Do this to plywood- STRONGER and BETTER looking!

Plywood is a staple of modern furniture and cabinet construction because it is less expensive and more dimensionally stable than solid wood. It's not for every project, but the average carpenter uses a good amount of course, you don't want the

plywood

to look like

plywood

, so it's common to cover the edges in layers with some type of edge banding, sometimes that can be the ironon type that comes on the roll, but there are reasons why solid wood strips are actually

better

, for example a thick strip like

this

can add rigidity to plywood. which can help prevent shelves from sagging or even cabinet sides from bowing.

In my experience, the glue bond on the edge of the panel is also significantly

stronger

than many ironon edge bands, so it is much less likely to peel or flake over time and if you don't like the look of a wider edge banding like

this

, you can trim it as close to the plywood as you want and you will still maintain that Superior I bond that comes with DIY banding, now there are many There are many ways to apply wood edge banding solid, but I'll show you some tricks that I don't think you'll find in many other places that will make this much faster and easier.

I want to do this on your next project, so let's start by gluing the bands together. I don't want too much glue because it will create a mess when I apply clamping pressure, but I do want a good, even coverage of the plywood. Edge, in this case my Edge band is 3/qu inch thick and I like to start about an inch or so wider than the thickness of my plywood panel so I could tear off a one inch strip width of a hardwood board and then turn it. on the side and that will give me a little bit of overhang on each face of the panel, which will make it easier to apply because I have some room for air if it slides a little bit when I hold it down as far as the clamps.

I have used the blue tape a lot in the past F and it works well but sometimes it is difficult to apply enough pressure without a lot and I found that it took me a long time to apply all those strips of tape and then remove them again, in my opinion these clamps are a Much

better

solution because they are made specifically for edge banding with a small band that presses the edge band against the edge of the panel. There are a couple different brands that make them and they all work, but I like these in particular because they have oversized silicone pads that hold the panel faces really well so you can apply a lot of pressure to the edge bands.

They are also relatively inexpensive compared to others that I think are cheap. They cost a little over $5 if you get them in the 10-pack, which is a great idea because you're going to use a lot of them once you realize how useful they are. I'll put a link to this below this video so you can check them out. I use the handles of the clamp as little legs so that my panel sits on the edge and the glue doesn't go up the face of my W layer, but instead stays down next to the edge band where it will be trimmed.

When it's dry, to do that, I'll first use a simple template that was designed by a friend of mine named Mike Taylor. First I'll show you how it works for those who are in a hurry and want to get there. cutting your edge bands, but then I'll take the time to show you how to make one for yourself because you're really going to want one. This insole features adjustable bands that can be extended. I like an inch more than the thickness of my edge band now I can place those bands on the top of my table saw and secure the jig to the fence with a couple of clamps.

Make sure the jig is square to the table, even if you have to shim it and while you have your Square and check your saw blade as well. Initially I will position the guide so that the tooth side of the blade is flush with the surface of the template and then I will place the crown of the blade just below the template, finally I take a piece of plywood. And I'm going to do a test pass. Notice how I'm using a trowel to apply pressure near the bottom, not a lot of pressure, just enough to keep the panel flat.

Against the template, this test pass will help me fine-tune. my close position I want to simply skim the surface of the plywood to remove the glue and at the same time clean the edges of the bands on my workpiece, but I don't want to cut the thin veneer or leave a line that must be sanded once that you have configured it correctly. I can start running my project. Parts. I do one face at a time again keeping pressure with the paddle down near the bottom but not directly against the side of the sheet, you could use a feather board to do this if it's a larger panel but you'll want a lift on the feather board so that it doesn't push directly into the side of the blade, but rather you want it to push just above the crown of the blade, see how this is trimmed.

The edge banding is flush and removes most of the glue after doing both sides. I can also trim the ends using my miter gauge to guide it safely if you don't like that thick edge band and don't need the extra rigidity it provides. You can trim it after removing the stencil, but if you plan to do this, maybe start with quarter-inch thick strips so you have enough thickness to make application easy without flexing, but you won't waste too much wood when laying. Again, the result is a durable edge band that will hold up better than the ironon type.

Now keep in mind I'm just doing a quick demo with scraps I have on hand, so these are popular strips on maple plywood that color match. It's not going to be perfect, but if you put maple on maple it would be indistinguishable from a solid wood panel. Now let me show you how to make the template. The lead measures 6X 24 inches, but those measurements are not critical, there are two in a dovetail shape. slots on the back this is to accommodate the Matchfit clamp that holds it to the fence of my table saw. There are other types of clamps you can use to mount a jig like this.

I once made a simple tall guide with a less expensive type of clamp and you could apply the same principle here. I'll link that video below if you want to check it out. One thing to keep in mind is that a lot of plywood is slightly curved, so I recommend placing the concave side of the plywood against the fence so that when you tighten it on both ends, the panel will lie perfectly flat. The risers are simply bolts with the heads cut off and slots cut into the end with a hacksaw that allows me to use a screwdriver to recover them if they become bent as well.

So far installing the threaded inserts can be a bit of a challenge, but here are a couple of tips: First I use a hand screw clamp to hold the panel at the edge with the drill and then I drill a 7/16 inch hole to accommodate the outside diameter of my 1/4 inch inner diameter threaded insert, the hole is only about 1/2 inch deep because it is as tall as the insert, so I'm going to switch to a 932 bit, which is a little bigger than my Quin bolt and the one I drilled. that hole a couple of inches deeper right in the center of the first hole, now I can thread the insert into a quarter inch bolt or machine screw, slide the end of that into the smaller, deeper hole and then it will guide the insert in a straight line. tighten it up like I said, this jig was designed by Mike Taylor Mike is the owner of Taylor Toolworks which is a small family business in Missouri and I've talked about them before because they are definitely worth supporting, not only because they have all kinds of great tools for woodworking at reasonable prices, but also because I discovered that Mike is a woodworker who is really committed to finding new ways to improve his shop time and I like supporting small businesses like that.

I hope you do too, so use the link below. this video to watch until next time