Speeding up edgebanding?

[Bryan Hall]

Historically, I do very little edge banding. However, I'm working on a kitchen right now that when all said and done has several hundred pieces. Somewhere along the way I realized I don't actually know how long it takes me to measure, cut, iron on, trim, sand and have a door set aside for finishing. So, I timed 4 doors, not rushing, and it came out to about 80 minutes, or approximately 5 minutes per piece of edge banding. Expanding on that calculation and having well over 200 pieces of edge banding to do in this project I'm looking at 16-20 hours of nothing but edge banding.

I'm all for a good audio book while I'm edge banding but this is a bit much. It got me looking around at alternatives to speed it up if I ever had a project like this again.

So, #1, am I just horribly slow at this?

#2 has anyone used a machine like this before? I looked at a few non iron on options and this looked like the fastest and best bang for the buck, but still a pricey investment.
https://tooltechindustry.com/edge-banding-machine/

[Kevin Jenness]

Historically, I do very little edge banding. However, I'm working on a kitchen right now that when all said and done has several hundred pieces. Somewhere along the way I realized I don't actually know how long it takes me to measure, cut, iron on, trim, sand and have a door set aside for finishing. So, I timed 4 doors, not rushing, and it came out to about 80 minutes, or approximately 5 minutes per piece of edge banding. Expanding on that calculation and having well over 200 pieces of edge banding to do in this project I'm looking at 16-20 hours of nothing but edge banding.

I'm all for a good audio book while I'm edge banding but this is a bit much. It got me looking around at alternatives to speed it up if I ever had a project like this again.

So, #1, am I just horribly slow at this?

#2 has anyone used a machine like this before? I looked at a few non iron on options and this looked like the fastest and best bang for the buck, but still a pricey investment.
https://tooltechindustry.com/edge-banding-machine/

No you're not horribly slow, it just takes time to do manual edgebanding. I don't have much use for veneer banding myself except for low wear situations, but if you are going to use it profitably you should definitely be looking at as good an edgebander as you can afford.

I have no experience with that line of machinery. The price and weight are very low for a glue pot bander (as opposed to a hot air machine using preglued tape). Edgebanders are typically the most complicated and sensitive machines in a cabinet shop so make sure you have tech support available. Almost any edgebander will put tape on but getting a decent looking glueline with the minimum amount of handwork is not simple.

[Michael Burnside]

With that many pieces, have you looked into the Festool Conturo?

[Bryan Hall]

With that many pieces, have you looked into the Festool Conturo?

I did, but to be honest that machine comes with a stiff price tag and I’m not convinced it would be wildly faster. I’d want an in person timed demo to confirm value before purchase.

[jack duren]

You have to be careful with those portable edgebanders…

[Bryan Hall]

No you're not horribly slow, it just takes time to do manual edgebanding. I don't have much use for veneer banding myself except for low wear situations, but if you are going to use it profitably you should definitely be looking at as good an edgebander as you can afford.

I have no experience with that line of machinery. The price and weight are very low for a glue pot bander (as opposed to a hot air machine using preglued tape). Edgebanders are typically the most complicated and sensitive machines in a cabinet shop so make sure you have tech support available. Almost any edgebander will put tape on but getting a decent looking glueline with the minimum amount of handwork is not simple.

Seeing as how I have not used an edge banding machine before, I appreciate that perspective a lot. It’s such a rarity for me to do edge banding that I’d want great results with minimal hassle if I was going to dedicate floor space. It sounds like that’s not what I should expect!

[jack duren]

Edge banding machine is much different than a portable unit. I’ve both and the portables can be a lot of extra work

[Michael Burnside]

I did, but to be honest that machine comes with a stiff price tag and I’m not convinced it would be wildly faster. I’d want an in person timed demo to confirm value before purchase.

Understood. I know it's expensive, but if you're like me, I always have to weigh my time cost too. If I had 200 to go, boy I don't know, that's a LOT of time.

Having said that, I've played with the Conturo a little bit as I have a friend in the cabinet business, it was pretty slick. Not for me as I almost always use hardwood edge banding, but he likes it quite a bit. He also has a floor tool that I don't know much about or model. I just figured I would mention it since he is a professional cabinet maker and has one, so it's not pure garbage. He does some pretty high-end builds, so if it was junk it wouldn't be in his shop.

[Bryan Hall]

Understood. I know it's expensive, but if you're like me, I always have to weigh my time cost too. If I had 200 to go, boy I don't know, that's a LOT of time.

Having said that, I've played with the Conturo a little bit as I have a friend in the cabinet business, it was pretty slick. Not for me as I almost always use hardwood edge banding, but he likes it quite a bit. He also has a floor tool that I don't know much about or model. I just figured I would mention it since he is a professional cabinet maker and has one, so it's not pure garbage. He does some pretty high-end builds, so if it was junk it wouldn't be in his shop.

Oh absolutely, time contribution is a big deal. Fully setup with the conturo is $4500 (with its table). If I did, even two kitchens in a year that were all edge banded I’d definitely be seeking out a demo for this machine. In general, I steer my clients away from edge banding but quite plainly I got caught on this one. Job was booked as a raw edge appleply kitchen and then while I was demoing the kitchen the client surprised me with a “Hey you know what let’s do doug fir ply instead.” So, here I am haha.

I think there’s also a piece of me that knows if I don’t have a nice edge bander then I will turn away edge banding work. If I do have one though….. I’ll be edge banding more than ever before.

[jack duren]

You can buy a roll of non glue edge banding and use contact adhesive.

I edge them as fast as I have room

[Bryan Hall]

You can buy a roll of non glue edge banding and use contact adhesive.

I edge them as fast as I have room

Interesting idea. How’s the durability vs iron on?

[Michael Burnside]

Oh absolutely, time contribution is a big deal. Fully setup with the conturo is $4500 (with its table). If I did, even two kitchens in a year that were all edge banded I’d definitely be seeking out a demo for this machine. In general, I steer my clients away from edge banding but quite plainly I got caught on this one. Job was booked as a raw edge appleply kitchen and then while I was demoing the kitchen the client surprised me with a “Hey you know what let’s do doug fir ply instead.” So, here I am haha.

I think there’s also a piece of me that knows if I don’t have a nice edge bander then I will turn away edge banding work. If I do have one though….. I’ll be edge banding more than ever before.

Haha, I hear you brother, that might be reason enough to suffer through this one!

[jack duren]

Interesting idea. How’s the durability vs iron on?

Lots better. We do it a lot on commercial boxes..

[Richard Coers]

You can buy a roll of non glue edge banding and use contact adhesive.

I edge them as fast as I have room

Are you suggesting contact cement, or pressure sensitive tape? I can't imagine the mess of using contact cement on all the 3/4" edges.

[Richard Coers]

Virutex makes a hand held that also fits in an accessory table. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ftzRKn4pzvA
But I would suggest you take all your parts to a local shop and have them run the parts through their edgebander. Easiest money you could spend.