Article for using plywood as edgebanding?

[Roland Chung]

Can anyone help me find an article about using plywood as edgebanding to get a perfect match? I'm trying to design a vanity using 1-1/2" thick case parts and inset drawerfronts. I will probably end up using some hardwood as the 1-1/2" edgebanding, but so far, I am having a hard time getting the Walnut hardwood and plywood to match.

I was also considering making this thing out of a new Bamboo plywood that a friend showed me. The plywood was really interesting, but I would have to use the plywood for edgebanding.

I'm sure that I could figure something out, but sometimes it's better to find a technique that is already in play. I won't need to re-invent the wheel.

Thanks,
RC

[Jamie Buxton]

The technique is to make a bevel joint along the edge. That is, you bevel each piece of plywood back at a 45 degree angle. One way to glue the seam is the blue tape method. It works, but there are some hazards:

• The resulting 90 degree corner relies on the 45 bevels being exactly 45 degrees, and on getting good clamping during the glue-up. If you're doing something like the edge of a table, it doesn't really matter whether you get 90 degrees. However, if you're making casework, a non-90 corner means that the stile may not meet the rail correctly. Because the veneer is so thin, you can't just sand it flush.
  
• The corner is going to be a knife edge. You cannot round it without going through the veneer.

[Frank Drew]

I've got the same concerns Jamie notes with regards to how thin plywood veneer is, so I've always edge banded with solid, but if you want the same veneer on your edges as on the faces you could cut your ply a bit long, then cut a strong 3/4" off the edge you want to band, glue the off cut on the edge with the show veneer facing in, then trim back to the formerly inside face of that veneer, sand, etc.

Not ideal, but the grain would match.

[Roland Chung]

Thanks for the quick replies! You bring up good points about how thin the veneer is on the plywood. I wouldn't even be able to break the edge of the cases and they would be exposed to damage from even light contact. Thanks, I was just picturing the finished product looking pretty sharp - you helped me zoom in on an important detail.

Do you guys use a bandsaw for ripping your solid edgebanding? I hate to burn up a thick chunk of walnut with 1/8" kerfs on my tablesaw. What blade width would you recommend for the bandsaw - any particular tpi? I'm guessing that it would be good to run the piece through the jointer before ripping with the bandsaw?

Thanks,
RC

[Frank Drew]

I hate to burn up a thick chunk of walnut with 1/8" kerfs on my tablesaw. What blade width would you recommend for the bandsaw - any particular tpi? I'm guessing that it would be good to run the piece through the jointer before ripping with the bandsaw?

Roland, losing less to sawdust by using a bandsaw is a good idea; even if you're using some scrap offcuts it's probably easier and safer than cutting small stuff on your table saw.. Any but the finest tooth band would work -- we're just talking 3/4" material here. And yes, I'd joint one edge before ripping the edge banding, then put the jointed face in towards the plywood, and clean up the rougher outside face afterwards.

Also, I'd use edging material a bit wider than your ply is thick, so you don't have to be so finicky during glueup; it's easy to trim down once the glue is dry.

[sean m. titmas]

regardless of the type of material you use for the edgebanding(solid wood, veneer tape) you can experiment with aniline dyes to get the shade and tone of the plywood veneer to match the edge banding.

[Roland Chung]

Thanks for all of your help! Sometimes I get like a deer in the headlights and I just need a little prodding to get me going again.

Thanks,
RC

[Steve Rozmiarek]

I can't remember where I saw it, but there was a story in one of the mags about using ply as edgebanding, that was no more complicated than just cutting the face veneer off of strips, so that the edgebanding matched the work precisely. I think it was in FWW.

That approach seems a little problematic to me, because it is so common to find ply that is inconsistant thickness. It would need to be resawed on the tablesaw or bandsaw, but you'd have to make sure to register the fence to the side you want to keep, so that the differing thicknesses won't effect the final veneer. Even then, as the guys already mentioned, it'll be some pretty thin veneer.

Franks approach would get the same end result.

[Scott Schwake]

I can't remember where I saw it, but there was a story in one of the mags about using ply as edgebanding, that was no more complicated than just cutting the face veneer off of strips, so that the edgebanding matched the work precisely. I think it was in FWW.

I read that too, it was in the Q&A section of a fairly recent FWW, written by Cecil Braeden, I found it on the FWW site buy it's only available to subscribers.