Just realized my plywood edges look rough after routing. Tips?

I've been making cabinets with birch plywood lately. When I route the edges to round them, they come out fuzzy and not smooth. On my last door, the edge stayed rough even after I sanded it down. I used a new router bit and went slow, but it still happened. What do you do to get clean edges on plywood? I heard about using a backing piece, but I haven't tried it. Any simple tricks would help me a lot.

3 comments

3 Comments

young.mia1mo ago

Use a backing piece. Clamp scrap wood behind the cut to support the veneer. Score the line with a knife first to cut fibers clean. Always use a sharp bit, dull ones fuzz. Route with the grain to avoid lifting. Light passes prevent tear-out.

the_jenny1mo ago

Totally back the backing board idea, it's a game changer (I use double-sided tape for mine). What finally worked for me was brushing a thin coat of wood glue or shellac on the plywood edge before routing, letting it dry, then going at it. Seals those fibers right up. And yep, super sharp bit with a super slow feed speed, almost crawling.

christopher_baker911mo ago

So you brush on glue or shellac before routing. How thin is 'thin' exactly, and does it ever gum up the bit?