(chipboard) the edges of parts without processing have an unsightly appearance. To put them in order, furniture edges and profiles are used. It’s more convenient to work with them using special equipment, but you can also achieve good results with your own hands at home.
Types of furniture edges
One of the most popular materials for making furniture is chipboard. Its disadvantage is the unsightly edges that remain when cutting the part. These edges are masked by the furniture edge. They make it out of different materials, accordingly, she has different properties and price.
Paper or melamine edges
Most cheap option— edges made of paper with melamine impregnation. The paper is taken of high density, impregnated with melamine to increase strength and glued to papyrus paper. Papyrus can be single-layer (cheaper) or double-layer. To prevent the melamine coating from wearing off, everything is covered with a layer of varnish. To make it more convenient to hem the parts, on reverse side An adhesive composition is applied to the melamine furniture edges. When working, you just need to warm up this composition slightly and press it well against the end.
Paper or melamine edge is the cheapest, but also the most short-lived option for finishing the ends of furniture
Paper thickness edge tapes small - 0.2 mm and 0.4 mm - the most common. There is no point in making it thicker, and it will be expensive.
This type of edges is distinguished by the fact that it bends very well and does not break when bent. But its mechanical strength is very low - the edge quickly wears out. Therefore, if it is used, it is only on those surfaces that are not subject to load. For example, on the back of shelves, tabletops, etc.
PVC
Received recently widespread Polyvinyl chloride is also used in the production of edges for furniture. A ribbon of a certain width and thickness is formed from a mass painted in a certain color. Its front surface can be smooth, monochromatic, or it can be textured - with imitation of wood fibers. The number of colors is large, so it’s easy to choose the right one.
PVC furniture edging is the most popular material used by both home craftsmen and professionals. This is due to relatively low price and good performance properties:
PVC furniture edging is available in different thicknesses and widths. Thickness - from 0.4 mm to 4 mm, width from 19 mm to 54 mm. The thickness is chosen depending on the expected mechanical load or external appearance, and the width is slightly larger (at least 2-3 mm) than the thickness of the workpiece. Eat furniture PVC edge with adhesive applied, yes - without. Both can be glued at home (more on that below).
This type of edging material also has disadvantages: not very wide temperature regime: -5°C to +45°C. For this reason, furniture cannot be left outside in winter, and when pasting with heat, you must be careful so as not to melt the polymer.
Made from ABS plastic
This polymer does not contain heavy metals and is characterized by high strength and durability. The disadvantage can be considered the high price, therefore it is used extremely rarely, although it has excellent properties:
This type of edge can be matte, glossy or semi-gloss. There are also options that imitate various types of wood. In general, this material is more convenient to use and more durable to use.
Veneer edge
Veneer is a thin section of wood, colored and shaped into a strip. This furniture edge is used in production for gluing sections of veneered products. Working with this material requires certain skills, and the material is expensive.
Veneer is not the most popular material for edging
Acrylic edge or 3D
Made from transparent acrylic. A design is applied to the reverse side of the strip. The layer of polymer on top gives it volume, which is why it is called a 3D edge. Used in the production of unusual furniture.
Profiles for processing furniture edges
You can trim the edge of furniture not only with edge tape. There are also furniture profiles that are attached mechanically. They are available in two sections - T-shaped or U-shaped (also called C-shaped).
For T-shaped furniture profiles, a groove is milled in the edge being processed. The profile is hammered into it with a furniture (rubber) mallet. The edges are cut at 45° to make the angle look attractive. It is brought to perfect condition with fine sandpaper. This type of profiles is produced from PVC and aluminum; with the same installation method, they look very different, and the differences are significant.
In width they are available for laminated chipboards of 16 mm and 18 mm. There are also wide ones, but they are much less common, since they work less with such material.
C- or U-shaped profiles are most often mounted with glue. They coat the edge with it, then put it on plastic profile, press and fix well. These PVC profiles there are soft and hard. Hard ones are harder to bend and it’s difficult to paste them over curved edges. But they have great strength.
If you still need to “plant” a rigid C-shaped furniture profile on a bend, it is heated with a construction hairdryer, then given the desired shape and secured with masking tape until the glue dries.
We glue furniture edges with our own hands
There are two technologies for gluing furniture edge tape. The first is for those that have glue applied to the back. In this case, an iron or construction hair dryer. The second is for gluing tapes without glue. In this case, you need a good universal glue that can glue plastics and wood products and a furniture roller, a piece of felt or a soft rag so that you can press the edge well against the cut.
A little about what thickness of edge to glue on which parts. Those edges that are not visible, according to GOST, do not need to be glued at all, but basically they try to treat them so that less moisture is absorbed into the chipboard, and also to reduce the evaporation of formaldehyde. Melamine tape or 0.4 mm PVC is glued to these edges. The edges are also processed drawers(not facades).
It is better to use 2 mm PVC on the front ends of the facade and drawers, and 1 mm PVC on the visible sections of the shelves. The color is chosen either to match the main surface or “in contrast”.
How to glue edging yourself with glue
The adhesive composition is applied to the melamine edge; it can be applied to PVC. If you choose PVC, it’s easier to start with thin ones - they are easier to process; any melamine ones are easy to glue.
We take an iron and a fluoroplastic nozzle on it. If there is no nozzle, thick cotton fabric will do - so as not to overheat the tape, but to melt the glue. A hair dryer is also suitable for this purpose. We set the iron to about “two”, while it is heating up we cut off a piece of tape. The length is a couple of centimeters longer than the workpiece.
We apply the edge to the part, level it, smooth it out. There should be small pieces hanging off both sides. We take an iron and, using a nozzle or a rag, iron the edge, heating it until the glue melts. It is necessary to heat evenly over the entire surface. After the entire edge is glued, let it cool. Then we start processing the edges.
The edge can be cut with a knife, both with the sharp and blunt sides. Some people use a regular metal ruler, while others find it more convenient to use a stainless steel spatula.
So, take the tool you have chosen and cut off the hanging edges of the edge. They are cut close to the material. Then cut off the excess along the part. Melamine and thin plastic are easily cut with a knife. If the PVC edge is thicker - 0.5-0.6 mm or more, difficulties may arise. Such edges are possible if there is one. This guarantees good results in a short time. The processing will take longer if you use sandpaper, but the result may not be worse.
One important point: when gluing thin edges, the cut of the part should be smooth, without protrusions and depressions. The material is plastic, which is why all defects are visible. Therefore, first go over the cuts with sandpaper, then thoroughly remove dust and degrease. Only after this can you glue.
Edging with PVC tape (no glue on the back side)
With this method of gluing PVC edges yourself, you need universal glue and a piece of felt or rag. We read the instructions for the glue and carry out all the steps as recommended. For example, for Moment glue, you need to apply the composition to the surface and distribute it, wait 15 minutes, and firmly press the surfaces to be glued.
Apply glue and wait - no problem. To press the edge tightly to the cut, you can use wooden block wrapped in felt. Instead of a block, you can take a construction float and also attach felt to its sole. As a last resort, you can roll up thick fabric in several layers and press the tape to the surface.
The selected tool is pressed against the laid edge, pressed with all its weight, pressing it against the surface of the chipboard. The movements are stroking. This is how they iron the entire edge, achieving a very tight fit. The part is left in this form for some time - so that the glue “seizes.” Then you can start processing the edges.
In this article we will look at the simplest option - gluing a 2 mm edge with pre-applied hot glue. You can order such an edge either from the supplier or from the workshop. The increase in its cost will be 2-5 rubles per meter.
To glue such an edge we will need a technical hair dryer (heat gun), a router (preferably an edge cutter), a molding cutter, a sharp knife, a file and a cotton glove.
We fix the part vertically or horizontally - whichever is more convenient for you (it is advisable to fix it with clamps).
First, warm up the tip (about 5 cm) of the edge well so that the glue melts and the edge itself becomes soft.
We apply the edge and, warming the glue with a stream of air, together with the end of the part, smooth the edge with a gloved hand. Having warmed up an area about 10 cm long, put the hair dryer aside and iron the area more thoroughly, and so on each time. The main thing here is not to overheat the edge (an overheated edge bends easily - just by itself - and in this case, the places where the bends will remain visible in the form of waves). 
We look at the glue seam again, heat the unglued areas with a hair dryer again (and you need to heat it from the front side, warming up the entire edge) and smooth it until it fits completely.
Let's move on to cutting off the overhangs. If you have an edge router, then everything is fine, but if you only have a universal manual one, then it will require modifications, because... You can’t place it on the edge of the workpiece - the overhang gets in the way.
I screwed a piece of laminated chipboard onto the sole, which allowed me to raise the sole on only one side.
Then, of course, I made myself a normal edger - that’s what I’ll use in the lesson.
Practice on scraps first to fine-tune the cutter cut, otherwise you risk damaging the laminate. Like this, for example: 
We carefully move a milling cutter with a molding cutter (rounding radius 3 mm) along the surface of the workpiece, cutting off excess edges.
We turn it over to the other side and repeat all the manipulations of smoothing the jambs and cutting off the overhangs.
We cut off the remains from the ends as follows: apply pressure sharp knife along the edge, forming a scratch. We place the workpiece on the edge of the table along the scratch line, and then break it off moving downwards.
Or we cut off a piece from the end with a hacksaw blade (the main thing here is not to scratch the adjacent edge, perpendicular to the one being sawn off).
We clean up unevenness and roughness with a file.
The end result should be something similar. For clarity, a straight (short) piece of edge was glued on a machine, and a long piece (which covers the bend) was glued by hand. The difference is almost invisible.
For pieces of furniture made from laminated chipboard, untreated edges do not look very aesthetically pleasing. In addition, the formaldehyde resin that holds the chips together in the slab can become a source of harmful fumes. To avoid these problems, use a special furniture profile or edge. For gluing edges it is usually used special equipment, but you can cope with this task yourself at home. So, edge for a tabletop with glue - how to glue? Let's talk about this.
Types of furniture edges
Laminated chipboard is one of the most common materials in furniture production. The furniture edge is designed to mask the cuts that occur after cutting the required parts. For making decorative strip use different edges. They are made from different materials. Their properties and prices are also different. Before gluing the edge to the tabletop, let's look at the main types of materials.
Paper with melamine
Melamine-impregnated paper edging is the cheapest option. For its production it is used thick paper impregnated with melamine and varnished. For ease of edging, an adhesive coating is applied to the back of the film. Working with the material is extremely simple: you need to heat it up and press it well against the furniture end.
Important! Paper edging is not only the cheapest, but also the most short-lived type of finish.
Most common thickness paper tape- 0.2 and 0.4 mm. There is no point in using a thicker edge, and the price will increase significantly.
Important! Paper tapes bend well and do not break, but their mechanical strength is extremely low. For this reason, paper edge is used with back side shelves or countertops - where there is no heavy load.
PVC
Durable and practical polyvinyl chloride (PVC) has also found application in furniture production. A ribbon is formed from a polymer mass painted in one color or another. The front surface can be smooth or textured (imitation of wood fibers). There are so many color options that you can choose the right one without much difficulty. At the same time, the price of PVC is more than affordable.
It is very easy to glue PVC, which is why home craftsmen often use it. You can achieve good results using simple devices. The advantages of PVC tape include:
- High strength.
- Moisture resistance.
- Chemical neutrality to household chemicals.
The thickness of the furniture edge is 0.4-4.0 mm, with a width of 19-54 mm. There are tapes with or without glue applied.
Important! Polyvinyl chloride also has a significant disadvantage: it does not have a very wide range of operating temperatures (-5 - +45 degrees). Therefore, in winter time furniture should not be left outside for a long time (for example, when moving). Care must also be taken when heating the material before gluing so that it does not melt.
ABS (ABC) plastic
It's environmentally friendly safe material, which does not contain harmful impurities. It is durable and practical, resistant to significant temperature changes. It has one drawback - its relatively high cost.
Important! ABC tape can be matte, semi-matte or glossy. There is a furniture tape that imitates various varieties tree.
Veneer
This is the thinnest piece of wood, processed and shaped like a ribbon. It is used for finishing the edges of veneer products. The material is not cheap and quite difficult to use. The sticker of this material requires certain skills, so it is advisable to turn to the experts.
Acrylic
A pattern is applied to the back strip of the tape, and a transparent acrylic layer creates a three-dimensional effect. Therefore, it is also known as 3D. This option is suitable for furniture with an original design.
Profiles
In addition to edges, a special T-shaped or U-shaped profile is used for finishing furniture. For T-shaped profiles, a groove is formed in the edge. The profile itself is hammered into the groove using a mallet. There are 14 and 16 mm profiles made of plastic or aluminum. Installation of a profile with a U-shaped cross-section is carried out using special glue.
Important! The disadvantage of this type of finish is that they are of little use for curved surfaces.
How to glue an edge to a tabletop with your own hands?
There are 2 methods of gluing:
- The first one refers to materials with an applied adhesive composition.
- The second concerns gluing tapes without an adhesive layer.
Important! In the latter case, purchase a universal glue that glues edging, wood and plastic equally well.
Now about what thickness of material to choose. According to GOST canons, edges that are not visible do not need to be processed. But it’s better not to be lazy and edge all the cuts. This is necessary to avoid the absorption of moisture from the chipboard and the evaporation of formaldehyde:
- Tape is used to treat inconspicuous areas PVC thick in 0.4 mm.
- On the “front” edges, 2 mm thick polyvinyl chloride tape is used.
- For shelves - 1 mm.
Self-attaching tape with adhesive composition
Start working with thin edges. First, let's look at the installation of melamine or PVC tape. Let's look at how to glue an edge on chipboard with an iron. To do this you will need scissors and a regular iron with a fluoroplastic attachment. The procedure is as follows:
- Cut a piece of tape with a margin of 1.5-2.0 cm.
- Place the iron on the “deuce” setting.
- Place the edge on the surface to be treated, level it so that small pieces hang over the edges.
- Iron the ribbon through the iron attachment. If there is no attachment, you can use soft textiles.
- Once dry, trim the edges. To make them look as smooth as possible, process them with a hand router.
Important! Trimming the edges must be done with the utmost care. The material is thin, all defects are very noticeable.
Edging with PVC tape without adhesive
To stick PVC tape without a special layer, you will need universal glue for PVC edges on furniture (for example, “Moment”) and a piece of soft textile:
- Don't forget to read the glue instructions first.
- Now apply glue to the tape, wait the time specified in the instructions, then connect the surfaces to be glued.
- To press the surfaces more firmly, use a wooden block or soft cloth.
- Press the tape with stroking movements to ensure better adhesion.
- After the glue has completely hardened, you can align the edges.
Video material
There are no particular difficulties in sealing furniture sections. The main thing is to choose best option material and apply it correctly, and how to do it - you now know, thanks to this review.
The edge is used to protect the end edges of parts made of MDF, chipboard, PVC from abrasion, moisture and impact. This finish performs a decorative function, and also gives the edges and corners of furniture strength and protects people from the harmful effects of substances such as formaldehyde, which is used in the production of compressed wood boards.
If the border is damaged or peels off, urgent repairs are required. And in this case, the primary task is to select the material and glue for the edges made of PVC, melamine paper or other material.
Varieties of edges
From the variety of edges you have to choose the most suitable one.
Melamine
Made in the form of a self-adhesive tape made of decorative paper, which is impregnated with melamine resins. Typically used for interior decoration furniture. This budget option edges for chipboard, not characterized high quality. It has a short service life, is susceptible to moisture and often falls off on its own over time.
The undoubted positive property of the melamine edge is the ease of gluing it; this can be done at home yourself, using a regular iron. The second advantage is the absence of a side, a curb protruding above the edged surface, which sometimes irritates when it gets under your hands when working with the keyboard, and also interferes with sweeping away small debris, for example, crumbs from the dining table in the office.
It is a flexible tape with curved edges that form a side. This edging is made of PVC (polyvinyl chloride). Types of edging differ in width and profile: in cross-section, the edge resembles either the letter “t” (T-shaped) or the letter “p” (U-shaped).
The latter is easier to attach, but less reliable; craftsmen do not recommend using it on surfaces that are often subject to friction: on the seats of stools or benches, on the front edge computer desk, which is constantly in contact with the forearms.
PVC edging increases the durability and wear resistance of furniture parts, and reliably protects edges and corners from damage.
The edging is similar to the previous type of edging tape, but is more environmentally friendly. Made from chlorine-free plastic. It has found successful application in furniture production due to its heat resistance and impact resistance.
How to glue melamine edge
Update if desired old furniture and at the same time save money, use a melamine edge with glue. It’s easy to stick it, for example, on a tabletop:
- Cut a piece of tape with a margin of about two centimeters.
- Place the adhesive side to the tabletop and press with a hot iron or heat with a hair dryer.
- Hold until the glue words melt.
- Move the iron along the edge gradually, preferably no more than 0.5 cm at a time.
- Immediately after warming up and removing the iron, press the edge strip with a dry cloth and hold to fix it.
Advice! An iron or hair dryer will also help you remove the old edge tape. Just warm it up and remove it with a knife or thin spatula.
Fastening PVC and ABS edging
Plastic edging tapes, theoretically, can simply be fixed to the edge of the furniture, but this is extremely unreliable. Additional fixation with glue is preferable.
To attach the T-shaped profile, you will have to lay a recess along the entire edge to be processed. The easiest way to do this is milling machine. If you have the skill, it will be replaced by a drill with a circular attachment. However, in general the profile is intended for professionals.
To fix PVC or ABS edges at home, use PVC glue, as well as universal compounds “Moment” and “88-lux”; it is advisable that they be marked “for PVC” or “for ABS”.
Professionals use hot melt adhesives, which are part of a range of thermoplastics. When heated, they acquire high elasticity, and when cooled, they instantly turn into solid state. The high fluidity and drying strength of the adhesives is due to the ethylene polymer with vinyl acetate they contain. The main disadvantage of hot melt adhesives, of course, is the need for appropriate equipment for the job.
When working with any border, try to calculate the sequence of pasting so as to avoid joints. Go around the corners with a profile - preferably they should be rounded. If the corners are normal, a thick (PVC or ABS) profile will not go around them, and the melamine edge will most likely break. In this case, you will have to make joints at the corners, which must be sanded at the end so that they are smooth. If you run your hand along the edge of the part, the roughness should not be felt.
Advice! You can get rid of excess edge tape with a very sharp knife, and cut off the ends first. Be careful not to accidentally damage the corners of the furniture. The direction of the knife should be towards the inside of the part.
If the factory edge is damaged or partially fallen off, remove it and replace it with a new one. A little effort and the table is like new!
Everyone knows a fact that often occurs when edgebanding is the melting of PVC edges, especially for edges up to 1 mm thick.
There is a problem of wave-like formation on edges with a thickness of 2 mm after scraping, peeling of the edge from the part, lumpy edges of 0.4 mm, whitishness of the edges and many other problems.
It is necessary to understand what the reason is in each specific case more deeply than to attribute everything to the quality of the edges.
So first we should consider edge banding process, namely the reasons for the appearance of defects at this stage in detail, we are talking about the use exclusively PVC edges.
The process consists of several stages:
Gluing
Trimming
Milling overhangs
Cycling
Polishing
Gluing PVC edges.
Regardless of the type of machine, edge gluing is done using melt glue.
The likelihood of marriage occurring at this stage is very high. In order to avoid problems, you must:
Carry out the most suitable settings by trial and experiment
Select a suitable hot melt adhesive, taking into account the type of machine and operating temperature
Take into account the parameters of laminated chipboard (humidity, friability)
The edge melts when glued.
If you use a feed speed of 2 - 5 m/min, you should apply an edge that is more heat-resistant, and it must be taken into account that the permissible temperatures declared by edge suppliers are reduced if the adhesive is applied directly to the tape and not to the part. We recommend changing operating temperature glue bath.
After gluing the 0.4 mm edges, surface roughness appears:
A very common problem, which is also not always related to the quality of the edges. As a rule, it consists in the incorrect selection of hot melt glue.
The fact is that the density of chipboard greatly affects the gluing process, and depending on this parameter, you need to choose the right hot melt adhesive. Lumpiness on the surface appears at a low density of chipboard with the simultaneous use of unfilled melts.
The problem can be corrected by using a filled adhesive with increased consumption. In this case, not only the bumpiness will disappear, but the bonding strength of the surfaces will also increase.
When gluing it forms uneven surface due to indentation of the chipboard structure:
This problem is easily solved. Simply move out the additional pressure rollers.
The seam between the edge and the end of the part is too noticeable.
When gluing PVC edges with a thickness of 1 mm, 1.8 mm, 2 mm or more, it is recommended to use an unfilled hot melt adhesive, then the seam will be as thin as possible and almost invisible, in addition, it is necessary to carefully select the tone of the glue to visually merge the adhesive seam of the edge and the chipboard.
The edge is melted on curved parts.
This problem is also worth looking at from the point of view of the type of equipment used and the type of adhesive.
For example, for manual machines, when the part moves around a stationary gluing unit, it is recommended to use melts with a wide temperature range.
For equipment with automatic feeding When the workpiece moves around the gluing unit at a constant speed of 10 - 30 m/min, adhesives with a small temperature range can be used. The use of polyurethane adhesives is recommended when the adhesive unit is manually moved around the product and the adhesive is applied directly to the edge tape.
Overhang milling, scraping.
After removing the overhangs, a wavy end remains on the edge.
This problem occurs when the tool (cutter knives) is dull or the rotation speed is insufficient for uniform removal.
Increase the cutter speed and reduce the edge feed speed. The same thing can happen when scraping: a “wave” on the edge is formed if the scraper (knife) is not sharp enough.
There are chips on the edges of the edge.
Chips on a PVC edge after milling do not mean that the edge material is very hard or the chalk content is very high.
They may indicate that the rotation speed of the cutter is set incorrectly and the knives need to be adjusted or sharpened. Perhaps the problem is both.
Polishing.
In order to ensure that the edge is well polished and all remaining chips, glue, etc. are removed, we recommend polishing along the radius with a cloth polishing wheel and applying a release liquid to the surface of the chipboard.
Conclusion:
Based on the above, we recommend that when changing suppliers, you do not immediately attribute poor edgebanding to .
In order to make sure that the edge is not suitable, you need to check its use on several modes/machines, check whether the temperature and feed speed are set correctly, take into account the composition of the glue and much more.
Of course, the quality of edges primarily influences the cladding process. Based on many years of experience in the supply of edge strips, we recommend that when choosing materials you base your choice not only on cost, but also on other characteristics.
So, in order not to spoil the product/part at the edge banding stage, you must:
Choose a reliable partner for the supply of edges
Pay attention to how long the importer has been working on the market
How many suppliers/factories does the importer have (to avoid quality differences from batch to batch).
We offer to solve your problems at the edgebanding stage.
You can, without reconfiguring the equipment, use the “LUX” edge, and save without loss of quality by using the “STANDARD” PVC edge. ().
We are happy to solve any problems that arise, and in case of a color change in the warehouse program/in production, we will accept a full refund.
We will be glad to become for you not just a supplier of edge materials, but a reliable partner who strives to help develop your business.