This post will teach you how to apply edge banding to your projects made from plywood.
What is edge banding? Edge banding is life changing. Edge banding is your new bestie! Edge banding will take a plywood creation and make it look like one solid piece of wood. Making built ins or bookshelves from plywood? Drawers? A dresser? You’ll want to add edge banding to your repertoire.
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For this tutorial I will be using:
3/4″ birch plywood
Edge banding, matched to the wood species
What is edge banding?
Ok, ok, I never answered the question – what is edge banding? It is a small strip of wood veneer that attaches to the edge of plywood. Plywood is made by gluing thin sheets of wood together, and those layers will be visible without edge banding. Some builds, like my garage cabinet on wheels, do not use edge banding. However, if I was going to use that cabinet inside my house, I would definitely use edge banding to give it a cleaner, more professional look.
Why do I need edge banding?
Essentially, you don’t. Edge banding is purely aesthetic, never structural. BUT…..it will clean up your plywood builds. I recently built a simple writing desk for one of my kids, and put edge banding around the sides of the plywood top, but not on the drawer box. See the difference?
Sometimes I prefer to leave a raw plywood edge – that’s it’s own look too! And if the edges need to be routed over to knock down the sharp edges, that eliminates edge banding as an option. Montessori furniture made from plywood is generally finished in this way.
How to apply edge banding
Before applying edge banding, make sure to purchase a new iron. DO NOT USE YOUR CLOTHING IRON! Edge banding – with glue on the back, the kind I’m using here – uses heat to activate the glue and bond it to the plywood. The glue may end up on your iron….so go ahead and buy yourself an inexpensive iron that can live in your woodworking or craft area.
Gather the supplies. I will be using scrap 2x4s to brace my plywood for this demo. And definitely inside on my kitchen counter today, because this is the weather at my house….
After gathering supplies, the next step is determining which species of edge banding and the size. If using maple plywood, use maple edge banding. Oak plywood? Use oak edge banding. I have birch plywood, so I’m using birch edge banding. My plywood is 3/4″, so I’m using 3/4″ edge banding. Try to get the closest size edge banding to match the size of your plywood, but the edge banding should be equal to or bigger than the plywood size, not smaller.
To apply the edge banding, clamp the plywood firmly to a surface so it’s stationary. (Side note -if you plan on edge banding drawer boxes, I recommend edge banding BEFORE assembly) Double check that the surface of the plywood edge is flat, smooth, and dust free.
Preheat the iron to the hottest level but DO NOT USE STEAM. I’m using the cotton/linen setting, with no water in the iron. While the iron is heating up, cut (or bend and snap….yes, bend and snap) a strip of edge banding about 2-3″ longer than the edge you’ll be working with. Once the iron heats up, lay the edge banding centered on the plywood edge, and slowly iron…I mean REAL slow here, friends. The glue needs time to activate and bond to the plywood. So rest the iron and sing a quick ditty before moving it along.
After making it to a new section I use a piece of scrap wood to run along the section just ironed with light pressure. This helps hold the edge banding in place while it cools off and prevents bubbling. If there’s a section that starts coming back up after application, go ahead and set the iron back on to reset the glue, then rub firmly to set it in place.
Fold the edges over and carefully snap them off on both ends.
Sand the end to smooth. Have some coffee. Repeat on the other side.
Edge banding trimmers…..are they necessary? No. Are they helpful? Yes. If edge banding is not something prominent in your future, I would say go ahead and skip investing in a trimmer. Edge banding is made from wood, and will splinter along grain lines. In theory the edges can be bent over and sanded after application – I had more success taking a razor blade and running it down the side to take off excess before I purchased a trimmer.
The goal is to trim the edge banding so there are no overhangs or snags. The edge banding should be flush with the edge of the plywood. Lightly sand where these meet to make sure there are no splinters. Or run your finger over it and hope for the best. (that’s a joke – don’t actually do that!)
That’s it – it is one of the quickest and easiest ways to bring your project up a notch!
Before edge banding:
After edge banding:
Edge banding is real wood, so it can be stained, painted, and finished alongside the plywood. I hope this tutorial gives you confidence to add edge banding to your own projects. Happy building!