Solid Wood Edge Banding?

[Canuck]

Have a pretty elementary question. (from a typical newbie:BangHead: )

If I am using solid wood for 3/4" plywood edge banding, how do I prepare the plywood edge? Do I just depend on the accuracy of my TS or should I cut the ply a wee bit oversize and make a couple of passes with a flush trim bit, prior to securing the edge banding?

Thanks in advance for your suggestions.

Wayne

 

[D L Ames]

Wayne, as long as you are getting a good straight, clean cut with your TS blade then you should be able to cut your ply to the finished size (less the thickness of your band edging) then apply your banding.

D L

 

[Steve D]

Depending upon the quality of your blade, you may want to do a scoring cut first to prevent tearout on the bottom side of your crosscuts. A zero clearance insert also helps. Otherwise you should be fine to go straight from the TS.

 

[Canuck]

Thanks Guys!

As a matter of fact I just installed a zero clearance insert on my saw today. The scoring idea, (along with a strip of painters masking tape) is what I will try.

Thanks again,

Wayne

 

[jmauldin]

Wayne
If you are using real solid wood as a banding on plywood I would highly recommend you attach it with either a tongue and groove cut or a v-cut. If you are using the roll of edge banding that you buy in the store, then, unless your table saw blade is a disaster, you should be able just to iron on the banding straight from the saw. Any roughness of cut will aid in the glue sticking.
Jim in Mayberry

 

[DaveO]

You will be just fine with a cut off the table saw and glueing the edging on. Or you can use #0 or #10 biscuits to help with alignment. Or spend a bunch of money and get one of these bits and get the same results.

Dave

 

[SkintKnuckle]

Wayne, have you given much thought to how you'll attach the edgebanding?

If you're planning to glue, keep in mind that edgebanding is the most difficult application of an adhesive. So you'll do well to head the advice above by using a method to increase the surface are of the glueline, by either going the v-groove route or using bisquits.

Good luck and let us know how it turns out.

 

[Canuck]

I am kinda leaning toward using biscuits. Never done it (ie face frame to the carcass). I may need to practice a little to ensure that I get the face frame aligned right. To date, I have only used my BJ to glue up panels.

I like the idea from DaveO, but I think that I have exhausted my router bit budget for the month, as a result of the Woodcraft router bit sale! :BangHead:

Thanks for all of the suggestions.

It seems that every project I get into raises more questions!:slap: By the way, I am taking on that simple television stand for a daughter that I was asking about plans a few weeks back. We will just have to see what develops.

Wayne

 

[DaveO]

Wayne, using your biscuit jointer for this application is very easy. Just make sure to reference the adjustable fence off of the matching faces. And when you do the wood edging stack a couple pieces together to give the fence more bearing surface.
Also you could always leave the wood edging a little proud and then use a flush trim router bit to shave it down perfectly (WC has a couple of those in the $5 bit selection :-D , and if you didn't get one you can borrow mine.)
Dave

 

[Canuck]

Thanks DaveO! I picked up a 1" flush trim bit last week, so I think that I am all set to go. I appreciate your tips on how to reference the BJ fence as well!

Wayne

 

[jmauldin]

Wayne,
I sure understand about having spent all one can, esp. at this time of year! But to you and all other "termites" out there, check out www.pricecutter.com They have very good bits and at the best prices I have found.
Yes, you can certainly use biscuits, assuming of course that the band is wide (or thick) enough to allow for the cut. I guess I have stayed away from biscuits because, after time, you can see the outline of the biscuit cut on the surface of the work. Don't know why you can with biscuits but not with tongue and groove but there are a lot of things I don't understand.
Keep up posted on how it goes.
Jim in Mayberry

 

[Gofor]

I do this quite a bit, as the budget requires me to use ply, and quite often cheap (i.e pine -hiss, hiss), but the object is to make presentable, serviceable furniture, in my case.
If making a full faceplate and gluing it to the ply carcass, I have found that running a shallow dado around the exterior edge of the face and the interior edge of the carcass pieces gives the best matchup and least grief. By shallow, I mean slightly less then the saw blade kerf, and I use a 60T blade to get a smooth enough glue-up surface.
If gluing the face pieces on individually, I spline the carcass and the pieces (not running all the way to the end on exposed corners) to get a good match. (Using this method, I also index the pieces to one surface as DaveO outlined). I usually use oak, etc, for the spline material.
I use plenty of support (ie featherboards, etc) when cutting the 3/4 (or 23/32) edge pieces and when cutting the splines to ensure the indexed surface stays flush with the fence for either the dado or spline cuts.
If there are any surface mismatches (and I always get some) I true them up with a hand plane or by sanding.
Hope this helps. I am definitely not one of the experts, but this has worked for me:lol:

 

[BobN]

Hi Wayne,

Unless you have a real bad blade you can go from the saw to glue up when doing the banding on the plywood.

It you ain't to busy walk on down this afternoon and we'll play in the shop. I gotta fix the back garage door unless my son comes over for me to work on his car. He was suppose to be here Sunday but didn't show, then it was yesterday and now it's today.

Bob

 

[DavidF]

I think a lot depends on the width of the edge banding. If it's just to cover the edge and is say 1/4" wide then just going from the saw and a plain glue joint will suffice. I have put 3mm (1/8") maple banding around a fairly tight curve with yellow glue and had no problems. If it is much wider and will be subject to a side load; say some one leaning on it or pulling it; then I would go the loose spline route; has worked for me in the passed. Still keep it a hair wider that the ply even when you use DaveO's registration method because sod's law says it will still be off one side:BangHead: DAMHIKT

 

[Canuck]

DavidF

I have decided to go with a 3/4" oak face frame to cover the ply endgrain. Then, I will add some molding on the top and bottom sides as well. I will try and attach it with biscuits, as DaveO suggested.

Jim...I will just have to hope that the biscuits don't swell enough to cause "lumps" on the outside of the carcase. Haven't actually seen this happen before? But, then again I have never used biscuits in 3/4 ply before.

BobN... I have been busy all afternoon cutting up ply for the carcass for this TV stand and missed your message! :BangHead: I would really like to see your shop! Maybe when I get to point of adding this faceframe to the carcass, I will give you a shout for some expertise and guidance. Thanks for the invite!

Thanks,

Wayne

 

[DavidF]

Sounds like you have plan - and that's all we can ever hope for:idea:

 

[Canuck]

Actually David, I am flyin' by the seat of my britches! I find it more fun that way however; I probably go through more stock than anyone else here:BangHead: :BangHead: .

Wayne

 

[Oakwood]

The surface left by your saw should be fine for edge banding a solid band to plywood. To enhance the strength without resorting all the other stuff, is to glue size the edge of the plywood with a solution of glue diluted 50% with water. Apply this dilute glue to the edge of the plywood and let it dry overnight. Be sure all the dilute glue soaks into the edge. You do not want glue build on the edge.
Then apply full strength glue and clamp normaly. You should have a bond stronger than the wood.
The glue size will fill the coarse plywood edge so that when you apply the full strength glue it does not all bleed into the plywood edge.

 

[Canuck]

Thanks a bunch for that tip, John (Oakwood). I have never heard of that little trick and it makes perfect sense!

I may do that in addition to biscuits. Hopefully that will hold it securely.

Thanks again,

Wayne

 

[Bryan S]

Thanks for these tips. I was going to ask this very thing untill I stumbled across this post.