Iron on Edging or Edgebander

[nabbers]

Hello, I've managed to avoid using this stuff for most of my 35 years of woodworking but have a contract to make some Oak faced MDF hotel room fitments.

Previously I Iron on and use the edge of a file to trim off.

This is a high class job so looking for advice, should I buy a cheap bench edgebander and some sort of laminate trimmer?

 

[Chrispy]

Hello "Nabbers"

I got my self one from Trimbridge machines must be 20 years ago, very usefull machine will apply preglued real wood or melamine edgebanding. The one I went for trims the edges as it goes and then cuts off the end a bit over length but at least you haven't got to cut the work free when you get to end. It's not the bees knees but really glad I got it save hours of Ironing! and cos it melts the glue from the back it sticks much better as long as you're carefull.

 

[Hudson Carpentry]

I use a router and flush cutter bit to trim off the over hang. You can get a double sided tool to do the same thing.
http://www.axminster.co.uk/jet-edge-ban ... rod576751/

I use an Iron myself. Its fairly easy you just place the iron on and when you see the band change tone slightly you know to move the iron on a bit more.

No idea if the edgebander machines/tools are faster but for my usage it ain't worth it. I doubt I even do it once yearly.

 

[doctor Bob]

Buy an edge bander, I couldn't stand ironing it on.
depends on your budget though, a half decent one will be £2000 upwards.

 

[Oryxdesign]

I use 2mm edging fitted with a hot melt gluepot edge-bander, not one of the expensive machines that use loads of floorspace but one of the smaller ones,about £1500 I think. The 2mm edging is much harder wearing and more resistant to knocks. I trim on the router table with a power feed which is pretty fast, I set myself up so I can do both operations at the same time.

 

[p111dom]

Where do you get your 2mm stuff from Simon?

 

[joiner_sim]

If you've got alot to do I'd definatley invest in a decent edge banding machine.

 

[Oryxdesign]

Either Ney or Ostermann, it isn't cheap but for a hotel I would consider 2mm the minimum.

 

[p111dom]

Thanks.

 

[nabbers]

Having spent the afternoon look at possibilities I think given that I have maybe 30m of edging to do tops, I'll stay low tech and get a Virutex end cutter and double edge trimmer for approx £60 and Iron the stuff on. My workshop is full of stuff used once and then never again! Thanks for the advice.

 

[Oryxdesign]

If you are going to do such a small quantity and you are using iron on you don't need either of those tools. It is easy to trim with a chisel, you'll probably get a better finish once you get the hang of it. You will need on non steam iron but these are cheap.

 

[Nev Hallam]

I usually trim with the edge of my block plane blade, the blunt square edge. Then some 450 grit sponge blocks.

 

[nabbers]

If you are going to do such a small quantity and you are using iron on you don't need either of those tools. It is easy to trim with a chisel, you'll probably get a better finish once you get the hang of it. You will need on non steam iron but these are cheap.

Really? I need a good finish, assumed this would be the way to go.

 

[MrYorke]

I use a travel iron as its a lot easier to use being much lighter than a standard one the mrs uses

 

[joiner_sim]

Another vote for trimming with a chisel. As long as the banding isn't too thick or wide it works well. We had a massive industrial edge banding machine at a furniture company I had worked for, but still a quick finish off with a chisel was super smooth and easiest. Sometimes we'd use the much smaller fixed machine, but basically a benchtop one, and still even then cleaned up with a chisel with good results!

 

[Lord Kitchener]

OP says he is using oak faced mdf, so I presume rather than using pvc or melamine edging, he will be using wood edging. That being the case he will need to be careful about the trimming method, and blades will tend to follow the grain, and if the grain of the edging runs at a bit of an angle, as it often does, then he will need to be careful he doesn't dig in to the board.

 

[bosshogg]

An alternative is to use a hot air gun (paint stripper) and an unfolded 3' rule, or something similar, to rub on the edging...bosshogg

P.S. it's the manual way of this http://www.edgecoinc.com/edgebanders.cfm?wh=no&type=1

Where is the wisdom we have lost in knowledge?
Where is the knowledge we have lost in information?
T. S. Eliot

 

[Oryxdesign]

If you are going to do such a small quantity and you are using iron on you don't need either of those tools. It is easy to trim with a chisel, you'll probably get a better finish once you get the hang of it. You will need on non steam iron but these are cheap.

Really? I need a good finish, assumed this would be the way to go.

Really! It takes a little practise and a plane blade is probably better than a chisel but I've got two of those edge trimmers and I would pick up my old stanley 91/2 blade before I picked up one of those, especially on a real wood veneer.

 

[doctor Bob]

I use a cabinet scrapper (when not using edgebander), works fine. Your not cutting then its more like a running guillotine.

 

[Benchwayze]

I trim the excess with downward, angled strokes of a fine file, followed by a sanding-block.

If you iron-on the veneer, don't let it cool by itself, but follow it up with a cold metal tool; say the side of a hammer-head. before trimming.

HTH