The Family Handyman – September 2019

FAMILYHANDYMAN.COM SEPTEMBER 2019 41

b

FILL THE

EDGES

Ordinary joint compound—

normally used on drywall—

is great for smoothing out

edges of plywood that

will be painted. Just

smear it on, let it dry and

sand with 100-grit sand-

paper. I used it to fill

screw holes too. It shrinks

as it dries, so you might

need two coats.

b

EDGE-BAND

THE DOORS

Since the doors got a

clear coat rather than

paint, I covered the edges

with iron-on banding. For

complete how-to, go to

familyhandyman.com and

search for “edge band-

ing.” Tip: Pick up an old

iron at a garage sale.

Getting glue and sawdust

on the household iron

causes marital strife.

b

HANG THE

CABINET

Getting the cabinet

perfectly positioned

required some fuss: It

had to be square, level

and precisely centered

between the windows. To

make this easier, I first

marked all the stud loca-

tions and screwed a tem-

porary 1x4 ledger to the

wall, perfectly level and

at the right height. With

the ledger as a support, I

was able to drive and

remove screws as I

adjusted and readjusted

the position of the cabinet.

3

4

5

Joint

compound

Door

Edge

banding

Ledger