How do you cut/trim edge banding and hole plugs

[HorseshoeHobby]

In cabinet making quality, how do you folks trim edge banding?

How hot must the iron be to melt the glue in edge application?

Filling screw holes with wood plugs....how do you trim particularly with melamine or veneer sheets?

Thanking all in advance.

[OttawaP]

Well, in high quality venner work I wouldn't use tape on edging. I usually glue on a 3/4" piece of solid wood, flush it up with a router or block plane then trim the panel on the table saw leaving about 1/8". For 1x2 edging for "thicker" shleves I'll use a spline.

Melamine, I would use tape on and trim with a razor blade.

[Trevor in Ottawa]

Filling screw holes with wood plugs....how do you trim particularly with melamine or veneer sheets?

Do you mean plugging the screw hole, trimming the plug and veneering over the top?

I recently did this where I trimmed and finished the entire surface. For trimming I used a flush cut saw and scraped it smooth after.

Cheers,

Trevor.

[stevem]

edge banding, i iron wood stuff at max then trim with a block plane watching the grain direction carefully, plugs; a flush trim saw then block plane or chisel

[Michael in Port Alberni]

I also use solid wood edge banding (I save the iron on stuff to cover the edges of the white sheets of beaver puke) I use the flush trim router jig I wrote up for a recent issue of the magazine. I could look up which issue if you are interested, probably 3 or 4 ago.

Cheers

Michael

[Max In Sudbury]

Hi Don,

What level of quality finish are you going for?

For general cabinetry - kitchens and the like - using a frameless cabinet box, pre-glued veneer is the standard. Here's my process...

I cut the sheet goods to oversized (an inch max). That allows me to veneer one side, and then cut down to final size after trimming.

I veneer the exposed edge using pre-glued veneer. I use an iron on max heat - although 3/4 heat is all thats generally required. I don't use a roller on flat edges. Instead I use a flat piece of maple about 1"t x 3"w x 6"l to ensure that the veneer is adhered properly. Don't use too much heat for too long or too much pressure or you can squeeze out too much glue.

I trim the sides with a double-edged veneer trimmer (Freud) to remove the excess from the sides. With wood veneer, I lightly sand with 180 to 220 grit at an angle to the edge to provide a slight chamfer and ensure that the banding is flush with the sides of the box.

I trim the ends last by cutting with a very sharp knife and then (very gently) use a fine file to flush the veneer.

This process is pretty standard for iron-on edge banding.

Larger commercial shops use large edge banders using heated glue-pots with routers to trim the veneer.

Using glued on wood strips is rare and would be an extra charge. Pesonally, I don't like this look unless a lot of time is taken to match grain to the veneer.

Edge banding works well and I have seen large $$$ jobs where you would have a difficult time telling if its solid or edge banded.

Also - keep in mind that you can get different thicknesses amd qualities of edgebanding.

Max

[stevem]

"Also - keep in mind that you can get different thicknesses amd qualities of edgebanding", courtesy max

max is right, edgebanding does vary, the stuff from home depot can be very frustrating, glue sporadic, width variable, thickness soso
the stuff from LV is far superior and its also available at home hardware stores, look for the red and white packages not green and white
also most rolls of edge banding will have finger joints in them, i cut them out so as to avoid them. they dont stain nicely at all
personally i despise the stuff, but i build cabinets for a living and clients dont want to spend the extra for a bathroom vanity and i dont blame them
half inch solid wood edging is trickier to apply, requires clamping time and tougher trimming but looks far better than edge tape
but ironon edge banding has its place thats for sure, builtins, closed cabinet shelving etc etc and the good stuff is really convincing
plugs for covering screws should be cut from the same wood or a contrasting one and i use the tapered plug cutters from leevalley
cut them on a drill press, glue them in watching grain direction and pattern
trim with a flush cut saw and gently plane flush
resist the temptation to just sand them off, it'll neverlook right

[Kiely]

I use a file to trim wooden edge tape. It has to be one of those files that has a cutting edge on it. There's a bit of a trick what with the angle you hold the file, but once you get it it works great. I've found that using a knife on wood edge tape, that the knife tends to follow the grain and will occasionally split the tape. Also, with a knife you run the risk of slicing into the veneer of the box itself. The router sometimes pulls the grain as well, occasionally tearing the tape.

With the file, once you get used to it, you can 'hear' if your tape is adhered correctly to the wood. You will learn to recognize the hollow sound of unglued tape.

With regards to heat - don't use too much. I would never use an iron on max, unless the iron was really weak to begin with. There are a couple reasons for this. You could burn the tape. Also when the glue gets too hot, sometimes I find that it just tranfers over to the plywood and you are left with glueless tape. Set the heat on 1/2 to 3/4, and after you heat your tape up enough, then using a block of wood with a rounded edge press down on the tape before it cools, thereby squeezing the melted glue into the pores of the ply.

I did miles of this stuff when I worked in the cabinet shop and since on my own projects, and this method has never failed regardless of quality of tape.