# Edging and edgebanders



## tim (5 Sep 2006)

I need to edge a whole bunch of shelves (made from birch ply) that will then be painted. 

Firstly does anyone know of a manmade glue on edge that can be painted since trimming veneer ones is a real PITA?

Secondly, I've never used an edgebander but given that I have at least 150 shelves to do, its probably worth investing in one. Anyone got a favourite to recommend and also could someone clarify whether you need to do each edge at a time, cut to length and then present the next edge; or can you simply keep turning the board until the 4 sides are edged and then trim?

Cheers

Tim


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## Scrit (5 Sep 2006)

Hi Tim

The problem of edge trimming, especially solid wood lippings, is that it is very labour intensive unless you invest in a glue pot edgebander/trimmer, and for that you need to budget £2k to £3k for a very basic and very old secondhand one - plus the cost of setting it up for which an engineer is well advised (new prices £6k to £60k+). The plus side is that, unlike the hot air and pre-glued edgebanders which are restricted to 3mm max. material thickness, a glue pot unit will normally handle minimum 5mm thick - the bigger units can glue 30mm or wider lippings. 

An alternative approach is to use a heater bar mechanism such as the Stegherr KPp (see this article by Terry Cain) then pass your lipped shelves through an edge trimmer such as a Holz-Her lipping trimmer or it's UK equivalent the JKO LT750 which will trim bith edges simultaneously:







_*Above JKO LT750 lip trimmer*_

Both these techniques utilise PUR glue (heat-reactive polyurethane) with a melt point in the 170 to 210 degrees Celsius, so you have to be careful not to burn yourself (and you will, I assure you........). Problem is finding a KPp. I have one (even have an LT750) but it's currently in bits and Stegherr aren't being forthcoming about parts so I've adopted another approach - use a low cost edging cramp (basically a spring cramp with a "bumper" inside the jaws) to hold the lipping in place whilst the glue - cold PU with a 5 minute set time cures.






However, the problem is still going to be trimming them. I'd possubly consider subbing the job out to a local veneering company as they generally have the gear to do lippings (even I do some sub work for other people in this area), or alternatively if you're near enough you could either come over and use my lipping trimmer, or I'd even loan you this machine for a few weeks - one problem though is that it's 3-phase.

As to the sequence, it's normally lip _both_ ends, trim, flush trim the ends (I have a machine for that, too, although a jig can be made for the biscuit jointer and Lamello even sell an attachment for their machines called the Nova), then lip the front, trim and again flush trim the ends. Even with melamine edging you still need to follow the same procedure, although a decent sized static machine, such as the Virutex EB15 will do the job for you.






As to what edgeing materials you use I'd suggest that for speed/quality of finish/paintability you consider using a 3mm solid timber edging roll which is available from a number of sources. Melamine edgeing tape will have a sharp edge which will tend to chip and may not take your paint too well, veneer will not have a great deal of durability in an envirinment where anything is dragged over the edge, whilst PVC or ABS edge lippings (normally 2 to 3mm thick) don't come pre-glued and require a glue pot edge bander to apply.

If you do decide to go the pre-glued route then the lowest cost effective machine to apply it is the Virutex AG98:






again, I'd be happy to loan you mine for a week or so if you need it.

If you want to chat about this, drop me a PM, as there a few more alternatives

Scrit


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## tim (5 Sep 2006)

Thanks Scrit

PM sent

Cheers

Tim


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## Scrit (10 Sep 2006)

Hi Tim

I was sent a (USA) link to the Virutex EBGB10 portable glue pot edge bander (in the UK Ney sells this as the Wegoma PM2000) which when used in conjunction with a portable lip trimmer (or a JKO LT750/Holz-Her static trimmer if doing straight edges) should be able to accomplish much of what a small volume shop might require. Ney in Coventry distribute the Virutex range in the UK so they might have one, although it is a very recent machine. Expected target price is somewhere in the £1700 to £2500 range (+VAT) so not cheap. Yesterday I had some sales bumf through from another supplier who appear to be selling a very similar machine, alas no price. Perhaps Ney might loan you one to try out, say on 150 shelves? :wink: 

Edit: There may a small problem with the Virutex unit. From what I have been told today it appears that they have just lost a design infringment case as their design is essentially a copy of a German designed and built machine. When I have the full story I'll post the details

Scrit


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## richard.selwyn (7 May 2009)

Scrit":3dv44xqa said:


> Hi Tim
> 
> Edit: There may a small problem with the Virutex unit. From what I have been told today it appears that they have just lost a design infringment case as their design is essentially a copy of a German designed and built machine. When I have the full story I'll post the details
> 
> Scrit



My apologies for digging something up from the past, but I need an edge bander and have seen the Virutex, one labelled Felder and a Czech one at Axminster. If anyone has an update, I'd be very grateful as for my one man shop the 2k plus outlay is a big step, but I need to increase my productivity.

Thanks in advance.
Richard


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## Doctor (7 May 2009)

I have a Minimax ME15, mines quite new and cost £4000 second hand but these are better machines than the virutex.
All edge banders will drive you mad, they are very precise machines, the more money you spend the less hassle you should have.
Whatever you buy you will know every detail of it after a few weeks, if you go cheap you will be constantly adjusting it.
The other point is you need a good table saw, if you don't have perfectly straight edges, or a scribe that matches the blade, edgebanding will be poor.


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## JonnyD (8 May 2009)

Hi Richard I had a look at these portable glue pot edgebanders at the W8 exhibition at the NEC last year. There were various companies selling the machines and as far as I can tell they are all the same machine but just rebadged. The were branded as Felder, Adamik and Wegoma. I was offered a good deal on the Wegoma one of about £1500 +vat from a company called Uniwood who are based in ireland. I didnt buy one in the end but i am still considering it for the future. I have there contact details if you want them just PM me.

Jon


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## promhandicam (8 May 2009)

I've been in contact with these people - in fact I think that should be singular :wink: as I get the impression he is a one man band. According to the reply I had to my enquiry the Prices are:
TL7 £165 + VAT
TL12 £495 + VAT 
TL20 £1545 + VAT. 
These are ex-works prices and don’t include carriage.

I was looking at the TL7 which is similar to the Virutex AG98 but it doesn't appear to have a holder for the edgebanding so I guess you would have to cut to length first. I've still not decided whether to buy one or not as I'm really not sure how much of an improvement these simple edgebanders are over an ordinary domestic iron together with a seam roller (for wallpapering) which is what I use at the moment for pre glued edgebanding. I'd be interested in others thoughts on this.

HTH,

Steve


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