelves to the back?

Roy G
 

jg2259

Jim
Senior User
It will be approx 36” w x 36” h x 16” d. I was planning to put the back into a rabbet, but won’t be gluing the shelves to the back.


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mpeele

michael
User
I think weather to use thick or thin edge banding depends on the profile you want for the finished edge and the visual affect.

Thin iron on edge banding can be just as durable as wet glued thin or thick. Like everything it's a combination of tools and technique.
 

LocoWoodWork

Steve
Corporate Member
Solid edge. Here's a link to a desk DIRESTA recently uploaded where he uses ply with solid edge banding and has tips (later in video) on glue up and final sanding to get band flat with ply.
 

Jeff

New User
Jeff
Solid wood edge banding is easy to work with and finish the edges with a block plane and sandpaper.

 

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