Plywood Edge Banding

The various types of plywood have found a home with many uses. We can see different plywood projects around us daily, from construction to furniture, with hobbies and trinkets in between.

Of course, not all plywood is created equal, and they can’t all be used for the same purpose. I am trying to make furniture out of large sheets of construction-grade plywood, which results in poorly finished furniture. Using particle boards for subflooring in a moist-rich environment will ultimately lead to the floor’s failure. The consequence could be the potential for people to be injured in the process.

Higher grades of plywood are usually used, although excellent, high-quality furniture is often made of particleboard. In either case, treating the edges of the panels is essential to hiding the end grain.

Most furniture hides the end grain of boards unless it is used for a specific accent purpose, such as end grain trim on wood cutting boards and countertops.

The problem with plywood is that all edges contain end grain, unlike boards of solid lumber, where only the edges or ends contain end grain. So, in some cases, it is impossible to cover plywood edges and hide the end grain using a piece of wood trim or structural member. Some thickness of trim must be applied to exposed edges.

Wood Edge Banding

Wood edge banding is nothing more than strips of wood veneer. As such, it is available in a wide variety covering a variety of wood types and grains. Since it is actually veneer edging on real wood anyway, it will usually match a project quite well, looking seamless as if it were the edge of the board.

There are two types of wood edge banding available, either with heat-activated glue or without glue adhesive; applying the heat of edge banding with the glue on it is easier to install, as the glue is essentially the same as that used with a hot melt glue gun. It can be installed by applying the edge banding of the panel with a clothes iron to provide the heat and pressing the edge banding heat onto the other edge banding of the board.

Be cautious of heat when applying wood banding, as too much heat from the iron can scorch the wood. Ideally, the iron’s temperature should be just enough to melt the already-applied iron-on-edge banding glue no more. The barely melted iron-on-edge banding glue will solidify rapidly, preventing the banding from lifting.

Once applied with regular iron, the wood edging banding should be pressed down by rubbing it with a bunched-up rag to ensure the banding is smooth and snug up against the edge of the solid wood front panel. If high points of edge banding are encountered, they can be repaired by going back over them with the iron.

Working with the type of wood edge banding that does not come with the glue applied is a bit more difficult, but not extremely hard. This type of edge banding is applied with normal wood glue. To apply pressure when applying edge banding, glue is applied to the already applied plywood edge banding of the panel with a roller bottle. Then, the wood edge banding is set in place, and it is “clamped ” with masking tape to dry.

In cases where edge banding is unavailable, that matches how the type of plywood is used. It is possible to create edge banding by cutting off the face veneer of some scrap plywood pieces. These pieces are longer with thin veneer than the finished size of the scrap plywood piece, with the edge banding needed.

To do this, set the table saw fence close enough to the blade so that only the thickness of the face veneer is visible on the other side of the blade. Then, rip the piece of veneer edge banding plywood, making a slot that is ¾” to 7/8″ high.

The now loose strip of face veneer can be cut the rest of the way through with a hobby or utility knife. This wood veneer edge banding strip can then be used with pre-applied glue to exposed sides of the panel using the above method for any wood veneer edge banding that doesn’t already have glue applied.

Wood Strips for Edging

Some people don’t like using solid wood edge banding because it can be chipped easily. To create a stronger birch edge banding, which is more resilient to rough handling. It is better to cut wood stripes of the appropriate type of hardwood and glue them to the red oak edge banding of the boards.

This iron-on-edge banding is perfect for shelves, where things will be constantly put off and on the shelf.

Several more videos show different ways of doing this, as shown in the diagram below. The key is accurate cutting in all these cases, so the two pieces fit perfectly flush and snugly without leaving any gaps.

Plywood edge banding

One excellent design option allows us to use a plywood piece with contrasting wood for the edge rather than the wood used for the central part of the panel. For example, birch plywood might be used for making shelves, with birch plywood with an oak edge strip applied to the red oak plywood for accent.

When installing edging like this, clamp the edging to cover the plywood edges of the board while the glue dries.

Due to the edging being very thin, a backing board should be used to cover plywood edges, spreading the clamping force of the bar clamps over a slightly wider area and covering loose edge banding over a larger area.

Leaving the Edge Exposed

Mid-century modern and “industrial” style furniture is popular these days. While mid-century modern would never leave exposed plywood edges or end grain showing, it is widespread with industrial-style furniture. One common place this is seen is with plywood side tabletops, often made of 1″ to 1 ¼” thick.

These are made of cabinet-grade plywood, providing a quality surface finish and many thin layers of veneers in the core. The many thin veneers in solid wood also provide plywood pieces with an attractive edge, especially when milled.

However, the core veneers used in this type of plywood are not void-free, like marine-grade plywood. Some voids may need to be filled.

Since the finish applied to the edge grain is usually nothing more than stain or polyurethane varnish, filling those voids must be done with care to ensure that the fill is not visible or stained once the professional finish of the tabletop’s edges is finished. This is best done with tinted putty rather than “stainable” wood putty.

Tinted wood putty is available in various colors to match familiar wood tones. It can also be tinted with standard tints, allowing unique colors to be created if needed.

But in this case, standard colors will usually work, as the core veneer layers of cabinet-grade plywood are typically stained with softwood or beech, colors that are easy to match.

To determine the color of stain that will be needed, it is helpful to wet the raw edge part of the plywood with mineral spirits. This will cause the wood to darken, just as when applying varnish.

With the wood darkened, it is easy to select a tinted wood filler that matches the color of the stain for the wood veneer or layer that needs to be filled. If the exact color cannot be found, these types of putty can be mixed to create other shades.

One useful technique when working with this type of solid piece of putty is mixing in chalk dust, grit, or sandpaper, also known as “painter’s whiting,” sand, or sawdust.

If sawdust or sand is used, only the finest of dust should be added after passing it through a sieve to separate the larger pieces.

Always overfill when working with any putty; it will shrink slightly while drying. The wetter, the more it will shrink. So if sawdust is added to the putty, thickening it will not shrink as much.

Once the putty has dried, it must be sanded with 150 to 220-grit sandpaper. Make putty flush with the edge of the panel before the varnish is applied.

Edges with Painted Panels

Painted plywood panels do not require special treatment to install excess edge banding. However, much of the excess edge banding on the commercially produced furniture uses a vinyl strip, which is installed into finishing plywood edges through a slot routed into the edge of the panel.

This type of full-apply edge banding edging is available, although it usually has to be procured through a commercial outlet rather than a lumberyard or woodworking supply.

This sort of scrap piece of edging is installed by hammering it into a slot cut into the edge of the panel. Commercial installations are done with special tools or a pneumatic repeating hammer, but they can also be installed with a regular hammer or rubber mallet.

Another common option for painted plywood furniture is to paint the edges. However, the edges aren’t always smooth enough for painting, as there are voids, and the end grain may not be very smooth.

A simple solution to this problem is to putty the edge and smooth it before painting. However, that is time-consuming, both in waiting for the putty to dry and sanding it smooth.

To make that easier, use ultra-light spackling rather than paint or wood putty. The fine grain of the spackling goes into the end grain easily and dries quickly. It can then be sanded smooth with 150 to 220 grit sandpaper, readying it for painting.