How to hide plywood edges

Plywood is one of my favorite building materials. It’s perfectly flat, easy to build with, and is free from the expansion and contraction concerns of solid lumber.

But it has one potential drawback...it’s edges. Usually they aren’t the most attractive feature to a project. Here are 4 ways to handle them.

0:00 Intro
0:40 Feature the edges
1:15 Paint them
1:35 Iron-on edge banding
2:12 Solid wood edging

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[reptileman]

I actually "featured" some plywood edges when I made a wood "book" for my Dungeons and Dragons game. The plywood edges simulated the pages of a book pretty well!

[karl_alan]

You weren't kidding about having an old iron just for edge banding. That thing looks like it came in a bundle deal with a commodore 64 or the Macintosh classic with the floppy drive built in.

[charlesgerlach]

welcome back have missed your info videos. was looking for how to do this thanks for the video

[matthaffner]

I recently discovered bulk edge banding on Amazon. I got the 250’ roll and made a dispenser for it, which makes it easy to apply to my plywood pieces. I do a lot of edge banding and this really helped.

[Michael-Makes-Stuff]

Great video, Steve! You can also use drywall compound on the edges to give them a cleaner, smooth look before painting.

[nicolasmahdavian]

Another great video for beginners...The exact reason why I started watching your videos a few years back.

[JonnyDIY]

Very helpful. Good to see you back, have missed you
Hoping all is well in your world & you are enjoying Summer 🤙🏼

[TheLukemcdaniel]

My desk is made of 3/4" ply(12 years ago, not sure what grade the step got for it). He put edging on(not banding, used 1/4" strips of regular wood), less for looks, and more so we wouldn't have to worry about roughness. it's still SOLID.

[MrDanielOrtizA]

I've learned so much watching your videos... I just started hands-on woodworking and I just want to try everything you have taught me

[notimportant]

thank you so much for the concise explanation! I'm looking to do my first project and i think plywood is the way to go for me but I don't like the ply edges at all! This was so helpful!

[TheFunnyCarpenter]

Awesome video Steve, great pacing and editing!

[davebuts]

I have never found plywood edges to be a problem, i have always enjoyed them.

[MagWolf]

This was... good timing. I just searched this topic for the first time ever having no idea that you put out a video of it today

[hjboots]

Excellent tutorial on plywood, Thank you for sharing.

[oakfat]

Thanks for an informative, no-nonsense overview

[jacksonknaub]

Great video!! I just used iron on edge banding on my last project

[TitusVespas]

Small variation of these tips is solid wood edge banding cut really thin with a table-saw, apply with wood glue and (painters-)tape. Not as convenient as buying iron-on edge banding, but cheaper and can easily be applied to curved edges.

[nemesis]

One tip I learned from Crafted Workshop for exposed plywood edges was to use wood filler on them to fill any voids and even it out before staining. It worked a treat when I built a desktop with an exposed edge.

[shaneducholke]

Perfect timing, I am building two subwoofers out of red oak plywood and was wondering how to deal with the exposed edges. Edge banding it is!

[ynpmoose]

Solid wood on shelf edges also helps prevent the shelf from bowing under weight