When a face frame cabinet has been built from melamine or a similar material, you need to make sure that you don’t get stain and sealer on the melamine while you’re applying finish to the face frame. The solution is very easy. It’s all about prefinishing, but you have to take care with the finish to make sure you have a glue bond between the face frame and the front of the case. Check out the solution to this problem.
16 Responses to “Face Frame Finishing Tips”
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11:58
Versatility of a Panel Saw and Router Machine Combo
Most people think you can only use a panel saw to crosscut sheet stock. Today in the workshop, though, George Vondriska demonstrates some of the handy woodworking techniques you can employ with a combination panel saw and router machine. You can crosscut and make repetitive cuts on large sheets of plywood like you would on…
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2:10
Build a Cribbage Board
George Vondriska and A.J. Moses discuss the process for making a cribbage board from scrap wood in your woodworking shop. These cribbage board plans are included in the WoodWorkers Guild of America (WWGOA) original video. Read the article Make a Cribbage Board with Peg Storage to get step-by-step instructions and a cut list for this…
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1:32
Anti-Dust Finishing Tip
Most woodworkers have some airborne dust and particulates floating in their shop, and some of those particles can settle on a not-quite-dried finish. George Vondriska demonstrates a neat and inexpensive trick for protecting small woodworking projects from dust when finishing. A WoodWorkers Guild of America (WWGOA) original video.
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8:41
Cleaning a Rusty Table
George Vondriska demonstrates the best way to remove rust from a cast-iron tool table. A WoodWorkers Guild of America (WWGOA) original video.
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I never glue my Face Frames, I use pocket holes to secure it. That way there is no worry about whether the glue sticks or not. It’s all a preference I suppose, I just find it easier and there is no waiting for the glue to dry, more so, of what type of wood you are using. Thanks for the video George all good information!
So how am I supposed to watch the video if all I see is a stupid ad?!? Every time I try to hit play it just takes me to a Vicks web page. This is a dumb page.
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Jean-WWGOA Video Membership
I work in a cabinet shop for several years and we always dadoed the face frame . I don’t like the idea of just gluing your wood to particleboard . I think if I wasn’t going to use a dado I might put a pocket hole or so on the inside .
Melamine edges are usually made of a very poor particle board material so do you actually only use yellow glue? Is it a special glue? Since the particle board material is usually kind of crumbly it is surprising that no finishing nails up front, or pocket screws or biscuits from behind are used. Also since you have never had a joint fail or face frame warp because of only applying finish to one side you have caused so many of us to feel like we have been wasting our time doing it the other way. Thanks for preventing us from losing more time. :o)
Hi, Barry. There is a lot of glue in particle board, but there is plenty of wood as well. Therefore it works fine as a glue surface. You’ll find the same thing with veneer plywood edges. In terms of the face frames, you can get away with finishing on one side because they are not very wide, so the uneven moisture exposure doesn’t cause problems. If you are finishing a large panel such as a table top, that is an entirely different matter, and I’ve seen several situations where woodworkers do not finish both sides evenly and it causes extreme problems. It’s similar to cross-grain joinery. You can get away with it in small doses, like a typical mortise and tenon joint on a table apron to leg joint. But if you start to bind wood in a cross grain joint over 6″, you are increasing the likelihood of problems.
Why not use a biscuit jointer .
Hi, Robert. If your face frames are large enough to accept a biscuit, this is an acceptable option. I occasionally build them using FF size biscuits which are specific to a Porter Cable biscuit joiner.
You don’t nail it as well?
Hi, Pauyl! I use glue only to attach face frames. No nails, no biscuits. I’ve never had the glue joint fail.
But George, what happened to what you do on one side of a project, you should do on the other side, to prevent warping. e.g., 3 coats of poly on one side needs 3 coat of poly on the other side. I think the reasoning was uneven escape of moisture in the wood causes warpage. Are you thinking that because the faceface is secured to the carcass, that my point is moot?
If I were making a table top I’d follow the finish-both-sides rule to the letter. On narrow face frame stock, it doesn’t matter.
You said no problem with glue on the melamine because glue doesn’t stick to melamine. Does that mean that gluding the face frame to the melamine will not be a strong joint?
Hi, Ted! Glue won’t stick to the melamine face, but will stick to the raw particle board edge the face frame is being glued to.
George, You said that glue doesn’t stick to melamine well, how did you secure the face frame onto the melamine? Did you have to scuff the melamine first?
The melamine coating is only on the face of the pieces. The edges of the melamine are raw particle board.