Edge Band Clamping

[Bugsysiegals]

I own 50+ Bessey clamps, many came from retiring hobbyists yard sale etc. as well as many bought new. If you don’t choose to go either new or used Bessey (or similar quality)route  I’d get pipe clamps w various pipe lengths 2’, 4’ 6’ etc etc etc and get couplers for the pipe and custom assemble the clamps you need that way, it takes up less storage room, it’s customizable and cheap. There is  the argument of clamping pressure however your current question is about edgebanding and isn’t very structural. This approach leaves more funds in the Festool acquisition fund as well LOL

Thanks!  Actually the cabinet walls will be underneath the edge banding so all the weight of the drawers will push down on the edge banding for the deck and anything sitting on top will push down on the edge banding for the top/deck.  I'm not planning to set an engine on it but I don't want it falling apart if I ever forget and do set something on top.  I've only edge banded 1 cabinet and the start of another so I may have to Domino those with through cuts or some dowels to prevent this worst case scenario.

 

[Bugsysiegals]

Like Chris, I also have a bunch of Bessey clamps but most are less than 4 feet long. For longer stuff I also prefer pipe clamps. But if time and/or money is the tyrant, I've used rope. Just make a loop around your project and then drive in wooden wedges between the rope and your edge banding to clamp tight. You can get quite a bit of pressure this way (for super cheap).
Good luck.

Wow, we've some very resourceful people here, thanks for sharing!

 

[Bugsysiegals]

Home Depot actually has the regular Bessey 50" K-Body REVOlution (KRE) Parallel Clamp with Composite Plastic Handle and 3-3/4 in. Throat Depth on sale for $45 each right now which seems reasonable.

I bought 4 of them as that's all my local store had in stock but suspect ideally I need a total of 6 or 8 to clamp up wider cabinets?

 

[Cheese]

Home Depot actually has the regular Bessey 50" K-Body REVOlution (KRE) Parallel Clamp with Composite Plastic Handle and 3-3/4 in. Throat Depth on sale for $45 each right now which seems reasonable.

That's a good price...I paid $55-$60 for my 50" Bessey's from HD a few years ago.

 

[Michael Kellough]

You’ve got too much overhang and too little clamping. It might hold up...

There are a couple thousand ways to clamp something like that starting with stacking weights or twisting a rope loop and then moving on to the second millennium B.C.

 

[Jiggy Joiner]

I noticed nowadays a few clamp makers, Bessey and Irwin for example, offer joining pieces, that join two clamps in the middle doubling their usable length.

For a small workshop or somebody on a budget, these would be handy to have in the draw.
You could join two 300mm 12” and make them 600mm 24” or two 600mm 24” and make 1200mm 48”. 600mm is a popular size, so a few of them with joiners, would open up opportunities and not break the bank.

We have single clamps up to a length of 2500mm IIRC (just over 8’ 2”) and believe it or not, we’ve had at least two jobs where we’ve had to join them!

 

[hdv]

If you find setting up specific types of router bits troublesome, here's a tip.

I always have some small blocks of UHMW ready. Once I have found a proper setting for a router bit that requires a very precise setup I always make a setup block of the stuff for later use. That makes repeating the same setup at a later time a breeze. I just grab the setup block I need and place that against the router bit in the table. I then adjust the height 'til the bit fits just right. Sometimes I write an offset for the fence on the blocks as well. But that might not work for you. I have an Incra LS Positioner on my router table with one scale that I never move just for this. This allows for almost perfect repeatability.

I do this for drawer lock bits, lock miter bits, tongue & groove bits, and all other "complex" bits. Sometimes I need to do this for a few different thicknesses, but the small variations in say 18mm ply thickness do not even require this.

 

[Bugsysiegals]

If you find setting up specific types of router bits troublesome, here's a tip.

I always have some small blocks of UHMW ready. Once I have found a proper setting for a router bit that requires a very precise setup I always make a setup block of the stuff for later use. That makes repeating the same setup at a later time a breeze. I just grab the setup block I need and place that against the router bit in the table. I then adjust the height 'til the bit fits just right. Sometimes I write an offset for the fence on the blocks as well. But that might not work for you. I have an Incra LS Positioner on my router table with one scale that I never move just for this. This allows for almost perfect repeatability.

I do this for drawer lock bits, lock miter bits, tongue & groove bits, and all other "complex" bits. Sometimes I need to do this for a few different thicknesses, but the small variations in say 18mm ply thickness do not even require this.

Thanks, I actually have the bench dog extension table attached to the SawStop with Incra Wonder fence. It has the Incra lift and Porter Cable 3HP router but no dust collection underneath yet, future project to make a cabinet underneath for bits and DC, and seemed I’d be making a heck of a mess so I’ve not used it yet.

I have this Freud easy set and haven’t used it yet either ... I suspect this is the concept behind what your doing and perhaps this might even work well enough for now?  Now I kind of want to give it a go but would you create dominos first, if not using through cut, and then use the edge banding bit or would you not do both?

 

[Bugsysiegals]

Unfortunately the Freud easy setup doesn’t include the edge banding profile so I’ll have to make some scrap as a template like you did ... where can I find that material for a good price?

I also just realized I’ve already ripped all my edge banding for the first two cabinets to 19mm width.  I need more Walnut for the remaining two and like the idea of it being able to support more weight so I’ll give it a go.  My questions still remain whether I should Domino beforehand while the wood is square and not profiled and I assume I’d profile the entire edge of the plywood, the entire edge of the shorter edge banding, and the center of the longer edge banding leaving the last 19mm or so flat so you can’t see the profile on the edge?

 

[hdv]

Well, to be honest I copied the idea when I saw it on the site of Infinity. See this webpage for an example.

Personally I would not combine a profiled edge with domino's. That feels like a wearing a belt ánd suspenders.  [big grin]

At the moment I don't have a Domino machine anyway, but if I had it I wouldn't do it. I suspect that the lip on the routed profile over the full length of the edge will be able to take more load than the few domino's you might insert. However there are situations where I definitely might prefer domino's over a profiled edge. You need to think of questions like "How thick will the edge banding be?", "Should the domino's be invisible?", "How thick is the material that would receive the banding?", and so on.

If you are doubting whether your edge banding will take the shearing load then I can only help you with this: I have not yet had any edge banding fail me that was properly glued. Neither with or without routed profile. Applying sufficient glue, using good quality glue, proper storage of glue, watching the shelf-life of the glue, enough clamping pressure (and that does not have to mean enormous numbers of Newtons), and clean straight edges have always been good enough for me 'til now. But my edge bandings rarely are made to bear much load.

 

[Bugsysiegals]

I bought 4 of the Besseys yesterday and they’re amazing!! I’m considering buying another 4 but wonder whether 8 will be enough or if 4 x 50’s is enough and I should get 4 x longer ones???

I’ve read a few other threads where people said they barely use 50” clamps for cabinet glue ups which I don’t understand. In my case, now that the tops/decks are edge banded all around and since the sides run between them, I can use my 36” Bessey clamps to clamp the sides, 50” clamps to clamp the back between the sides, and perhaps 50’s across the front where the stretchers are located. I could get by with 4 x 50’s if I used cauls in the 4 corners otherwise 8 would probably do. Aren’t kitchen cabinet runs longer than 4’ thus requiring longer clamps?

 

[semenza]

You can also use the Bessey parallels edge wise to cover about six inches with the jaw.

Seth

 

[Bugsysiegals]

You can also use the Bessey parallels edge wise to cover about six inches with the jaw.

Seth

I assume you mean to put them in the corners with the jaw facing towards each other to cover 6” and then 0 or 1 clamp in the center perpendicular?

 

[Jiggy Joiner]

I bought 4 of the Besseys yesterday and they’re amazing!! I’m considering buying another 4 but wonder whether 8 will be enough or if 4 x 50’s is enough and I should get 4 x longer ones???

I’ve read a few other threads where people said they barely use 50” clamps for cabinet glue ups which I don’t understand. In my case, now that the tops/decks are edge banded all around and since the sides run between them, I can use my 36” Bessey clamps to clamp the sides, 50” clamps to clamp the back between the sides, and perhaps 50’s across the front where the stretchers are located. I could get by with 4 x 50’s if I used cauls in the 4 corners otherwise 8 would probably do. Aren’t kitchen cabinet runs longer than 4’ thus requiring longer clamps?

As I said yesterday, if you don’t have longer clamps, or not enough longer ones, you can join your shorter clamps to double their working length.
What length you buy, depends on what you’re making and how often.
Over here, 300mm, 600mm, 800mm, 1000mm and 1200mm Bessey’s are popular, and in the commercial workshops you see the real long clamps.

We use our 1000mm and 1200mm clamps frequently.

 

[hdv]

I have 8 myself. Most of the time that is enough. When it is not there is always 2 parallel sides I can clamp with my Bessey K-Body Clamps. However those are quite heavy, so if they can be used I often turn to the Uniklamps instead (*). They are not very long, nor as strong as the K-Bodies, but for edge banding they are plenty strong. Edge banding certainly doesn't require forces like you would need when glueing up a table top.

(*) Also from Bessey, apologies if this seems like plugging one specific brand. I just like that brand of clamps better than other brands. However, I do like my Dubuques a lot as well.

 

[semenza]

You can also use the Bessey parallels edge wise to cover about six inches with the jaw.

Seth

I assume you mean to put them in the corners with the jaw facing towards each other to cover 6” and then 0 or 1 clamp in the center perpendicular?

Like this .............................

    Sometimes I angle them if the location of the pressure needs to be adjusted.  They will pull a bit more on the bar side. But it is fairly even especially if you don't go overkill on the force. I try to put the clamps on the "show" side just in case they don't pull as tight on the side opposite the bar. In general it's not a problem.

  [attachimg=1]    [attachimg=2]    [attachimg=3]    [attachimg=4]

Seth

 

[Bugsysiegals]

I ended up buying another 4 of the 50” Bessey parallel clamps but thanks for sharing that, I’m sure I’ll use the technique sooner than later. Any reason you took those Black plastic caps off the clamps?

 

[tjbnwi]

These are handy for your situation.
https://www.rockler.com/4-way-equal-pressure-clamp

Also nice to have.
http://www.bowclamp.com/buy.html

Tom

 

[semenza]

I ended up buying another 4 of the 50” Bessey parallel clamps but thanks for sharing that, I’m sure I’ll use the technique sooner than later. Any reason you took those Black plastic caps off the clamps?

I have some on, some off.  They provide a  little  extra surface area. They also grip the bar a enough to make it hard to slide the head with one hand. Which can be award at times. So in the middle of a glue up they tend to just get yanked off. What I should do is just enlarge the opening that wraps around the bar a bit. But just one of those things that I haven't gotten to.

Seth

 

[Cheese]

Any reason you took those Black plastic caps off the clamps?

Ya because they get in the way...

Most of mine are relegated to that Systainer that's titled..."Just incase I might need these at a later date".

I've never really experienced a difference in the amount of glue inertness between the red plastic items and the black plastic items. Chances are they're both injection molded from the same resin...the color is probably the only difference

[attachimg=1].