Stumbled onto a trick for wrapping edge banding around tight curves

I was working on a set of curved cabinet doors for a kitchen remodel in Portland last month. The MDF panels had these sharp 1-inch radius corners that kept lifting no matter what I tried. Pre-heating the banding with a heat gun, clamping it down, nothing held. Then I grabbed a rubber roller meant for laminate and used it while the glue was still hot from the iron. Wrapped the banding around the curve and rolled it hard for about 10 seconds straight. Let it cool under a small block of wood with a clamp for 5 minutes. Not a single lift on all 12 doors. That roller cost me like 8 bucks at a hardware store. Anyone else found a weird tool that made a specific task way easier?

3 comments

3 Comments

paul_taylor2113d ago

That roller trick sounds like a real find. My buddy Dave had a similar problem last year when he was building a curved display case for a client. He tried everything with the edge banding on those tight corners. Finally his wife grabbed a wooden spoon handle from the kitchen drawer and told him to press down with that while the glue was hot. He said it worked better than any tool he owned, and now he keeps a dedicated wooden spoon in his toolbox. Got a good laugh out of that when he told me.

jakejones13d ago

I mean, is it really that serious though? Like cool, a wooden spoon worked, but did he try just using his thumb or a scrap block first? People act like edge banding tight curves is brain surgery when half the time you can just press it down with anything round and call it done. I've seen guys spend $60 on a special roller set and then struggle anyway because the glue cooled off too fast. Not saying it's a bad trick, but maybe Dave needs to chill with the kitchen utensil as a permanent tool.

ellioth3711d ago

Hang on, let me get this straight. Jakejones over here is acting like spending 8 bucks on a roller is some kind of luxury spending spree, but his buddy Dave is out here raiding the kitchen for a wooden spoon like he's about to stir some soup? That is pure gold. I mean yeah, you can press with your thumb if you want blisters and a weird looking curve, but a roller gives you even pressure without your hand cramping up after door number three. The spoon thing is hilarious though, I bet his wife still doesn't know it's in his toolbox. And Jake, nobody's saying it's brain surgery, but when you've got 12 doors to do and you want them all to look the same, a couple bucks for a roller beats burning your thumb or fighting with a spoon handle any day.