Question about applying hardwood trim

I use a blind nailer from Lee Valley Tools. It works great if you practice a little bit with some scrap first.

On Friday 21 Jan 2005 5:44 am, Abe scribbled:

As others have pointed out, glue is plenty strong enough. After much experimenting with calmps, cauls, nails, etc, to apply trim, I now just use masking tape to clamp it. No real need for cauls. After applying the glue to both sides, slide the trim back and forth until it sticks (i.e. almost a rubbed joint), adjust and clamp it down with a whole bunch of pieces of tape (one every 3-4 inches or so). You might need to trim it later with a plane or trim router bit.

You do not need a "keyway" on plywood. Yellow glue alone is enough to hold the trim. As others suggested you can brad nail or pin nail the trim until glue dries. If you do not want nails, you can glue up with cauls.Bore holes in scrap 2x material the same diameter as the half round.If you forstner bits use them, they cut cleaner.Rip in half, now you have half round caul with a square edge for clamps. Do all finishing on plywood first before glueup of trim. This way you can clean any glue spillage with a damp sponge. I'm assuming you will put on a clear top coat. Temporarily tape the glued trim to the plywood ,tape one caul to plywood , add caul on opposite side and clamp up. Figure on more clamps and cauls than you may need.I would imagine 6" centers at most.Make sure the top edge is even or slightly proud of the plywood. If top edge is a hair above you won't see it, if the plywood edge shows at all, it stands out like a sore thumb. mike mike

My next project will probably require some plywood edging. Has anyone tried the "Burgess" bits? Rockler has them.

------------ Thanks for the advice everyone. I'll try the PVA glue and clamps first. If that isn't adequate I'll move on to the other suggestions.

Another tip. When banding w/hardwood I always run the band a little proud of the top and use a scraper to bring the band down flush with the veneer after the glue dries. Then a light sanding to finish the job. If you are unfamiliar with scrapers this is an excellent way to learn how to use them. One of the rare places I do manual in favor of machine. I have burned through the veneer too many times with a power sander and have never mused when using a scraper. I never tried it with ahalfdd round but it should be OK if you run it about 1/32 proud and finish it iou with sand paper after scraping.

Also, I often use tape in lieu of clamps but be carefull with grains that might pull up, like mahagony or oak.