Is it Bullnose or Roundover

[Ed Gregg]

I've always called a rounded or eased edge a roundover - the router bits and shaper cutters are called roundover. Yet I find carpenters calling everything rounded a bullnose. I show them router bit catalogs that show bullnose bits actually create a half round and they say roundovers are really bullnose. All this sounds silly till you say I want that edge eased with a roundover and it can end up being bullnose (stair treads are a good example of bullnose).

What confuses all this is that the masonry, solid surface and plaster/sheet rock trades do call a rounded edge bullnose. I tried to find the etomology of bullnose to no avail - so anybody have thoughts?

[Neil Gaskin]

Round-over would be one edge, typically the top, bull-nose would be both top and bottom rounded over. At least around here.

[Wayne Lomman]

Different meanings in different trades. Go and buy bullnose skirting or architraves and it is a single radius. That's carpenters. Tell a furnituremaker to bull nose an edge and you get double radius. Cheers

[Phil Watson]

Also a round over on ceramic and porcelain tile is a bull nose.

[Jerry Miner]

Nomenclature can get quite imprecise. A picture is worth a thousand words.

[Keith Weber]

Oh, you mean a Quarter Round?

[Jerry Miner]

I think he means an Ovolo

[lowell holmes]

Does it really matter what you call it? Either term seems descriptive to me.

[Jerry Miner]

Does it really matter what you call it? Either term seems descriptive to me.

The point is that "bull-nose" sometimes means quarter-round and sometimes full-round, so maybe not descriptive enough.

[Ed Gregg]

You all make good points - bottom line seems to be that some definitions are imprecise. I find the term roundover descriptive - I consider it 2 dimensions - a top and a side. And a bullnose is 3 dimensions - top, side and bottom - after all a real bull's nose is 3 dimensions!

[Rich Engelhardt]

Nomenclature can get quite imprecise. A picture is worth a thousand words.Got that right. Go into a couple/three lumber yards around here and ask for shoe molding & see what you get!

[Jason Roehl]

The point is that "bull-nose" sometimes means quarter-round and sometimes full-round, so maybe not descriptive enough.


Wouldn't full-round be a dowel?

:D

[Rick Moyer]

Wouldn't full-round be a dowel?

:D
Jason is that like you, y'all, and all y'all?:D