What to do if you never have the right size T molding

[BobA]

I have been building bartops with 5/8 inch MDF and I ran out of 5/8 inch T molding quite a while ago.   I did however have a box of 3/4 inch T molding left over from a larger cabinet.  I purchased a Freud EB090 hand edge trimmer and it solved my problems with a little work.

The EB090 is made to cut the heat applied edge banding that often finishes furniture pieces

    Trims top and bottom of edge banding in one pass
    Cuts a flush or beveled edge
    Spring loaded with replaceable knives
    Manufacturer's 1-year limited warranty
    Covered by Freud's limited one year power tool warranty

I first installed the T molding and tried to trim it.  WRONG!  The edge trimmer does not go around curves as it is made to be used in a straight line.  Most bartops have alot of curves so this tool did not work as it is.

The Solution - Cut a slot for the T molding in a piece of straight 5/8 inch mdf so I can trim the T molding before I apply it to the cabinet.   The T molding is tapped into place with a rubber hammer and then trimmed with the EB 090.   The mdf piece is only a bit over a foot long so the T molding is trimmed and pulled out of the slot so more of the untrimmed T molding can be tapped into place and trimmed.  This goes on about 3 times to give me enough to fit one side of a bartop. 

The edge trimmer is about 1 inch wide and it is squeezed by hand to trim the 3/4 inch to 5/8.  This will also work for other sizes such as 3/4 to 1/2 inch as it fits the wood the T molding is fitted to.

Hope this helps someone.

[Angus]

Thanks for the tip..

Could definately come in handy at some time.

[bluemini17]

Great idea, its hard to get mdf in the UK to fit the imperial molding, now we can just trim 

[JOHN HOWARD]

Looks like a great idea and something I am looking at getting as just like the UK, finding Imperial sizes of MDF is both difficult and expensive. I can't seem to find any of these on eBay nor amazon that are in stock. Can anyone recommend where to buy one or a similar tool?

Cheers

[BobA]

Don't know where to get it internationally but I got mine in Canada at Home Depot.   Seemed like a regular item.

HD Canada

[JOHN HOWARD]

Cheers for that, looks like a trip to Bunnings then