Edge Banding Technique

When using plywood to build things, one problem you (almost) always have is: What to do about the edges? Unlike with solid wood, when the edges look like, uh, wood, with plywood the edges look like, uh, plies of wood stacked on top of each other. Not usually the look you want. So the usual thing to do is apply 'edge banding'. The easiest way to do this is to buy iron-on edge banding, for example, from Veneer Supplies (which is where I get all my cool veneers). This works great, but it comes in a limited variety of woods, and you do still end up with the edge of the edge banding being visible, which isn't too bad, in most cases, but isn't ideal. 

So another way to proceed is to make your own. I.e., cut thin (say 1/8") strips of wood, and then glue them onto the edges of the plywood. It is not too difficult to cut the strips, if you have a table saw. (And it helps to have a pair of these guides.) And, in many cases, it isn't too hard to glue them to the plywood. The problem is to get sufficient pressure across the whole strip, so it will glue down evenly. I've managed that with lots of clamps, and long pieces of wood used as cauls.

But there is one time this doesn't work: when trying to apply edge banding to the edges of shelving, when the shelves are already in place, and the back is already on whatever the shelves fit into. (Why put the back on first? For stability, usually.) The problem then is that you simply can't clamps across the shelves: The back is in the way.

There are commercially available clamps for edge banding. And there are some simple DIY versions. But none of those look to me like they really apply enough pressure. 

I finally figured out a method that works for me, and only uses things I have lying around the shop anyway. The pictures below show how it works. Basically, I've got C-clamps in front of the edge banding (though I should also have used a caul), and then shims between the C-clamps and the banding. Banging them in good gives quite a bit of pressure on the edge banding. The pipe clamps on the sides are holding the edges down.