Matching a molding profile

[Mike Ontko]

I have a coworker who is renovating a 100+ year old house and had asked if I can duplicate about six feet of a simple base molding profile. I don't have a shaper, and only have standard router bits. The profile on the current molding (sample is pictured) appears simple, but it's not a just a plain radius. What would be the best/simplest method for duplicating this (hand cut scraper, table saw, router,...) and how would you go about it?


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[Jeff Heath]

I'd do it with hand planes, but I have them already...a shoulder plane and a couple of hollows gets it done.

You can make a scratch stock to match the profile and scrape it to shape. Remove as much of the waste as you can with a rabbet/shoulder plane, or carefully with your table saw, and use the scratch stock to finish.

[Mike Ontko]

Thanks, Jeff. I'd only thought of using the old fashioned single-profile (hollow) type hand planes, but don't know where I would find them (though there is a woodworking school down in Seattle, WA, about 100 miles south of me). I hadn't thought of combining standard hand planes, but I've got a medium shoulder plane that could be used to create that notch and a block plane that could do the rest. The card/scratch stock seems to be the simplest method for achieving the actual profile after most of the material has been removed.

[Tom Ewell]

Don't know if it would be worth it but the profile looks a lot like a thumbnail cut. Lots of router bits are available but matching the specs on size is usually where the problems start.
For a 6 foot run, hand tools might be the ticket.

[Mike Ontko]

A "thumbnail" table edge profile is new to me, but a quick Google shows that there are a few off-the-shelf router bits that I might be able to use on my mini-table (a Bosch RA1171). I might be able to use that type of bit for picture frames in the future (to justify the cost) but the scratch stock might be the more cost effective way to go.

[Cary Falk]

Here is an idea. Put the profiled edge against the table saw fence. Raise the blade to the wood. Make a series of cuts moving the blade and fence until the waste is removed. Use a block with a pieve of sandpaper on it to smooth it. I hope that was clear

[Lee Schierer]

You can make a scratch stock to match the profile and scrape it to shape. Remove as much of the waste as you can with a rabbet/shoulder plane, or carefully with your table saw, and use the scratch stock to finish.

If you are only making 6 feet, a scratch stock is the way to go. I needed to make a piece of trim a few years ago and the scratch stock idea was suggested. I made the steel from a hack saw blade and a couple of files. Once I had the contour right for the steel it only took about 10 minutes to do 6 feet of stock.

[Martin Wasner]

Here is an idea. Put the profiled edge against the table saw fence. Raise the blade to the wood. Make a series of cuts moving the blade and fence until the waste is removed. Use a block with a pieve of sandpaper on it to smooth it. I hope that was clear


That would be a big ol' bag of horrible, but I agree that if push comes to shove it'd be doable for just a six foot run.

Run a test piece before every single pass.

[Mike Ontko]

That would be a big ol' bag of horrible...

It all depends on how one goes about it, I suppose :)

In terms of the fastest approach, this would be the way to go. But part of the fun of approaching challenges like this when it's only in the interest of a hobby, is that I can choose the solution that either helps me learn new techniques or acquire new gear...or both :)

The table saw idea certainly has its merits, and if I go about it carefully (6-inch rule for hands, etc.) there should be little problem. I could just use the original piece that I've got to reset the blade height for each pass, after moving the rip fence.Come to think if it, the same method could also work on the router table, using a small diameter straight cut/plunge bit.


Lining up my options so far then (which are far more now than I could have come up with myself in just one day):

1. Use a router bit (on the table only) with a matching table edge/thumbnail profile (expensive for just a 6' board)
2. Use a hollow plane with a matching thumbnail edge profile (ideal, but hard to find)
3. Combination of planes and scratch stock
4. Table saw, nibble away bit by bit then sand or use scratch stock to get final shape
5. Router table with a straight cutting/plunge bit, to nibble away bit by bit then sand or use scratch stock to get final shape

6. Of course finding someone else to do it is always an option, but usually the last one that I'd reach for :)

[Gerry Grzadzinski]

If I only needed one piece, I'd slice a thin section off, scan it, draw it in CAD, and CNC it.

[Keith Mathewson]

Make the fillet on the tablesaw, then facet the profile with whatever plane you own followed by some sandpaper. 1/2 hour if you take your time, 15 minutes if you've done it before.

[Mike Ontko]

If I only needed one piece, I'd slice a thin section off, scan it, draw it in CAD, and CNC it.

No one likes a show-off, Gerry ;)

[Mike Ontko]

Make the fillet on the tablesaw, then facet the profile with whatever plane you own followed by some sandpaper. 1/2 hour if you take your time, 15 minutes if you've done it before.

I'm probably lookin' at least a 1/2 hour then :)