Furniture made with man-made sheet materials, like particleboard, plywood, and MDF, needs edge banding to cover up the core.
Examples: particleboard, plywood, and medium density fibreboard (MDF)
As you can see in the photos above, these materials can have a thin veneer of wood or plastic laminate on the surface, making them look like solid wood. All that’s needed to complete the illusion is matching edge banding. Depends on the output and budget requests, can choose use a manual edge bander or automatic edge bander
Edge banding is a strip of wood that is glued to the edge of another piece of wood, then trimmed and sanded to create a seamless look. All edge banding has side grain, meaning the grain lines run lengthwise. To check if a piece of wood has edge banding, look at the grain lines on all four edges; two of the edges should have parallel grain lines, while the other two should have perpendicular grain lines.
Why do manufacturers use sheet material instead of solid wood?
Because this material is less expensive and lighter than solid wood, and it is more dimensionally stable.
Solid wood expands and contracts in response to changes in humidity and temperature, which can cause problems like doors binding and warping, or glue bonds cracking. When choosing furniture made of solid wood, keep this in mind and look for pieces that use solid wood only in visible areas.
