wood choice for baseboards and casing

[Mike Kees]

I just purchased a General International moulder,just like the Shop fox or williams and hussey. My plan is to make baseboards and casing for my house . It will be painted. I was thinking of using Alder/Poplar for this. Is there other suitable woods that I should be considering ? Mike.

[David Kumm]

I like maple. Takes the abuse from vacuum cleaners and power cords dragging around corners. Dave

[Cary Falk]

I would choose maple as well. Popular or alder would be fine for crown that doesn't take the abuse that baseboards take

[John TenEyck]

Maple (soft or hard, whichever is cheaper) is my preference, too.

John

[Neil Gaskin]

Most of the painted base we put on is poplar or pine.

The others are are right that maple would be more durable.

Birch would also be durable but I personally do not like working with it.

[Mike Kees]

Thanks for all the replies. I will check out my prices on maple. What about sources for moulding knives for my machine ?

[Andrew Seemann]

I'd say poplar or similar if you are going to paint it. If you want to stain, then red or white oak, whichever is cheaper. Hard maple is good with a clear finish, but you may need to watch out for burning due to the sugar content. It also can be prone to cupping in wide pieces, and is a bit on the unstable side. Birch has all the disadvantages of maple, but sometimes it can also kind of difficult to machine without tear out. Birch and maple can be prone to bloching with stain, especially birch, maple less so.

My advice would be to go with whatever seems pretty to you that readily available in straight, clear stock and is not too expensive.

[Paul Girouard]

Thanks for all the replies. I will check out my prices on maple. What about sources for moulding knives for my machine ?


Ask for #2 or paint grade Maple. It will be tougher than Poplar , also tougher to machine, but it sounds like you’re buying brand new cutters so you should be OK , well depending on how many LF of base you need?? If you need 1000 LF you should order two sets of knifes or plan on sending them out to be sharpened 1/2 way thru the run.
But that might be the case with the Alder or Poplar.

I’d choose Poplar if it where me, base board does take a beating depending on how well someone cares for their house.

Base has been made of Pine , VG or mixed grain Fir that was painted , and Poplar for years in the PNW. Fir, up until say the 1980’s was the paint grade wood of choice in Washington state, or the entire PNW.

So to me the paint grade or #2 I believe it sold as hard Maple is over kill and will cost 30 or 40% more to buy.
I didn’t notice where you are located , but IF you are in the PNW make sure the price they give you isn’t for Western Maple or Big leaf Maple because it’s NOT much harder than Poplar or Alder. The hard Maple is eastern Maple.

[Cary Falk]

Janka scale

Popular = 540
Alder= 590
Big leaf maple(soft)=850
Hard maple = 1450

I think soft maple is good enough. It is almost as cheap as popular and way cheaper than alder.

[David Kumm]

My supplier is Wisconsin glues up maple into boards up to 24" wide out of strips. I use those for drawers and any paint grade moldings. Less waste but you need a stout machine and a stout friend to handle the stuff. Dave

[Jim Becker]

All of the beaded and double-beaded trim that went in for our major home addition in 2008 was milled from tulip poplar "on-site". I personally find it "hard" enough for the purpose, but maple is equally inexpensive, albeit harder to sand mill marks smooth.

[Brad Shipton]

How many feet you talking? It is a big job if a full 2,000sqft+ house. The moulding is the easy part. Making the blanks is tiresome with the small equipment we typically own. I did half a house, and... Regardless of what material you opt for you might want to look into having someone like Lancashire (Edmonton) supply your wood 2 side planed with a straight line one edge. They run it through a 2 sided planer (25hp+) it for peanuts, but you would likely need to buy a lift. I did that not long ago when I needed a bunch of 5/4 stock. That will make it a very reasonable job.

I would use maple if the budget permits.

[Mel Fulks]

I agree with Jim. Most around here use poplar. I've never seen any really dinged up base, but I've never been in a
fraternity.

[Andrew Seemann]

How many feet you talking? It is a big job if a full 2,000sqft+ house. The moulding is the easy part. Making the blanks is tiresome with the small equipment we typically own. I did half a house, and... Regardless of what material you opt for you might want to look into having someone like Lancashire (Edmonton) supply your wood 2 side planed with a straight line one edge. They run it through a 2 sided planer (25hp+) it for peanuts, but you would likely need to buy a lift. I did that not long ago when I needed a bunch of 5/4 stock. That will make it a very reasonable job.


When I did my molding, baseboard, and trim for my last house, I had my supplier mill everything to 3/4 with a straight line rip. I think I even had the mopboards cut at 7" wide as well. It wasn't worth my time or the wear and tear on my machines (and me) to do all the planing, edge jointing, and most of the ripping myself. It might have cost an extra $100, but I saved a weekend's work. Plus the wife had grown tired of remodeling at that point, so time was of the essence.

Actually whenever I need more than about 100 bd ft of something, I usually just have them plane it for me (and deliver, since it is only about $25 where I live). Again, it isn't worth my time and wear on my planer blades to do it myself.

[Jared Sankovich]

I use poplar for paint grade. If I was smarter I'd use s2sr1e or s4s. As its only $0.25 or $0.70/bdft more

396316
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[John TenEyck]

I used Custom Molding Knives in VT for the last two sets of knives I needed for my W&H molder, also to cut baseboard molding. Exceptional service and excellent quality.

John

http://customouldingknives.com/

[Mike Kees]

My house s only 1190 sq ft. My shop is 2800 sq.ft. I guess you could say my priorities are aligned properly.. At this point will probably mill my own stock ,but will check out cost for others doing it. Thanks for all input ,this little machine is going to be fun. I bought it in a auction for 1/3 the cost of new. It looks hardly used,came with exactly one set of knives. My first step will be taking my wife to a store where she can see a bunch of moulding profiles in person to figure out which knives to buy. Thanks for the replies and advice,Mike.

[Jared Sankovich]

My house s only 1190 sq ft. My shop is 2800 sq.ft. I guess you could say my priorities are aligned properly.. At this point will probably mill my own stock ,but will check out cost for others doing it. Thanks for all input ,this little machine is going to be fun. I bought it in a auction for 1/3 the cost of new. It looks hardly used,came with exactly one set of knives. My first step will be taking my wife to a store where she can see a bunch of moulding profiles in person to figure out which knives to buy. Thanks for the replies and advice,Mike.

I would skip the store, if it's a stock moulding you likely can't even buy the lumber for what you can get Stock profiles for.

Historical millwork catalogs (as well as modern versions like kuiken brothers or WindsorOne classical American collection by Brent hull) would be where I would start looking. If you are going to take the time and effort to make all the moulding I would make it something special/custom you can't get in most stores.

[Andrew Seemann]

I would skip the store, if it's a stock moulding you likely can't even buy the lumber for what you can get Stock profiles for.


Yep, the only reason I did the moulding and trim and casework on my old house was that the house was from 1909 and I couldn't find anything that matched the existing trim. I won't be making my own moulding for my current 1975 house when I need to replace it. It is standard off the shelf stuff and it is too cheap and easy to buy vs fiddling with making my own.

[Jim Becker]

I would skip the store, if it's a stock moulding you likely can't even buy the lumber for what you can get Stock profiles for.

Historical millwork catalogs (as well as modern versions like kuiken brothers or WindsorOne classical American collection by Brent hull) would be where I would start looking. If you are going to take the time and effort to make all the moulding I would make it something special/custom you can't get in most stores.
I kinda agree with this. This is a great opportunity to make your home unique. Examining references like Jared mentions will get you to styles you both like and from there you can figure out what "your" version of the selected profile(s) will entail to make.

[Mike Kees]

All good if these catalogs show profiles not just by the cross section. Not a problem for me however Mrs. Kees cannot 'visualize' what they will look like unless she is holding the piece in her hands. I do intend to make base and casings that are different than what everyone is using.So it is off to stores to get a feel for what my wife likes.

[Brad Shipton]

I agree the others. I was going with craftsman style, and could not find the profiles locally. If you like that I highly recommend Bob Lang's book on trim details. The whole "making your house unique" is something that has to be important to you. 90% of people do not notice trim other than when it is missing.

I would add that you need to carefully consider how much material you will waste. I thought I might save a few bucks as well, but in the end I didn't. My trim was stain grade Cherry, so the waste was very high. Maybe you will end up saving a bit, but I know my math was way out.

[Tom M King]

When I was building new, spec houses, I always made the trim. Using a backband on casing allows you to hide the outer nails (not even considering pre-finishing everything, including walls before trim), and the band can be pinned on with 23 ga. pins, along with a little glue. Baseboard was simply a board, with a cap. The board was nailed behind where the shoe molding would go, and toenailed in the top, to be covered with the cap. Almost anyone can make base cap a lot cheaper than you can buy it, and with good selection of straight grain, it can be nailed on with a pinner too.

I would go to some lengths to avoid puttying nail holes, but it didn't end up being as much as the time required for hiding nail holes with finish, and a better looking end result . Design the casing to hold a spline to the jambs, and nail holes can be almost completely eliminated.

I was building one high end house a year though, and not cranking out tract houses. When you do everything yourself, you can plan the whole job out so the steps compliment each other. Typically, one contractor does one job, and leaves as much as possible to the next guy.

[Jared Sankovich]

All good if these catalogs show profiles not just by the cross section. Not a problem for me however Mrs. Kees cannot 'visualize' what they will look like unless she is holding the piece in her hands. I do intend to make base and casings that are different than what everyone is using.So it is off to stores to get a feel for what my wife likes.

Both do a reasonable job of showing the various profiles in finished rooms.
https://windsorone.com/idea-gallery/category/classical-craftsman-moldings/

https://www.kuikenbrothers.com/moulding-collection/classical-modern-craftsman-2/

[Jared Sankovich]

Almost anyone can make base cap a lot cheaper than you can buy it, and with good selection of straight grain, it can be nailed on with a pinner too.
.

The small moulding is where you can actually come out ahead.
Base cap, shoe, door/window stop and panel are all labor costs when purchasing from a supplier.

As an example this door had 120' of stop, 60' of panel mould that were run out of scrap off cuts. Locally stop is 1.20/lf and 7.25" victorian-ish profile base is $1.88/lf
396353

[jeff shanz]

When I was building new, spec houses, I always made the trim. Using a backband on casing allows you to hide the outer nails (not even considering pre-finishing everything, including walls before trim), and the band can be pinned on with 23 ga. pins, along with a little glue. Baseboard was simply a board, with a cap. The board was nailed behind where the shoe molding would go, and toenailed in the top, to be covered with the cap. Almost anyone can make base cap a lot cheaper than you can buy it, and with good selection of straight grain, it can be nailed on with a pinner too.

I would go to some lengths to avoid puttying nail holes, but it didn't end up being as much as the time required for hiding nail holes with finish, and a better looking end result . Design the casing to hold a spline to the jambs, and nail holes can be almost completely eliminated.

I was building one high end house a year though, and not cranking out tract houses. When you do everything yourself, you can plan the whole job out so the steps compliment each other. Typically, one contractor does one job, and leaves as much as possible to the next guy.

I was going to suggest MDF for baseboards and as a base when using a 3-piece crown.

[Mike Kees]

So I went to town today with my wife and we figured out the style of doors she wants . Have also narrowed down casing and base profiles considerably. As soon as that is final I will get knives ordered and begin the process. Kind of looking forward to getting to work on my own house instead of other peoples for once. There will be no MDF in my house for trim anywhere, it may have it's place but it is not in my house.:)

[Dan Kopack]

Agree, soft maple.