On 8 Nov 2004 12:16:59 -0800, (Chuck)
scribbled:

To play the devil's advocate, I've had great success with the iron-on
veneer edging. As was stated earlier, it is real wood, so it will take
a finish and look almost exactly like the plywood it is attached to. I
was skeptical of it at first too, but I've built a couple of
high-traffic bookcases and tabletops usint the stuff, and I've never
had a single problem with it.

I have. In my experience, it tends to come off after a few years. I
had some bookshelves in my office where the veneer tape had curled
off. There could be any number of reasons of that (e.g. dry climate,
my technique in applying it, edge cuts that are not completely
straight, etc.), but it hasn't worked for me.

It is very easy to apply- you just roll it out along the edge of the
plywood and follow along with an iron- the glue melts and adheres in
just a couple of seconds. Another big plus is that there is no
clamping. I can't imagine trying to clamp 1/4" strips all along the
front of a bookcase.

Easy enough with masking tape.

One other point, when you glue 1/4" or 3/4" hardwood strips around the
edges, you can usually see the line where the strip meets the plywood-
no matter how much you try to sand it smooth. With the iron-on veneer,
it is essentially invisible.

True enough. However, for aesthetics, I use a contrasting wood so I
don't get the fugly line and weird change in grain direction. BTW. I
tend to use 3/4" by 3/4" edging. The thinner stuff does not look good,
IMNSHO.

Luigi
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