a banding fixture including a body having a horizontal opening therein , a carriage movable into and out of the horizontal opening , a recess in the carriage , the carriage with the recess therein movable into the horizontal opening with an upper surface on the carriage in underlying near contiguous relationship to an undersurface of a plate on the body , and a workpiece - receiving slot in the body above the horizontal opening . a method of banding a workpiece including the steps of placing a band into spaced slots having sides , pressing a workpiece overlying a central portion of the band which is not in the slots into a recess in a member , and moving the member relative to a surface so that the ends of the band which extend beyond the workpiece are pressed together in overlapping relationship as the member passes in contiguous relationship to the surface .