MFK 700 vs other trim routers

[J Hunter Woodworks]

I am about to start a large commission building the bedroom furniture for a small hotel and will be doing a ton of edge banding. I’d like to get the MFK 700 for all this work since there will be a decent profit from it and thought it would be a good investment. Since I’m debating between doing real wood edge banding and iron on I’m wondering if MFK 700 is the best choice. I’m assuming the MFK does great on the iron on banding but not sure if it would handle the real wood banding as well as another trim router out there. I’ve read a few old posts on this topic since it’s been covered but wanted to know if there are any updated opinions on the matter.

Thanks for your time,
Jeremy

 

[Packard]

I use a random orbital sander to trim edgebanding.  It is very fast and it allows me to put about a 20-degree angle on the edge.  It never splits the wood and I'm going to have to sand the edges anyway so this is one tool where two tools would be needed otherwise.  I use about 100 to 120 grit paper in my ROS.

Try it on a sample.  Very light pressure and hold the sander on an approximately 20-degree angle.  It takes a few minutes of experimenting to get the action right, but it is fast, easy and efficient.

If the shelves are pre-finished, this is not a good choice as you have a risk of removing some of the finish.  The main cause of edgebanding failure is having the edges stand slightly proud of the surface of the board.  This allows the banding to catch on things when removing them from the shelf.

 

[J Hunter Woodworks]

I use a random orbital sander to trim edgebanding.  It is very fast and it allows me to put about a 20-degree angle on the edge.  It never splits the wood and I'm going to have to sand the edges anyway so this is one tool where two tools would be needed otherwise.  I use about 100 to 120 grit paper in my ROS.

Try it on a sample.  Very light pressure and hold the sander on an approximately 20-degree angle.  It takes a few minutes of experimenting to get the action right, but it is fast, easy and efficient.

If the shelves are pre-finished, this is not a good choice as you have a risk of removing some of the finish.  The main cause of edgebanding failure is having the edges stand slightly proud of the surface of the board.  This allows the banding to catch on things when removing them from the shelf.

That's the method I currently use I just thought the mfk would be faster and more efficient than a sander but I'm happy to stick to that method if it's really just as good. I'm not trying to blow $500 on a Festool trim router just for fun lol. thanks for the advice!

 

[Lincoln]

If using real wood banding, consider a lipping planer. Lamello used to make one, not sure if you can still find it. I have the Virutex CE53S and highly recommend it.https://www.virutextools.com/edge-lipping-planer-ce53s-pid328

 

[Packard]

I also have a sharp 2" wide wood chisel that I use for the plastic edgebinding.  It allows me to cut on a 20 degree angle too.  It is pretty fast.  If I was doing a lot of this kind of work, I would imagine it to be faster than a router.  It gets into the corners too--something the router cannot do.

You do have to be careful about the direction in which you cut.  The cut will want to follow the grain and that can mess up the application.

If you have one guy doing nothing but trimming with a sharp chisel, he should get very fast with that method.  It will probably take an hour or two to get the technique down pat.  At one point I was fast with it, but I only apply  banding on occasion, so I am out of practice. 

I also use the chisel to trim the banding overhang.  A light tap with a mallet does the trick. 

I made a special "following block" to press down the edgebanding while following the hot iron. It greatly improves adhesion to press down on the banding as it cools. 

I've read claims that the pressure-sensitive adhesive is just as strong as the heat-bonded banding.  If that is true, then it will be faster.  I have my doubts though.

 

[Crazyraceguy]

I have a couple of MFK700, one is essentially set-up as a lipping planer for hardwood edging up to 7/8" wide. It did take some modification to make that happen, but even in its originally manufactured condition it can handle at least 1/2" material.
The other one is not as dedicated to a specific task. Often I use it for PVC edging with the 1.5 degree horizontal base, but it does do some vertical base work too. The dust collection is far superior to any other trim router I have used and the off-set nature of the vertical base makes it far more stable on the edge of your parts.
Sure, it costs far more than the average trimmer, but it can do a lot more too. If you don't need that, it's overkill, if you do, it's great.