edge banding advice needed


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Hi guys, 

 

I'm a novice woodworker with a decent complement of wood working tools.

 

Here is my dilema, I'm building a closet built in that has two pull out shelves. I've glued up 2 sheets of 12mm baltic birch to make the shelf thick enough to accommodate the slides. The plan is to edge band the ply with hard maple and mitre the ends. The problem I've experienced is that I cut the edge banding to 1.75"x1.187"x 28" and during glue up I really struggled to register the solid maple to the ply. So in other words I didnt leave the maple proud to later trim flush and the ply being flat the maple isnt exactly. I've considered scrapping the first piece and starting over and reducing the banding to 1/2"-3/4" thick and block plane it flat.

 

I dont own a thickness planer or a jointer so i realize I am limited in what I can expect. I own a T55 with Festools parallel guides and the Lie Nielsen started set of hand planes. 

 

Am i going about this all wrong? Please help!

 

 

Jamie

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The shelf is going into a box that is 29" in width and 30" deep. So the shelf overall needs to measure 27.875" x 27.875" I previously made the edge banding way to deep at 1.75" This made securing and lining up to the shelf difficult. I cut the mitres on my Festool Kapex and carefully measured and accurately cut however the joint isnt as tight as I would have expected. 

 

I was also concerned about attaching the slides directly to the ply, i imagine its better to screw into solid wood, right?

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These work great.  Whiteside also makes a little cheaper version for Eagle America, and Eagle also sells an import for even less.  They also make one like this with a little tongue and groove in the middle, but I couldn't easily find a link to those.

 

https://www.routerbits.com/plywood-edge-banding/

I thought about this option however I dont yet own and router table and noticed the bit manufactures indicate table use only! :(

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If you cant make your banding stock flat its not going to work being as thick as you are wanting. There is no need to band the sides with thick stock. You may be better off going down to 1/4" and just flush trimming with your router. 

I originally bought 8/4 maple and thought i would dimension rip to the needed sizes the self required. Thats when i realized there must be a better way and figured something along 1/4 - 1/2 in is more the norm. 

 

When you suggest using the router, are you suggesting bearing guided flush trim and turning the shelf om its long edge or using a rabbeting bit and plunging down to match the ply surface. Sorry if this is a strange question, still learning pros and cons of each task. 

 

Thanks for your help,

 

Jamie

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I originally bought 8/4 maple and thought i would dimension rip to the needed sizes the self required. Thats when i realized there must be a better way and figured something along 1/4 - 1/2 in is more the norm. 

 

When you suggest using the router, are you suggesting bearing guided flush trim and turning the shelf om its long edge or using a rabbeting bit and plunging down to match the ply surface. Sorry if this is a strange question, still learning pros and cons of each task. 

 

Thanks for your help,

 

Jamie

Just use your flush trim bit on edge. Clamp a piece or two of scrap on the opposite side to make the router more stable.

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