Gluing solid cherry edge 1 1/2″x 3/4″ to MDF veneered panel. (Rob Millard you out there)
bones
| Posted in General Discussion on
I’m gluing my edging(solid cherry) to my veneered panel (top bubinga core MDF and bottom cherry) and want to know, can I just glue it, or do I need to provide some kind of structural attacment i.e. dowels, domino’s or T&G. If it were long grain to long grain wood I would not be concerned. Is MDF considered all longgrain? 🙂
Replies
yes you can
As long as the glue is spread nicely over the whole edge of the MDF it will make a perfectly fine joint. I use a few biscuits just to keep pieces from swimming around while clamping, but they are not structurally necessary. On the other hand, you want just a bit of freeplay in the lengthwise directions, to get the mitered corners to fit perfectly when clamping. I would never use dowels in this case because they don't allow any adjustment at all.
I just finished two doors and a desk drop lid. inch and a half mahogany joined to a birch plywood core and veneered with mahogany. I used a T&G, reasoning that a mechanical joint along with the glue joint would be stronger, and also to prevent warping.
Spline it
Having dismantled lots of old cabinets I can testify that glue holds better than nails and I agree wth David that glue is all you need on a plywood edge. I wood not trust MDF as much as those edges really soak up everything put on them.
Getting the solid edge banding aligned accurately with the veneer panel is the tricky part. I make a full length plough in both pieces using a slot cutter in the router and the use an eigth or quarter inch plywood spline to get them aligned. I'm sure the added surface area makes the glue hold even that much better. You can also make the slot with the table saw and a feather board. You could also use a hardwood spline if you wanted.
You will still need lots of clamps for a long top
Bret
A common technique is to rabbet the edge band. If you don't get it perfectly flush, you can clamp a block to a card scraper for fine tuning.
This forum post is now archived. Commenting has been disabled