Edgebander or not?

Hi folks, and thank you to anyone who can offer some insight here!

I'm looking medium term into the future here, as I'm collecting equipment that will allow us to rebuild a kitchen, and a number of other projects around the house (entertainment unit, large inbuilt drawer system for storage, wardrobes, bathroom vanities and the like).

A large number of these projects will use melamine, and I'm now at the point where I nearly almost have most of the kit we will need to begin these projects (we're still building the workshop, but I'm planning ahead).

As part of my "wishlist", I had always envisaged buying a Festool Conturo, as I was of the belief that the iron on edgebanding is really sub-par for a decent quality, long lasting result. I was also aware that other solutions exist - this one: https://www.beyondtools.com.au/produ...8r-by-virutex/ is one example, but I had read reviews on those being sub-par as well.

In my travels on the great Internet last night, I came across FastCap's FastEdge: https://www.fastcap.com/product/fast...ck-edgebanding

This has only muddied the waters for me, the logic in my head says that solutions that are cheap give cheap results, yet it also seems a bit odd that to get a good result, one might need to spend the sort of coin required for a Conturo.

Have we experienced folk here who can shed light and information for me please? If a good, long lasting, quality result really requires a Conturo, I will get one - there is a large cost saving we will be achieving by building these items and upgrades ourselves, and I don't mind investing in good tools to make that happen and obtain the right result. By the same token, if I can get a good quality, long lasting result be spending tens or hundreds as opposed to thousands, I am all ears!

Thank you in advance for sharing your wisdom!

What do you call long lasting I have applied heat activated edge banding with a iron and it is still fine after 20 years
a edge band will do it with less work,

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by China

What do you call long lasting I have applied heat activated edge banding with a iron and it is still fine after 20 years
a edge band will do it with less work,

---

In every case where I've seen the iron-on stuff used around here (i.e. in this house), it's peeling after 10 years or less.

I'm looking for something permanent, and honestly, thicker than the iron-on stuff.

Hand applied edge banding is only as good as the man behind the hand. That said, the same applies to a machine but the results are usually more consistent. The application of the edging is not were the time goes, its the trimming. An automatic edge bander with trimmers will do the job in quarter of the time. The choice between hot melt and pre glued edging is also an issue for consideration. For a full on, chain production factory the choice would be hot melt... cheaper. For the small operator a hot melt system becomes tedious with constant re heating and pot cleans becoming a PITA. Pre glued takes away the need for these procedures.
Now we come to thick verses thin edgebanding. The current trend is towards thick. Main reason? Less subject to damage. When you think about it, most of these manufactured products have to be transported to site before installation. Transport = damage potential. Nothing worse than rocking up with a full set of cupboards and find the edging chipped before it has even done a days service.
Personally, I am not a great lover of the thick stuff. Reason? It discolours quickly and the thick edge shows the dirt far more than the thin edge will. I guess it is safe to say both have their pros and cons.
Now here is the good bit. Many joineries are replacing their old thin edge banders with thicker-capable machines. I picked up a Hebrock in near new condition for a mere $450 it works beautifully. A simple machine that I can service myself. Produces a well fixed, trimmed and clean edge every time. No fuss no mess. Love it.

I’ve not done much edge banding but the edges that I see on laundry cupboards etc from some cabinet makers and the old nasty Bunnings supply are down right ugly and cheap looking, with sharp edges. Not sure if this is a product of the cheapness, as I haven’t seen or done personally any hot diy edge banding.
I’ve recently looked into the thicker options, and I’ve asked this question if the forum and true to form, I was provided the answers. 1mm and 2mm ABS edge banding is available, so my preference is for that style. As it can take a beating.
Interestingly, the higher end (multiple colour options in fake wood grain) laminated chipboard panels from Big B have the decent thicker edge and look great


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Let me toss some petrol on the fire.

When you are building cabinets only one side shows, the front. If the end cabinet in a line shows a side, then two sides show or are visible. The Melamine sheets that are available are not really that durable and these types of cabinets are sort of antiseptic. Fine for a business environment but I wouldn't want them in my home. While Melamine on the inside of cabinets is a dream for the domestic engineers among us. I strongly suggest building the cabinets using the one sided Melamine sheet material but build the cabinets as face frame style.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by rrich

The Melamine sheets that are available are not really that durable

---

Ummm...not sure what you mean there, all the places I've lived in have been 20-30 years old and the original melamine cabinets were holding up just fine in the kitchens and bathrooms.

I've seen boards bend when 2 different laminates were pressed on opposite sides (one side was plain black, the other was a decorative timber-based laminate), I don't think I'd trust single sided board to stay flat and I doubt the cost difference would be very large.

Back to edgebanders...
You can get 1 and 2mm white ABS edging pre-glued (activated with hot air) and I would probably go for this stuff and a suitable pre-glued edgebander if it's just for home use. There's a whole bunch available used for $1-4k (might only end up costing you a few hundred, if anything, if you sell when you're done) and I would go for this over a Conturo unless you have lots of curves to edge https://www.machines4u.com.au/search...er=-dateplaced
The proper hot-melt edgebanders don't really like having the same glue reheated multiple times as it can burn and the pot is an expensive item to have properly cleaned or replaced (and if something goes wrong with the dosing system you have a 200 degree sticky mess to deal with, it's not fun).

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by elanjacobs

You can get 1 and 2mm white ABS edging pre-glued (activated with hot air) and I would probably go for this stuff and a suitable pre-glued edgebander if it's just for home use.

---

You're dead right, this is for home use only - we're basically doing a rolling renovation room by room through many of the usual suspects (bathroom vanities, kitchen, wardrobe storage, crafting room storage and desks and so on.

Thanks for the thought on this - would I be in the wrong ballpark then, if taking the pre-glued ABS route in looking at something like this unit: https://www.beyondtools.com.au/produ...8r-by-virutex/ or is that not a suitable unit? Perhaps better to say - I don't really have the room for most of the units in the link you provided, and I realise they're nice, stationary units etc - does this smaller hand-held unit come with too few features/other problems that a newbie edgebander like myself wouldn't be aware of?

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by rrich

I strongly suggest building the cabinets using the one sided Melamine sheet material but build the cabinets as face frame style.

---

The face frame style cabinets are not in fashion in Australia - and haven't been for a quite a while. Euro style cabinets are what people want and expect. As for melamine durability, I would disagree strongly. Obviously the cheapest rubbish you can buy will last exactly as long as cheap rubbish does. But a decent melamine bathroom or kitchen setup will see 20 years of use without too much issue.

Back to the OP - another option could be to have your local plywood/sheetgood supplier do the edgebanding? They'll most likely have a very good range of edge banding to pick from as well.

Midnight Man - I am in the exact same position as you right now, looking to do some kitchen cabinets / WIR / pantry and looking for the best edge banding solution for 1mm ABS. I too am leaning towards the Virutex AG98R since it is a relatively cheap entry option and having a mobile unit seems better (Carbatec have a similar benchtop version but I can see it being awkward keeping pressure and support on larger panels). It is pretty hard to find any reviews or videos on any of the virutex stuff, just some dodgy foreign youtube videos from about 10 years ago.

The other part of the banding is the trimming, not sure if it can easily be done with some of the manual trimmers, a jig on my palm router or picking up one of those Virutex trimmers at Beyond Tools on special, but I guess I can experiment with some test panels. Not sure about you but most of my edgebanding is going to be on the carcasses so obsessing over the edgebanding my be futile since most of it is going to be hidden behind some 2pac doors (that I will order in over making)

I plan to start testing in a few weeks so will let you know how it goes.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Midnight Man

Thanks for the thought on this - would I be in the wrong ballpark then, if taking the pre-glued ABS route in looking at something like this unit: https://www.beyondtools.com.au/produ...8r-by-virutex/ or is that not a suitable unit? Perhaps better to say - I don't really have the room for most of the units in the link you provided, and I realise they're nice, stationary units etc - does this smaller hand-held unit come with too few features/other problems that a newbie edgebander like myself wouldn't be aware of?

---

I think if you can get a stationary unit you'll find it much easier to do, even a small benchtop unit that you have to manually feed. Much of the time in edging is spent trimming the stuff after it's glued on, so if you can find the space for one with built-in trimmers like this https://www.machines4u.com.au/view/a...eglued/517703/ you're basically chopping 50-70% of the time (and about 95% of the mess) off the process. A couple of roller stands will help with large panels

Thank you all for the feedback so far, am always keen to hear more!

I didn't realise there were so many different types of edgebanding - I had thought there was the iron on stuff, and then the non-iron on stuff (and the difference was the non iron on was thicker and made of a "better" material).

I'm burying myself investigating the differences between PVC, ABS and melamine, there's probably more yet!

And then it turns out not all edgebanders can edgeband all types.

Silly me for thinking this was a simple question! ;) Jokes aside, it's a fun learning exercise, and the right answer is out there, when searched in combination with the good advice shared above :)