Edging chipboard at home. Types and process of gluing furniture edges made of PVC and melamine onto chipboard. Edging tools

Making furniture with your own hands brings considerable savings Money. Basically, laminated chipboard, a material glued together from sawdust, is used for this purpose.

The main task furniture edge is the cladding of the end surfaces of laminated chipboard.

After cutting, its edges have an unattractive appearance and require further processing.

The tabletop is the most vulnerable element of furniture, and its edge must be given special attention.

On this moment There are several ways to give the ends of the tabletop an aesthetic appearance. Only 2 of them are suitable for making edges at home:

Applicable edges

Modern technologies make it possible to produce various edges. However, not all are suitable for gluing at home. Melamine tapes are produced in widths of 19-54 mm. With a thickness of 0.2-0.4 mm, they allow you to refine the edges of countertops of various shapes.

A large assortment of decors, which, in terms of color, closely match the chipboard.

A PVC strip of the same width may be slightly thicker. For gluing the ends of the tabletop, edges are produced with or without an applied adhesive layer.

PVC plastic obtained by extrusion is able to withstand temperatures from minus 10 to plus 50 degrees.

Tools

If you decide to glue the edge yourself, check that you have the tools. Prepare before starting work:

To fix the PVC edge, you can use a clamp and a wooden block. If possible, use a hand router to finish the edging.

The router is expensive and it is not profitable to buy it for one-time pasting.

Prepare your workspace, taking into account the space for turning the tabletop. And, most importantly, buy the appropriate melamine tape or PVC edge.

Choose a ribbon that matches the color of the countertop.

Melamine tape

Cheapest and affordable way edge enhancement. Does not require the purchase of glue or specialized tools. Everything you need can be found in any household, and the process will take a few minutes.

The edge processed in this way looks very neat.

Should be used for finishing hard-to-reach edges of table tops. At the same time, do not forget about dampness, which will penetrate under the edge and destroy the material.

The gluing technology looks quite simple.

pvc strip

A more progressive and aesthetically pleasing way. True, its implementation requires some skill, but after practicing on scraps, you can master this method.

The edge, resistant to abrasion and moisture, will ensure long-term use of the tabletop in any interior.

When gluing the PVC edge, follow the following sequence.

A properly selected and glued edge will give the tabletop an attractive appearance, and it will serve you for many years.

You can also get such a smooth and neat edge yourself.

VIDEO: Gluing furniture melamine edges with an iron.

50 original types of countertops:

Melamine edging, which you can buy on our website, is the most common and affordable edging material for furniture finishing. This edging tape is made from textured paper web by applying urea (melamine) resins to it. To protect the material from melamine evaporation, a layer of special varnish is applied to it. The variety of colors and textures of the edging tape is provided by multicolor printing.

Which melamine edging should I buy?

Melamine furniture edging is sold by manufacturers in two versions:

Edge without glue - designed for automated production. When applied to furniture, it requires specialized equipment to heat the granular adhesive.
Melamine edge with glue - can be applied to chipboard cuts or furniture facades by direct heating.

On the MDM-Komplekt website (Moscow) you can buy edging material wholesale and retail. Melamine edging with and without glue is sold in reels, the price of the product is indicated per linear meter.

Why do they do it? chipboard edging and how to glue the edge with an iron

Chipboard is the most suitable material for the production of reliable and high-quality inexpensive furniture. In order to hide the not very aesthetically pleasing internal structure of the product, edging is performed on the end side - the installation of special decorative panels made of melamine, PVC or other available types synthetic plastics.

Why else do they edge furniture?

In addition to the most obvious goal - to provide an elegant appearance, edging furniture performs several more equally important tasks:

Moisture protection. It is known that when wet, chipboard swells and loses its original shape and strength. The plastic edge prevents moisture from penetrating from the ends. This is especially true for rooms where there are constant flows of water - kitchen, bathroom, dining room, etc.

The edge, in addition to giving the furniture a finished look, performs several other important functions.

Insect and mold protection. The porous surface of particle boards is well suited for the proliferation of various microorganisms that destroy the internal structure of the material. If you glue it to the edge protective film, the service life of the furniture will increase significantly.

Fight with harmful substances . As is known, in the production of chipboards, formaldehyde resins are used, vapors of which can be released during operation through the open ends. The edge tape prevents these substances from entering the environment.

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Where should edging be done?

Furniture manufacturers often edge only the visible parts of the end surfaces. From the point of view of economy, this seems quite understandable, but taking into account the above facts, this approach can lead to certain problems - the protective edge must be present in all places where there is an open internal structure of the chipboard.

If you purchased furniture with unprotected edges, you can easily do their edging yourself at home. To do this, you do not need to have any special equipment - the edge can be glued with a regular iron.

Don’t be lazy to spend a few minutes on this operation - you will reliably protect yourself and your furniture and significantly extend its service life. Next, we will look in detail at how to properly glue the edge tape with your own hands.

Edge materials

Edging open furniture surfaces can be done using different decorative elements, differing in the quality of the material, appearance and, accordingly, cost.

Melamine tape. The simplest and cheapest edge. It is used in budget products and can be destroyed by moisture or mechanical stress. The main advantage of such a tape is its price and ease of application.

Advantages and disadvantages of melamine edging

PVC edge. May have a thickness of 0.4 or 2 mm. It is customary to glue thicker tape to the front surfaces, and thinner tape to hidden ends. This edge protects furniture well from chips and shock loads, but gluing it at home is difficult - this requires special equipment.

ABC plastic. The most durable option. Plastic edging is done only in production.

T-profile. Used in the past when specialized edging machines were few and milling units stood in every workshop. Cut out with a milling cutter longitudinal groove at the end into which the edge is inserted.

Overlay T-profile. T-profile edging is the most convenient option for independent use. It is enough to simply glue it to the end of the chipboard using liquid nails or glue. The disadvantage of this solution is the edge protruding above the surface, which increases the thickness of the product and after some time becomes clogged with dirt.

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How to glue an edge with an iron

In production, edging is done using tape with a clean base. The adhesive composition is applied to it during installation when high temperature ensuring the formation of a thin, even layer. In order to glue the edge, several rollers are used, pressing it tightly to the base of the chipboard. Then special cutters cut the tape to the size of the part, remove any remaining glue and base material, and sand the joint until a smooth and beautiful surface is obtained.

You can also glue the edge at home. To do this, you need to use a tape with already applied adhesive composition. Further, the process largely repeats industrial edging, since it is performed in a similar way:

Melamine tape can be glued with a regular household iron. To do this, you need to cut off a piece of edge with a margin of length and width, place it on the end being processed and carefully smooth it with an iron. After passing the iron, the heated surface must be pressed using a wooden block or any other object capable of transmitting the necessary load.

When heated, the adhesive firmly adheres the edge to the chipboard

After the edge strip for chipboard is glued, it is necessary to trim off its hanging ends and treat the surface of the edge. The tape is cut with a sharp knife located strictly perpendicular to the plane of the end.

The knife used to remove excess edges must be very sharp.

After cutting, the edge must be sanded. This can be done using a block with sanding paper attached.

You can find out more about the process of gluing edges on chipboard below:

Gluing the U-shaped profile to the end of the chipboard is somewhat easier. We have already discussed this method earlier. This edge is much stronger than melamine, bends quite easily and reliably protects against damage.

The presence of microgaps between the U-profile edge and the front surface of the chipboard does not allow gluing it in the kitchen or bathroom, so edging with this material is mainly used for office furniture.

Edging chipboard, of course, is best done in the factory. At the factory, you can order tape from any materials, including plastic, PVC and other modern composite materials. Edging on a machine will ensure perfect evenness and precision of application. decorative cladding, but requires certain costs. If the main task is to meet a predetermined small budget, applying melamine tape with your own hands will allow you to combine acceptable quality and the minimum price.

Edging tools:

Iron. Any will do, but preferably small sizes, without steam holes and with a thick sole. It is important that the soleplate of the iron is clean and free of deep scratches.
Knife. You can work with an ordinary stationery (construction) knife, which will be discussed below. A shoe knife and a plane knife will also work. There are special ready-made devices for quick edge cutting, for example from Virutex.
Bar with sandpaper. You can buy a ready-made one or make it yourself by gluing a piece of sandpaper onto a workpiece of suitable size (it’s convenient when the block has sandpaper of different grain sizes on different sides). Recommended grain size is 150 units.

Edge technology.

It should be said that the quality of edging largely depends on how well the laminated chipboard is cut. The surface of the end of the part should be smooth, without a visible step from the scoring (sawing) disk of the format-cutting machine, there should be no obvious chips of the laminate and “lifting” of the laminate when a chip has just begun to form. High quality and fast cutting laminated chipboard performed only on special equipment. The edge must be used with pre-applied adhesive. The edge is sold in rolls of 200 rm, but you can almost always buy it in lengths of 1 rm. A typical melamine edge is 19 mm wide and 0.3-0.4 mm thick (excluding adhesive thickness).
The process of processing the edge of one end of the part consists of the following steps:

The part is installed vertically in an improvised holding device so that the processed end is on top.
An edge segment is measured 2-4 cm longer than the length of the processed side of the part.
The edge is placed exactly in the center on the end of the part, with equal releases along the edges.
Holding the position of the edge on the part with one hand, the edge is smoothed with a hot iron (the temperature of the iron is selected experimentally; at too high a temperature, the edge begins to bubble, at a low temperature it does not stick well or takes a long time). Press the iron with moderate force. Excessive pressure may cause the edge to move, but not enough pressure will cause the glue to fail. Indirect confirmation of good heating of the edge can be slightly squeezed out glue from under the edge. Special attention should be given to the ends of the edge and the places where it contacts the laminated surfaces of the part.
After warming up the edge, it needs to be cooled. A small cloth will do for this operation. Smooth the edge with a cloth, pressing lightly so that when it cools, the edge does not come off. After the edge has cooled to approximately 50°C (wait until the edge has room temperature there is no point), you can start cutting off the excess.
First, remove excess from the ends. To do this, the free ends of the edge are carefully bent down, the edge is broken, the break point is lightly sanded using an emery block and the excess is simply torn off. All that remains is to work a little more with the sanding block so that the edge is flush with the mating side (does not protrude or catch).
To cut off excess edge length, you need to set the knife blade at approximately 45° (see photo) and run the knife along the end of the part. Angle of inclination (adjacent) relative to the plane of the part is determined experimentally (depending on the knife). This operation requires skill and practice. It is important not to damage the laminate (do not cause chips). After cutting off all the overhangs, you need to lightly process the edges of the end of the part with a block of sandpaper, and the edging can be considered complete. Excess glue can be easily removed with a cloth soaked in acetone or gasoline. If a local gap is noticed, the problem area should be heated with an iron and pressed again with a cloth. Also, by reheating, the edge can be completely removed from the part.

Edging kit: iron, knife, block with sandpaper.

A block with sandpaper glued on it.

When making furniture from laminated chipboard, the edges of parts without treatment have an unsightly appearance. To put them in order, furniture edges and profiles are used. It’s more convenient to work with them using 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 unsightly edges that remain when cutting the part. These edges are masked by the furniture edge. It is made from different materials, and accordingly, it has different properties and prices.

Paper or melamine edges

The cheapest option is melamine-impregnated paper edges. The paper is taken of high density, impregnated with melamine to increase strength and glued to papyrus paper. Papyrus can be single-layer (cheaper) or double-layer. To prevent the melamine coating from wearing off, everything is covered with a layer of varnish. To make it more convenient to edge the parts, on the back side of the melamine furniture edge apply the adhesive composition. When working, you just need to slightly warm up this composition and press it well against the end.

Paper or melamine edge is the cheapest, but also the most short-lived option for finishing the ends of furniture

The thickness of paper edge tapes is small - 0.2 mm and 0.4 mm - the most common. There is no point in making it thicker, and it will be 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 quickly wears out. Therefore, if it is used, it is only on those surfaces that are not subject to load. For example, on the back of shelves, table tops, etc.

PVC

Received in Lately Polyvinyl chloride is also widely used in the production of edges for furniture. From painted to specific color mass, a tape of a certain width and thickness is formed. Its front surface can be smooth, monochromatic, or it can be textured - with imitation of wood fibers. The number of colors is large, so it’s easy to choose the right one.

PVC furniture edging is the most popular material used by both home craftsmen and professionals. This is due to the relatively low price and good performance properties:

PVC furniture edging 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 external 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 adhesive applied, and there is one without. Both can be glued at home (more on that below).

This type of edging material also has disadvantages: not very wide temperature regime: -5°C to +45°C. For this reason, furniture cannot be left outside in winter, and when pasting with heat, you must be careful so as not to melt the polymer.

Made from ABS plastic

This polymer does not contain heavy metals and is characterized by high strength and durability. The disadvantage can be considered the high price, therefore it is used extremely rarely, although it has excellent properties:

This type of edge can be matte, glossy or semi-gloss. There are also options that imitate various types of wood. In general, this material is more convenient to use and more durable to use.

Veneer edge

Veneer is a thin section of wood, colored and shaped into a strip. This furniture edge is used in production for gluing sections of veneered products. Working with this material requires certain skills, and the material is expensive.

Veneer is not the most popular material for edging

Acrylic edge or 3D

Made from transparent acrylic. On back side stripes are applied. The layer of polymer on top gives it volume, which is why it is called a 3D edge. Used in the production of unusual furniture.

Profiles for processing furniture edges

You can trim the edge of furniture not only with edge tape. There are also furniture profiles that are attached mechanically. They are available in two sections - T-shaped or U-shaped (also called C-shaped).

For T-shaped furniture profiles, a groove is milled in the edge being processed. The profile is hammered into it with a furniture (rubber) mallet. The edges are cut at 45° to make the angle 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 laminated chipboards of 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 with 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. Hard ones are harder to bend and it’s difficult to paste them over curved edges. But they have great strength.

If you still need to “fit” a rigid C-shaped furniture profile onto a bend, it is heated with a hair dryer, then given the desired shape and secured with masking tape until the glue dries.

We glue furniture edges with our own hands

There are two technologies for gluing furniture edge tape. The first is for those that have glue applied to the back. In this case, an iron or a hair dryer is needed. The second is for gluing tapes without glue. In this case, you need a good universal glue that can glue plastics and wood products and furniture roller, a piece of felt or a soft rag so that you can press the edge well against the cut.

A little about what thickness of edge to glue on which parts. Those edges that are not visible, according to GOST, do not need to be glued at all, but basically they try to treat them so that less moisture is absorbed into the chipboard, and also to reduce the evaporation of formaldehyde. Melamine tape or 0.4 mm PVC is glued to these edges. The edges are also processed drawers(not facades).

It is better to use 2 mm PVC on the front ends of the facade and drawers, and 1 mm PVC on the visible sections of the shelves. The color is chosen either to match the main surface or “in contrast”.

How to glue edging yourself with glue

The adhesive composition is applied to the melamine edge; it can be applied to 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, thick cotton fabric will do - so as not to overheat the tape, but to melt the glue. A hair dryer is also suitable for this purpose. We set the iron to about “two”, while it is heating up we cut off a piece of tape. The length is a couple of centimeters longer than the workpiece.

We apply the edge to the part, level it, smooth it out. There should be small pieces hanging off both sides. We take an iron and, using a nozzle or a rag, iron the edge, heating it until the glue melts. It is necessary to heat 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 with the sharp and blunt sides. Some people use a regular metal ruler, while others find it more convenient to use a stainless steel spatula.

So, take the tool you have chosen and 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 easily cut with a knife. If the PVC edge is thicker - 0.5-0.6 mm or more, difficulties may already arise. Such edges are possible if there is one. This guarantees good result in short time. The processing will take longer if you use sandpaper, but the result may not be worse.

One important point: when gluing thin edges, the cut of the part should be smooth, without protrusions and depressions. The material is plastic, which is why all defects are visible. Therefore, first go over the cuts with sandpaper, then thoroughly remove dust and degrease. Only after this can you glue.

Edging with PVC tape (no glue on the back side)

With this method of gluing PVC edges yourself, you need universal glue and a piece of felt or rag. We read the instructions for the glue and carry out all the steps as recommended. For example, for Moment glue, you need to apply the composition to the surface and distribute it, wait 15 minutes, and firmly press the surfaces to be glued.

Apply glue and wait - no problem. To press the edge tightly to the cut, you can use wooden block wrapped in felt. Instead of a block, you can take a construction float and also attach felt to its sole. IN as a last resort can be rolled up thick fabric in several layers and press the tape to the surface.

The selected tool is pressed against the laid edge, pressed with all its weight, pressing it against the surface of the chipboard. The movements are stroking. This is how they iron the entire edge, achieving a very tight fit. The part is left in this form for some time - so that the glue “seizes.” Then you can start processing the edges.

Chipboard is the most suitable material for the production of reliable and high-quality inexpensive furniture. In order to hide the not very aesthetically pleasing internal structure of the product, edging is performed on the end side - the installation of special decorative panels from melamine, PVC or other available types of synthetic plastics.

Why else do they edge furniture?

In addition to the most obvious goal - to provide an elegant appearance, edging furniture performs several more equally important tasks:

Where should edging be done?

Edge materials

Edging open furniture surfaces can be done using various decorative elements that differ in the quality of the material, appearance and, accordingly, cost.

How to glue an edge with an iron

In production, edging is done using tape with a clean base. The adhesive composition is applied to it during installation at a high temperature, ensuring the formation of a thin, even layer. In order to glue the edge, several rollers are used, pressing it tightly to the base of the chipboard. Then special cutters cut the tape to the size of the part, remove any remaining glue and base material, and sand the joint until a smooth and beautiful surface is obtained.

You can also glue the edge at home. To do this, you need to use tape with an adhesive composition already applied. Further, the process largely repeats industrial edging, since it is performed in a similar way:

You can learn more about the process of gluing edges on chipboard in the video below:

The presence of microgaps between the U-profile edge and the front surface of the chipboard does not allow gluing it in the kitchen or bathroom, so edging with this material is mainly used for office furniture.

Edging chipboard, of course, is best done in the factory. At the factory, you can order tape from any materials, including plastic, PVC and other modern composite materials. Edging on a machine will ensure ideal evenness and accuracy of application of decorative cladding, but it requires certain costs. If the main task is to meet a predetermined small budget, applying melamine tape with your own hands will allow you to combine acceptable quality and the minimum price.

The edge is used to protect the end edges of parts made of MDF, chipboard, PVC from abrasion, moisture and impact. This finish serves a decorative function, and also gives the edges and corners of the furniture strength and protects people from harmful influence a substance such as formaldehyde, used in the production of compressed wood boards.

If the border is damaged or peels off, urgent repairs are required. And in this case, the primary task is to select the material and glue for the edges made of PVC, melamine paper or other material.

Varieties of edges

From the variety of edges you have to choose the most suitable one.

Melamine

Made in the form of a self-adhesive tape made of decorative paper, which is impregnated with melamine resins. Typically used for interior decoration furniture. This a budget option edges for chipboard, not characterized by high quality. It has a short service life, is susceptible to moisture and often falls off on its own over time.

The undoubted positive property of the melamine edge is the ease of gluing it; this can be done at home yourself, using a regular iron. The second advantage is the absence of a side, a curb protruding above the edged surface, which sometimes irritates when it gets under your hands when working with the keyboard, and also interferes with sweeping away small debris, for example, crumbs from the dining table in the office.

It is a flexible tape with curved edges that form a side. This edging is made of PVC (polyvinyl chloride). Types of edging differ in width and profile: in cross-section, the edge resembles either the letter “t” (T-shaped) or the letter “p” (U-shaped).

The latter is easier to attach, but less reliable; craftsmen do not recommend using it on surfaces that are often subject to friction: on the seats of stools or benches, on the front edge computer desk, which is constantly in contact with the forearms.

PVC edging increases the durability and wear resistance of furniture parts, and reliably protects edges and corners from damage.

The edging is similar to the previous type of edging tape, but is more environmentally friendly. Made from chlorine-free plastic. Has found successful application in furniture production, thanks to heat resistance and impact resistance.

How to glue melamine edge

Update if desired old furniture and at the same time save money, use a melamine edge with glue. It’s easy to stick it, for example, on a tabletop:

Cut a piece of tape with a margin of about two centimeters.
Place the adhesive side to the tabletop and press with a hot iron or heat with a hair dryer.
Hold until the glue words melt.
Move the iron along the edge gradually, preferably no more than 0.5 cm at a time.
Immediately after warming up and removing the iron, press the edge strip with a dry cloth and hold to fix it.

Advice! An iron or hair dryer will also help you remove the old edge tape. Just warm it up and remove it with a knife or thin spatula.

Fastening PVC and ABS edging

Plastic edging tapes, theoretically, can simply be fixed to the edge of the furniture, but this is extremely unreliable. Additional fixation with glue is preferable.

To attach the T-shaped profile, you will have to lay a recess along the entire edge to be processed. The easiest way to do this is milling machine. If you have the skill, it will be replaced by a drill with a circular attachment. However, in general the profile is intended for professionals.

For fixation PVC edges or ABS at home use PVC glue, as well as universal compounds “Moment” and “88-lux”, it is desirable that they be marked “for PVC” or “for ABS”.

Professionals use hot melt adhesives, which are part of a range of thermoplastics. When heated, they become highly elastic, and when cooled, they instantly turn into a solid state. The high fluidity and drying strength of the adhesives is due to the ethylene polymer with vinyl acetate they contain. The main disadvantage of hot melt adhesives, of course, is the need for appropriate equipment for the job.

When working with any border, try to calculate the sequence of pasting so as to avoid joints. Go around the corners with a profile - preferably they should be rounded. If the corners are normal, a thick (PVC or ABS) profile will not go around them, and the melamine edge will most likely break. In this case, you will have to make joints at the corners, which must be sanded at the end so that they are smooth. If you run your hand along the edge of the part, the roughness should not be felt.

Advice! You can get rid of excess edge tape with a very sharp knife, and cut off the ends first. Be careful not to accidentally damage the corners of the furniture. The direction of the knife should be towards the inside of the part.

If the factory edge is damaged or partially fallen off, remove it and replace it with a new one. A little effort and the table is like new!

(chipboard) the edges of parts without processing have an unsightly appearance. To put them in order, furniture edges and profiles are used. It’s more convenient to work with them using 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 unsightly edges that remain when cutting the part. These edges are masked by the furniture edge. They make it out of different materials Accordingly, it has different properties and prices.