I am planning on edge-banding 1 1/2 thick shelves (2 sheets of 3/4" plywood glued together) with 1-by-X poplar strips
I am deciding between two approaches:
- Glue 1x2" poplar strips to the leading edge of each shelf and then sand the joint line smooth.
This would require precise alignment and gluing since the 1x2" is at most a smidgeon wider than the thickness of the 2 glued sheets of plywood (since each sheet is typically dimensionally a little less than 3/4" wide).
- Rip 1x3" poplar down to an actual width of say 1 3/4". Then approximately align and glue the poplar strip followed by applying a router with a flush cutting bit and bearing to trim down the excess banding.
This requires less precise alignment when applying the poplar band but will require extra work with the router. The extra work would be worth it if I can be reasonably sure of a better result.
Any thoughts or alternative suggestions?
Thanks!