The Technique of FURNITURE MAKING
LIPPINGS/EDGINGS
Exposed edges of plywood, laminboard. chipboard, etc. must be masked or edged, although in the cheapest work such edges are sometimes filled and stained or painted with water-based pigments (poster paint, etc.) and then polished. The usual procedure in medium - quality work is to use edgings of veneer (314:1). adopting some form of strip heating to set the glue rapidly, and relying on the face veneers to clip the edges of the edge veneers, but these are not altogether satisfactory, for the fractional creep of the alternate grain in plywood laminates will tend to throw off the veneer, which will then blister and chip over a period of, time. Solid edgings relying only on the glue to hold them on plywood constructions are also subject to the same defect, for although not so easily damaged they are more liable to split off as they do not have the elasticity of thin veneers. However, solid edgings applied to the long grain of laminboard cores or to particle board edges are relatively permanent (314:2). Where a thin plywood top has to be reinforced a thick solid edge can be rebated/rabbeted over (314:3), and the increased gluing area will hold it in position. An alternative solid edge is shown in 314:4, with the inset (A) the method of working, but the advantages are only minimal and admittedly the best methods are tongued edges worked in the solid (314:5) or with loose plywood tongues (314:6). These can be veneered over (314:5) provided the width of the edge on the face is not more than about 3/16 in (5 mm) (for wider edges will shadow or telegraph through in time), or left to show as a border (314:6). They can be mitred as in 314:7, which is the neatest finish, or allowed to run through (314:8), in which case the end edgings are glued on first and the side tongues trimmed back to fit.
Edgings which are to be veneered over present no problems in working for they can be fitted and worked off level with the ground-
315 Edge cramp/clamp
work/substrate when dry, but they should be given plenty of time to settle as the water in the adhesive may cause temporary swelling up of the edges which will sink back later. On the other hand border edgings will have to be accurately worked, fractionally full and with the tongues truly central. The proud edges on the faces will then have to be eased back very carefully with a finely set try-plane working diagonally from the centre of the panel outwards to avoid digging in to the veneered faces, and the last tissue-thin shavings removed with a steel scraper. This method of planing outwards to the edges and not inwards will also prevent any dubbing over of the edges, as the body of the plane will be well supported on the flat panel. A useful cramp/clamp for applying solid edgings is the edge cramp (315).
