Edge banding - advice wanted

[Dick Snyder]

I am making a toy box for my grandson. I am copying this commercially available toy box.

will be made from plywood but I have to do a lot of edge banding with solid wood to be able to round the edges as much as I want. I have a power planer. Would you recommend planing all the solid wood to the same thickness as the plywood (which means my gluing must be spot on) or would you leave it oversize and use a block plane to make the edges match the plywood after gluing?

TIA.

Dick Snyder

[Leon]

Actually I cut it slightly wider and sand the edge flush with the plywood. Thin strips sand very quickly.

[B A R R Y]

What he said, if the strips are really thin.

If the strips are tad thicker than normal to accommodate the shaping, a router with a flush trim bit (bearing on the end away from the shank) will also clean it up nicely. This is easier on a table with a tall fence, or if you clamp a block to the side you're not cutting to steady the router.

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[Dick Snyder]

The strips are going to be closer to 1/2" thick in order to get the rounding I want. That is your option #2 Barry. Thanks for the idea on the flush trim bit. That is what I will do.

[DAClark]

Hello Dick... I clicked the url, so I am curious which box you choose to build? It is my experience that those treasures that grandpa built live through generations, so I know that price isn't the object, but that solid wood box for $115 looks hard to beat against the price of good plywood and the labor to edgeband...which begs the question, why not go with solid wood? I have had success with making solid wood edgebands at the same specification as the roundover bit that I intend to use...such as

3/8s, if I want a full roundover on a three/quarter ply...trim and shape at the same time...you run the router on the surface, rather than the edge. You can cut your bands wide, then overhang the router bit into the cut by placing plystock behind the band...to run the router on...and dropping the bit to run flush(+) with your workpiece...it's easy...block sand to finish.

[SonomaProducts.com]

This is the one place where I use a scraper. I am not much of a hand tool guy but I make the bands about 1/16th over sized, glue them with

1/32 over and under and then scrape the down to the ply and finla hand sane. The veneers now days are so thin on ply that sanding through is a big risk.

Also, on square ply that will be banded 4 sides, I run the ply long in one direction. Then I band across the properly cut direction but run the bands about 1/4 in long.. After it dries I cut it to size on the TS. You have to play some games on the fence side for the first cut but that's easy to figure out. Then I band the other side, again running them long, then flush cut with a japan saw and plane\sand out the butt corners.

Think about where on your project you can run them long, trim and then run over nad cut to a butt in the other. Much easier and more precise then trying to glue them on at the right length.

[Dick Snyder]

There is little doubt that I could buy something cheaper than it will cost me to make it but that is not why we do this stuff! Also, the furniture in the child's room is all birch finished with a redwood stain. This wll match. Good point on making edgebands at the same specification as the roundover bit - thanks

[Dick Snyder]

That middle paragraph of yours is a mouthful. I need to draw a sketch to see what you are talking about.

[SonomaProducts.com]

Yeah, I do that sometimes.

I'm just saying do 2 parallel sides with hard bands running long off each end. Then trim them and the ply at the same time to finish size. Now you have two sides with perefectly flush cut edges. So the ply neede to be oversized in the one diomension when you started so you can trim it down to size and trim the bands at the same time.

Then band the other two sides, run long and trim flush just the bands.

I love to type.

[Dick Snyder]

Got it.

Thanks.

[Robatoy]

You must observe grain when doing that. The bit can catch and lift/ tear the banding. Climb-cutting will make that a little better. If you have a lot of that kind of work to do, put a board between the fence and a dado blade. Elevate the dado to be flush with the top of that board, then run your edge over the dado. I have done thousands of feet of edging that way with fast reliable results. Then I used this thing:

[Robatoy]

messagenews: [e-mail]...

I prefer this method: (Drew this up for you)

[Phisherman]

Make it 1/64" oversize. Be extra careful you don't blow through the top ply layer when sanding.

[Dick Snyder]

table saw? I assume this is a technique for ripping thin strips??? If it is a technique using the flush trim bit, I'm having some trouble figuring out what I am looking at.

[Dick Snyder]

> r I just figured out what the picture was that you sent in another posting. It was this technique with the dado blade. Very cool idea. Thanks. I don't have that much to do but I have filed this technique away for future use.