Can You Round Edges On Hardwood Plywood

Building with plywood is convenient and inexpensive but the exposed edges typically look unfinished.

Can you round edges on hardwood plywood. It will also finish far better assuming you will apply some type of finish. Routers or woodworking videos. Plus there are several species of edge banding available to match the plywood that is being used. Best is to use a tablesaw or router table to put a tongue on the hardwood.

If you want a 3 4 in x 3 4 in nosing you ll have to rip it on a table saw or have it ripped at the. After you have routered the profile you could pop a few nails into the plywood as well. A groove can be cut into either the plywood or the hardwood edging and then a corresponding tongue can be cut out of the opposite material. This simple method makes plywood look more like a solid board without the upcharge.

Edge banding is a band of veneer with heat activated or pressure sensitive adhesive that is applied to the edges of the plywood. If you don t own a table saw you can cut a clean accurate edge on plywood by clamping a straightedge to the sheet and using it as a guide for your circular saw. A virtue of hardwood edge banding is it will hold up far better over time. It really gives a nice clean edge.

Read more about. Tongue and groove. If you prefer a routed edge you can leave the banding say 1 8 proud of the veneer and then rout a 1 8 round over. Double edge banding trimmers on wood don t work well b c the grain is running opposite directions you can get tear out.

Make rounded corners with your router. Edge banding is not that difficult to apply. Hardwood boards for nosing are available at home centers and lumberyards. To clean up the look without covering or hiding every edge you can just cover them with a strip of self adhesive veneer edge banding.

It s the only product of those we tested that can be used effectively in a handheld router. A common method for applying an edge treatment is to apply a piece of hardwood stock to the edge that either matches the plywood or compliments the plywood to create a contrasting look. You can take the trimmer apart and only use 1 2 of it going with grain. Wood magazine s bob wilson shows you how you can make rounded corners of any radius time after time with a simple jig.

Banding can t slip up or down on the edge of the plywood during glueup and clamping. It can be trimmed using a craft knife but a cleaner cut can be achieved by using an edge banding trimmer. Then you can use a router to run a corresponding groove into the plywood edge.