will be making some stuff that will be for indoor use but will be handled and will be mobile
want to keep it thin and light and cheap so ply is the answer but what are the options for the edges
no edge banding or veneer as it will not hold up well enough
think that maybe some solid wood glued and screwed would be best
but maybe there are other treatments or possibilities
Screws? Dowels, maybe. Some may think biscuits are a good idea. Leon would suggest Dominoes. Glue works, too. I glued 2" oak edges on oak ply and it held quite well without screws. Screws in woodworking?!!!
I think he underestimates the strength of glue and punctuation. :-) Solid wood glued to the edge of plywood is as strong as a period at the end of a sentence. It's easier to do that using the shift bar on a keyboard.
Indeed.
I used V cutters (similar shape to those shown on the web site) for a milk-painted plywood project that had edges that were going to see some abuse. However I used a 3 HP shaper with shaper cutters instead of a router. I edged with poplar as I recall and it held up very well.
I don't think those specialty edge bits are worth the hassle. The V bit is trouble waiting to happen. Imagine how easy it would be to split the plywood when clamped.
There's plenty of surface area for glue which makes for a very strong bond on hardwood edging on a flat butt joint. No biscuits or screws or anything else.
When I want a really strong edge band and a higher profile (looks better in most cases), I do a simple rabbet on the edging which can bee seen in this pic.
As I stated in another reply, I would be very worried that the convex V on the hardwood edging would split the plywood when clamped.
I would love to hear from someone like you who has used them. Did you have any issues with that?
My biggest concern with any bit for this purpose is insuring that the stock is perfectly flat when milling. If the trim or the panel is slightly warped the fit will be poor.
As stater earlier by Keith, IIRC, I prefer something like Dominoes to index off the surface of the Domino fence.
As others point out, simply gluing solid wood strip to plywood, assuming it is decent stuff and not full of voids, should be strong enough for most purposes. On one project I cut a centered dado on plywood shelves and a matching tongue on the facing strip. It worked a treat but was a serious PITA to mill accurately and probably not worth the extra effort.
If the joints don't require the edging to curve, it's no problem with polyurethane glue (Gorilla glue etc.). You don't need much clamp pressure when the glue foams/expands. The V takes knocks from any direction without straining the glue joint, so the (relatively weak) bond isn't a problem either.
Getting a good V cut, on a table saw, took some work, though. I plowed a deep edge dado first, then with the work flat on the table, guided it with a narrow false fence against that dado bottom while doing two
45 degree cuts with zero-clearance insert. Shaper would've been quicker.
I just don't see the point. Major overkill. I get belt and suspenders, but this is belt, suspenders, a rope, bungee cords, motorcycle straps, duct tape, and more. What are people doing to their shelves, hitting them with sledge hammers? :-)
I wanted to use pretty wood for the edge, but straight strips from a 1" board had too much width variance. If you make a 45 degree slant cut on a 1x board, that diagonal 'way overlaps the 3/4" plywood. A router/flush cut bit or some false-fence work on the table saw, or even hand planes, finishes it to look nice.
But, it IS a lot of steps. Contact cement and wood tape was easier. If only the wood tape wasn't expensive and ugly...
On 1/7/2018 1:41 PM, Electric Comet wrote: > > will be making some stuff that will be for indoor use > but will be handled and will be mobile > > > want to keep it thin and light and cheap so ply is the answer but > what are the options for the edges > > no edge banding or veneer as it will not hold up well enough > > > think that maybe some solid wood glued and screwed would be best > > but maybe there are other treatments or possibilities > >
How tough does it need to be? Simple oak trim, glue, and pins seems to work pretty well for utility shelves. Puppies on the other hand will tear it off. They chew on everything.
Alignment isn't a trivial proposition. Unless it's going to take some pretty dramatic abuse, glue works fine without the routing. Glue is likely stronger than the fibers of the plywood but it could be that the tongue/groove will provide some strength, as long as there is more than one ply top and bottom.
Of course, that adds to the (visual) "weight" of the panel. It also adds a lot of strength. I did a plough on the edges of my work benches. On my cutting table, I have a piece of MDF set 1/4" proud of the edging so the track saw blade doesn't get the banding. The other is 3/4" proud. I have a piece of melamine in it, with Kreg clamp tracks down two edges (haven't quite finished this one).
I don't even bother trying to get perfect alignment on my edging (including the one pictured in my other post). I glue them on proud of the plywood thickness and then run them through the router with a pattern bit. It doesn't get more perfect or easy than that.
I take it that you stand the router on the edge and rout "sideways". Any special technique for this? How thick is your banding (how deep are you routing)?
Alignment isn't a trivial proposition. Unless it's going to take
Here's a better picture of the rabbeted edging I do. It's probably 1-1/4" to 1-3/8" high. I have a router table mount on my table saw and last tile I did these, I stood the shelves on the edging and ran it against the pattern bit with the aid of a 90° handheld jig. But honestly, after about 4 shelves, I went to freehand because that
1-1/4"+ is plenty enough flat surface to keep the shelf perpendicular to the table.However, I believe one could do an even fast job of it using a little hand held trim router like the Colt, just holding the shelves with one hand and the router in the other. Or with the shelves flat on a bench.
Did you forget the link to the "better picture"?
Do you have an efficient method for gluing the edging on? I have a bunch of home-made spring clamp banding clamps which work well for flat edging, but they won't work for your style.
I want to use your style for the bookshelves and with 8-10 30" shelves to d o, I'm looking for an efficient way to apply the edging.
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