Contents
In the manufacture of furniture from laminated chipboard (LDSP), the edges of parts without processing have an unsightly appearance. To put them in order, a furniture edge and a profile are used. It is more convenient to work with them on special equipment, but you can also achieve good results with your own hands at home.
Types of furniture edges
One of the most popular materials for making furniture is chipboard. Its disadvantage is the ugly edges that remain when cutting the part. These edges are masked by the furniture edge. They make it from different materials, respectively, it has different properties and price.
Paper or melamine edges
The cheapest option is melamine impregnated paper edges. Paper is taken with increased density, impregnated with melamine to increase strength and pasted on papyrus paper. Papyrus can be single-layered (cheaper) and double-layered. To prevent the melamnov coating from being erased, everything is covered with a layer of varnish. To make it more convenient to edge parts, an adhesive composition is applied to the reverse side of the melamine furniture edge. When working, it is only necessary to warm up this composition slightly and press it well against the end.
The thickness of paper edge tapes is small – 0,2 mm and 0,4 mm – the most common. There is no point in doing it thicker, and it will turn out expensive.
This type of edges is distinguished by the fact that it bends very well and does not break when bent. But its mechanical strength is very low – the edge is quickly worn out. Therefore, if it is used, then only on those surfaces that are not subjected to stress. For example, on the back of shelves, countertops, etc.
PVC
Polyvinyl chloride, which has recently become widespread, is also used in the production of edges for furniture. From the mass painted in a certain color, a tape of a certain width and thickness is formed. Its front surface can be smooth monophonic, or it can be textured – with imitation of wood fibers. The number of colors is large, so it is easy to choose the right one.
PVC furniture edge is the most popular material used by both home craftsmen and professionals. This is due to the relatively low price and good performance properties:
- High mechanical resistance.
- Withstands exposure to chemicals (household chemicals, for example).
- Moisture-resistant material protects the ends of the product from moisture.
- PVC is an elastic material, which allows processing curved surfaces.
- It is well processed with the help of simple devices, which allows you to get a good result even at home.
Different edge thickness looks different
PVC furniture edge is available in different thicknesses and widths. Thickness – from 0,4 mm to 4 mm, width from 19 mm to 54 mm. The thickness is chosen depending on the expected mechanical load or appearance, and the width is slightly larger (at least 2-3 mm) than the thickness of the workpiece. There is a furniture PVC edge with an applied adhesive composition, there is – without. Both can be glued at home (more on that below).
This type of edging material also has disadvantages: not very wide temperature range: from -5 ° C to + 45 ° C. For this reason, furniture cannot be left outside in winter, and when pasting with heating, you must be careful not to melt the polymer.
Made of ABS (ABS) plastic
This polymer does not contain heavy metals, is characterized by high strength and durability. The disadvantage can be considered a high price, therefore it is used extremely rarely, although it has excellent properties:
- Resistant to high and low temperatures, therefore, when gluing, you can use glue with any melting point. Slight shrinkage during heating – about 0,3%.
- High mechanical stability.
Multiple options for ABS edging
This type of edge can be matte, glossy, semi-gloss. There are also options that imitate different types of wood. In general, this material is more convenient to work with and more durable in use.
Veneer edge
Veneer is a thin slice of wood that has been dyed and shaped into a ribbon. This furniture edge is used in production when pasting slices of veneered products. Working with this material requires certain skills, and the material is expensive.
Acrylic edge or 3D
Made from clear acrylic. A pattern is applied on the reverse side of the strip. The polymer layer on top gives it volume, which is why it is called a 3D edge. It is used in the manufacture of furniture in an unusual design.
Furniture edge profiles
You can finish the edge of furniture not only with an edge tape. There are also furniture profiles that are mechanically fastened. They have two sections – T-shaped or U-shaped (also called C-shaped).
A groove is milled under the T-shaped furniture profiles in the processed edge. A profile is hammered into it with a furniture (rubber) mallet. The edges are cut at 45° to make the corner look attractive. It is brought to perfect condition with fine sandpaper. This type of profiles is produced from PVC and aluminum, with the same installation method they look very different, and the differences are significant.
In width, they are available for chipboard 16 mm and 18 mm. There are also wide ones, but they are much less common, since they work less with such material.
C- or U-shaped profiles are most often mounted on glue. They coat the edge with it, then put on a plastic profile, press it well and fix it. These PVC profiles are soft and hard. Rigid ones bend worse and it is difficult to paste over curved edges with them. But they have great strength.
If you still need to “plant” a rigid C-shaped furniture profile in a bend, it is heated with a building hair dryer, then given the desired shape and fixed with masking tape until the glue dries.
We glue the furniture edge with our own hands
There are two technologies for gluing furniture edge tape. The first is for those who have glue applied on the back. In this case, you need an iron or a building hair dryer. The second is for sticking tapes without glue. In this case, you need a good all-purpose glue that can glue plastics and wood products and a furniture roller, a piece of felt or a soft rag so that you can press the edge well against the cut.
A little about how thick the edge to glue on what parts. Those edges that are not visible, according to GOST, you can not glue them at all, but basically they try to process them so that moisture is less absorbed into the chipboard, and also to reduce the evaporation of formaldehyde. Melamine tape or PVC 0,4 mm is glued to these edges. The edges of drawers (not facades) are also processed.
On the front ends of the facade and drawers, it is better to use PVC 2 mm, and on the visible sections of the shelves – PVC 1 mm. The color is chosen either to match the main surface or “in contrast”.
How to glue the edging with glue yourself
The adhesive composition is applied to the melamine edge, it happens on PVC. If you choose PVC, it’s easier to start with thin ones – they are easier to process, any melamine ones are easy to glue.
We take an iron and a fluoroplastic nozzle on it. If there is no nozzle, a dense cotton fabric will do – so as not to overheat the tape, but to melt the glue. For this purpose, a building hair dryer is also suitable. We put the iron on about “deuce”, while it is heated, cut off a piece of tape. Length – a couple of centimeters more than the workpiece.
We apply the edge to the part, level it, smooth it. Small pieces should hang down from both sides. We take an iron and, through a nozzle or a rag, iron the edge, warming up until the glue melts. It is necessary to warm up evenly over the entire surface. After the entire edge is glued, let it cool. Then we start processing the edges.
The edge can be cut with a knife, both sharp and blunt side. Someone uses a regular metal ruler, someone is more comfortable with a stainless steel spatula.
So, we take the tool of your choice, cut off the hanging edges of the edge. They are cut close to the material. Then cut off the excess along the part. Melamine and thin plastic are perfectly cut with a knife. If the PVC edge is thicker – 0,5-0,6 mm or more, difficulties may already arise. Such edges can be processed with a manual router, if any. This guarantees a good result in a short time. Longer processing will last if you use sandpaper, but the result may not be worse.
One important point: when gluing thin edges, the cut of the part must be even, without protrusions and depressions. The material is plastic, because of which all defects are visible. Therefore, first go through the cuts with sandpaper, then carefully dedust, degrease. Only after that you can glue.
Edging with PVC tape (without adhesive on the reverse side)
With this method of self-gluing PVC edges, you need universal glue and a piece of felt or rag. We read the instructions for the glue, perform all the actions on the recommendation. For example, for Moment glue, it is necessary to apply on the surface and distribute the composition, wait 15 minutes, press the surfaces to be glued strongly.
Apply glue and wait – no problem. To tightly press the edge to the cut, you can use a wooden block wrapped in felt. Instead of a bar, you can take a construction grater, and also attach felt to its sole. In extreme cases, you can roll up a dense fabric in several layers and thereby press the tape to the surface.
The selected tool is pressed against the laid edge, pressed with all the weight, pressing it against the chipboard surface. The movements at the same time are stroking. So iron the entire edge, achieving a very snug fit. In this form, the part is left for a while – so that the glue “grabs”. Then you can start processing the edge.