Oak Veneer Edgebanding

[will1983]

I recently received a 25m roll of oak veneer edge banding from Edgebanding.co.uk which on the whole was very good (excellent glue strength, consistent thickness and width, no obvious signs of any flaws/knots).

There was however a substantial amount of reversing grain, this makes trimming the banding to width quite a labourious task. Every few inches I have to reverse my trimmer or chisel and cut in the opposite direction to prevent it digging in and marring the face or edge.

So, I guess my question is; "Is this usual?" and if not; "which supplier would you recommend I source this from in future?"

 

[doctor Bob]

Comes as is, can't control how grain runs on a 100m roll of veneer.
So yes pretty normal.
How well are you glueing it on, makes a big difference on breakout.

 

[will1983]

Thanks for the reply Bob,

I thought that may be the case, but thought it worth the question if it cuts down my banding time.

I'm certainly gluing it on properly, maybe being a bit over careful if anything. I'm ironing it on, getting it too hot to touch and then pressing it down with a wooden roller. Trimming a minute later once it's cooled a bit.

I'm using one half of the purple edge banding trimmer from Axminster to cut it back, using both halves just led to disaster, lots of break out and chipped veneer on the faces of the piece. I was considering using a router but the noise and mess put me off.

 

[doctor Bob]

Right I assumed trimmer was a router of some sort rather than manual trimmer.

Yes it can be a right bugger manually with a sharp edge. I like to use a cabinet scraper, flat like a giullotine, but I mainly use a big edgebander.

 

[will1983]

Yes I've seen some of the kit you have on IG, very very impressive! I especially like the panel saw!

Based on the amount of edgebanding I think I'll be doing in the coming month I have considered buying the Festool Conturo, have you tried one of those?

 

[doctor Bob]

No but seen them working, cost is mental. I have the room for a "proper edgebander" which gives a better finish but only does straight lines.

 

[will1983]

Yeah over £2k for an edgebander is a hell of a lot compared to an iron and a trimmer but then if it's saving you hours every week it's probably worth it.

I would love a "proper edgebander" but unfortunately I just don't have the space!