Here is the top of a jewelery box made using plywoods and veneers with banding inlays. I will
describe the procedure used for installing the banding. First you must be familiar with veneering
small panels. There are numerous books and articles for veneering, but to me it is simply gluing the
veneer (which is nothing more than thin wood) to the plywood. It may or may not be a procedure used by
professional woodworkers, but it works well for me. This works only for panels that will be
veneered and banded at the same time. Just be sure to use a good quality plywood as a core, such
as baltic birch plywood, or before veneering an inferior core, cross-band it (on both sides)
with an inexpensive veneer first.
In this particular example, I am veneering and banding a false front for a drawer in a cabinet.
Here is the veneered and banded front, completed (except for the finish) and installed on the front of the drawer.
I started with a piece of 12mm (1/2") baltic birch plywood that has a solid piece of walnut (the same thickness
as the plywood) glued to the top edge, so when you look at the top of the drawer, you do not see
the plywood edge, but the solid walnut. This also prevents the plywood from getting marred at the
drawer top. The central rectangle of figured maple veneer has been glued to the plywood to which
I will surround with the banding.
Position the banding on the border of the maple and pencil mark where you want the mitre cut.
I have made a simple jig for cutting the mitres. This is a scrap piece of plywood with pencil reference lines, drawn
with a straight-edge and a 45° triangle.
Align the banding along the straight reference line of the jig, then align a metal rule on the 45° line where
you want to make the cut.
Place a knife blade against the rule to cut the banding. I have moved the rule out of the way and simply hammer (lightly)
the knife thru the banding making a clean mitred cut. In this picture, it is hard to see, but I am hammering a knife
blade (exactly like the one that is laying down on the board next to the hammer) through the banding to make a clean
mitre cut.
Continue to mark the banding for the mitre cuts and fit the banding around the maple insert.
Or you can do it this way - using the knife to mark the banding instead of a pencil mark - this is more
accurate, but takes a bit of practice. Notice that I have used some scotch tape to temporarily hold the
banding in place while marking it for the cut.
You may have to adjust the mitre cuts using a block with sandpaper glued to it.
Getting the banding glued onto the drawer front: I am using Elmer's Carpenter's Glue, but any yellow wood glue will
do. Rather than applying the glue directly to the banding, it is easier to lay down a bead of glue onto your
scrap plywood, then press the banding into the glue bead - just make sure you have an even light coat of glue
on the back of the piece of banding. Then place the banding with the glue onto the drawer front. Repeat this
for the other banding pieces. If necessary, use tape to hold the banding in-place until you clamp it.
Once all the banding pieces are glued into place, use a couple pieces of 3/4" plywood for clamping cauls.
Then clamp it up and let it set a while. If you don't let is set too long (say 10 or 15 minutes or so) the
next step is easier!
When you remove this from the clamps, you will have some glue squeeze, which I am removing with a metal rule
which acts as a scraper. You can use a scraper, chisel, or whatever - just get the excess glue out of there so
when we apply the walnut veneer, it will fit snugly against the banding.
I have prepared some walnut veneer strips, just a little wider than the area where the walnut will be applied.
Cut the mitres in the walnut strips using a procedure similar to the one used to mark and mitre the banding.
Once you have the strips of walnut veneer mitred to fit, brush on glue around the border of the drawer where the
walnut veneer will be applied.
Put the walnut veneer in place. (Keep it there with tape if you need to until you get it clamped).
Here is a good tip: The veneers and the banding are going to be different thicknesses. So if you simply use
plain plywood for clamping cauls, all the surfaces of the veneer and banding will not get sufficient clamping
pressure for a good bond. I have constructed a simple padded caul using a piece of red felt as padding, covered
with a sheet of waxed paper to prevent glue from sticking to the felt. This will apply a sufficiently even pressure
to the veneer, resulting in a good glue bond. Instead of felt, most professionals use a sheet of cork, but
it is more expensive and harder to find. You can get felt at any fabric store (I get mine at Wal Mart) and felt
is inexpensive.
Place the veneered panel face-down onto the padded caul.
Put a plain 3/4" plywood caul on top of this and clamp the whole thing up!
Here is the finished false front for my drawer. Now I have to make six more of these as my cabinet has seven
drawers!
Matt Furjanic
matt@inlaybanding.com