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Main => Woodworking => Topic started by: mr aize on June 24, 2011, 02:17:25 pm

Title: How can I make a plywood edge look nice without T moulding?
Post by: mr aize on June 24, 2011, 02:17:25 pm
Hello all. I've just started making my cab and it's gonna be based on the mortal kombat design... (Don't know why you need to know that, just excited I guess :laugh:) Anywho, i'm trying to work out how to finnish the area around the marquee. I'm building it out of wbp ply (water boil proof, nice finnish on it) and i'm planning on just painting it afterwards. I need a way of finnishing the top and bottom pieces which surround the marquee as in this picture:
http://www.google.co.uk/imgres?imgurl=http://www.habosarcade.com/images/Mortal%2520Kombat/MK%2520MJ%2520-%2520Marquee%2520w%2520New%2520T%2520Molding.JPG&imgrefurl=http://www.habosarcade.com/MortalKombatMulti%2520JammaCab.htm&usg=__w17Awej-DlaBfPGwhOHts_Q8tx0=&h=1712&w=2288&sz=723&hl=en&start=20&zoom=1&tbnid=HeWXz0R2yscFmM:&tbnh=132&tbnw=182&ei=qtIETuDkCc-o8APb5tW2DQ&prev=/search%3Fq%3Dmortal%2Bkombat%2Bmarquee%26hl%3Den%26sa%3DX%26rlz%3D1T4SUNC_enGB360GB360%26biw%3D1366%26bih%3D477%26tbm%3Disch&itbs=1&iact=rc&dur=64&page=2&ndsp=13&ved=1t:429,r:0,s:20&tx=167&ty=42 (http://www.google.co.uk/imgres?imgurl=http://www.habosarcade.com/images/Mortal%2520Kombat/MK%2520MJ%2520-%2520Marquee%2520w%2520New%2520T%2520Molding.JPG&imgrefurl=http://www.habosarcade.com/MortalKombatMulti%2520JammaCab.htm&usg=__w17Awej-DlaBfPGwhOHts_Q8tx0=&h=1712&w=2288&sz=723&hl=en&start=20&zoom=1&tbnid=HeWXz0R2yscFmM:&tbnh=132&tbnw=182&ei=qtIETuDkCc-o8APb5tW2DQ&prev=/search%3Fq%3Dmortal%2Bkombat%2Bmarquee%26hl%3Den%26sa%3DX%26rlz%3D1T4SUNC_enGB360GB360%26biw%3D1366%26bih%3D477%26tbm%3Disch&itbs=1&iact=rc&dur=64&page=2&ndsp=13&ved=1t:429,r:0,s:20&tx=167&ty=42)

I don't want to use tmoulding because the angle of the lower piece would make it look funny so I was wondering if there was any other kind of edging strip I could use to finnish it or if I could just use woodfiller to get a smooth edge and then sand it down? Any suggestions would be appreciated. :)
Title: Re: How can I make a plywood edge look nice without T moulding?
Post by: eds1275 on June 24, 2011, 03:31:54 pm
I personally would get a nice piece of wood, set the angle on your circular saw to match the angle of your marquee area, and then rip a piece to match. Attach it with glue and clamps, biscuits and glue, finish nails or any other way that works.
Title: Re: How can I make a plywood edge look nice without T moulding?
Post by: Vigo on June 24, 2011, 03:38:58 pm
If you have a router, you could round the edge of the wood.
Title: Re: How can I make a plywood edge look nice without T moulding?
Post by: mr aize on June 25, 2011, 04:30:18 am
If you have a router, you could round the edge of the wood.
I like the idea of routing it, spose I could use filler after to take care of any rough bits and then sand it down?
Title: Re: How can I make a plywood edge look nice without T moulding?
Post by: Blanka on June 25, 2011, 05:25:54 am
Just glue a strip of 1mm thick MDF on the edge and sand it to perfect seamless fit. Now you can laminate or paint the edge very nice.
Title: Re: How can I make a plywood edge look nice without T moulding?
Post by: mr aize on June 25, 2011, 07:22:34 am
Also a very good suggestion. Thanks
Title: Re: How can I make a plywood edge look nice without T moulding?
Post by: Gray_Area on June 27, 2011, 03:58:32 am
Just glue a strip of 1mm thick MDF on the edge and sand it to perfect seamless fit. Now you can laminate or paint the edge very nice.

One millimeter?
Title: Re: How can I make a plywood edge look nice without T moulding?
Post by: Donkey_Kong on June 27, 2011, 04:37:47 am
Just glue a strip of 1mm thick MDF on the edge and sand it to perfect seamless fit. Now you can laminate or paint the edge very nice.

One millimeter?

Do we have that in the US?


We recently did an edge with vinyl...like sticker vinyl. Your edge would have to be real smooth and you might even need to go a little further to make it smooth as necessary...like epoxy first. Just a suggestion for an additional idea.

That link at the top...it's maybe the longest I have seen in a while! :)
Title: Re: How can I make a plywood edge look nice without T moulding?
Post by: drventure on June 27, 2011, 09:01:14 am
Vigo's suggestion to route the edge would likely the the simplest, considering your going to paint anyway, you could route, then use some of that spray body putty (kind of like a bery thick primer) sand and paint.

It depends on how solid the plywood is. If routing the edge chips it really badly, that may not be possible. I'd test on some scrap first.
Title: Re: How can I make a plywood edge look nice without T moulding?
Post by: Corbo on June 27, 2011, 09:15:26 am
My cab is made of MDF.  I coated the cut edges with Ronseal Wood Hardner (or others have said you can use a woodglue water mix).  I then primed and painted the whole cabinet in black gloss including the edges.  I then put 3-4 coats of clear satin gloss on the t-mould parts.  This doesn't give you the rounded style of t-mould but it's not too bad, at least on a mini project.

If it's possible to do it, you can't beat t-mould.
Title: Re: How can I make a plywood edge look nice without T moulding?
Post by: emb on June 27, 2011, 11:19:50 pm
Take a look at veneer edge banding. I've never used it so take my comment with a grain of salt. I've passed by a dozen times walking around menards. It's normally around the veneer section of your hardware store.
Title: Re: How can I make a plywood edge look nice without T moulding?
Post by: D_Struct on June 27, 2011, 11:38:49 pm
Is there possibly another type of molding similar in appearance to t-molding that could be attached with an adhesive, by chance?
Title: Re: How can I make a plywood edge look nice without T moulding?
Post by: drventure on June 27, 2011, 11:45:12 pm
Adhesive tmold would be tricky. But the veneer edge banding is quite easy to put on and looks great. But you'd typically only use it for stain grade applications. If you're gonna paint anyway, I'd fill, prime and sand.
Title: Re: How can I make a plywood edge look nice without T moulding?
Post by: mr aize on July 01, 2011, 05:47:18 am
Thanks, gonna give the routing route a go.. Will share the results...
Title: Re: How can I make a plywood edge look nice without T moulding?
Post by: mikem on July 20, 2011, 04:35:41 pm
I just finished my first cabinet creation and used the melamine edge strips that iron on.  It was very easy to use and trimmed nicely with the trim tool.  I paid about 5 or 6 bucks for 50 feet of edgeing and 10 bucks for the trim tool, both at Rona.  The melamine comes in different colors and doesnt need to be painted/stained.

Mike
Title: Re: How can I make a plywood edge look nice without T moulding?
Post by: mr aize on July 24, 2011, 06:23:44 am
I've ended up using a router and a sander to shape the edges, then filled a few gaps in the ply. Gonna spray it with car body filler before giving it a final sand but I recon it's gonna work out fine.