Designing moulding

[Jason Buresh]

I would like to add more moulding and detail to some of my projects. I have a modest collection of moulding planes and a newly acquired 55.

Is there any rules of thumb on custom designed moulding or is it best to replicate historical examples. Is it just based on what's pleasing to your eye? Is there any hard fast rules on this profile should only be used for this or that?

Thanks for any and all advice

[Mel Fulks]

Fine to make up new ones, if you have a new take on something. The historical ones got that way because they are good. Many of the
ones sold now lack depth and and are too rounded. All right angle “ corners” on mouldings should be sharp. Yes, it makes them harder to paint, but it has to be done. I’ve always liked “bolection” mouldings ,please take a look at those. There are big ones suitable as front door trim. Usually all involved in using them on a particular job have to have a big argument about which side should out …or in. I’ve got a
5 and 1/2 inch bolection mould around my front door, big side close to door edge.

Jason, thanks for being a contributor!

[chris carter]

I make up my own and if I get stumped then I will look at existing profiles. When making my own, I use graph paper to draw it out. This makes it a lot easier to lay out my rabbets and such and I usually also number them in order of what to cut when. That can save you from running into problems where you don’t have something decent to reference. I use a wooden rabbet plane, but I would imagine that if you are cutting rabbets with a combo plane this would be even more critical since you are relying on a big bulky fence instead of your fingers which can contort into funky spaces. Also, if making your own, bear in mind that any curve that goes past the horizontal plane cannot be coped if you are planning to cope corners. In those situations you have to miter them. Most historical examples I would imagine avoid this problem. But many modern pre-fab moldings do not.

489483
In this one I made up lots of ideas and I didn't like any of them. So I copied the crown molding in the room. It's a reminder that sometimes you don't need to search out a design if you know what room something will reside in. It can help tie the room together to recycle an idea that already exists in the room.

[Mike Allen1010]

Highly recommend Matthew Bickford's book "moldings in practice". Not only lots of great examples/designs from classic moldings of various styles, but also terrific "how to" instruction. Fair warning, probably gonna put a set of H&R's on your Christmas list.

[Mel Fulks]

[QUOTE=Also, if making your own, bear in mind that any curve that goes past the horizontal plane cannot be coped if you are planning to cope corners. In those situations you have to miter them.

Good tip there , Chris , I found that out the hard way years ago. Thanks for adding this “cope -esthetic “ tip !
Post script : and needed letters to get this thing delivered , since computers don’t understand good concise writing.

[Jim Koepke]

This page > https://blog.lostartpress.com/?s=moulding < may be of help and has excerpts from the Matthew Bickford book on molding.

jtk

[Ben Ellenberger]

By Hand & Eye is a fantastic book that talks about proportion and design. It isn’t specific to moldings, but it does give you a useful way to think about how to size them and the elements in them, based on the scale of your work.

[Andrew Hughes]

Molding has been one of my woodworking weaknesses. It can look good on paper then after spending time and good straight grain wood a bummer. Here’s my last one I’m not thrilled about.

[Jason Buresh]

Thank you everyone for the replies. I'll have to order the books suggested and read them. Sounds like I have more studying to do

[Mel Fulks]

“When stuff isn’t gonna be painted …
Rounds can’t get too “inflated”
Square-ish and sunny and shady …will make time for your Lady.
And ,remember : IT can’t be overly “ wavy”.

[Tom M King]

People have been trying to improve on moldings the Greeks designed for a couple of thousand years. There is still much more trying than improving.

[Charles Guest]

Greek mouldings: based on the ellipse.

Roman mouldings: based on the circle.

Greek mouldings look better in my opinion, but are a little harder to reproduce with hollows and rounds as H&Rs are based on segments of a circle.

[Tom M King]

I do a bit of cheating with sandpaper, and sanding sponges sometimes.

[Jason Buresh]

People have been trying to improve on moldings the Greeks designed for a couple of thousand years. There is still much more trying than improving.

I guess that's why we say some things are timeless.

I'm thinking maybe I should get good at making basic and classic profiles before I start designing my own. Maybe I'm putting the carriage in front of the horse

[Jim Koepke]

Greek mouldings: based on the ellipse.

Roman mouldings: based on the circle.

Greek mouldings look better in my opinion, but are a little harder to reproduce with hollows and rounds as H&Rs are based on segments of a circle.


I do a bit of cheating with sandpaper, and sanding sponges sometimes.

It is also easy to cheat by using a couple different sizes of hollows & rounds.

jtk

[Mel Fulks]

Only a ‘matter of time’ before some designer puts vinyl astragal on the back of blue jeans.

[Jim Koepke]

Only a ‘matter of time’ before some designer puts vinyl astragal on the back of blue jeans.

Maybe an astragal belt.

jtk

[Tom M King]

I thought I had some better pictures, but can't find them. It's possible to take most of the waste off with passes over the table saw, so that there is very little left for molding planes to do.

This for a four large 9 light sash job-not enough to pay for custom cutters, so they were made by "hand" for exact match double hung replacements in an 1850 house. Molding plane modified with H&R's, chisel, and sandpaper, plus regrinding the iron to finish profiles, and copes cut with a jeweler's saw. Glazing bars were 5/8" wide.

They were painted inside and out, so made from leftovers of Heart Pine, and Cypress since the wood didn't need to match.

I'm lucky that I don't have to invent new moldings. I just copy what exists exactly.

[Mike Allen1010]

People have been trying to improve on moldings the Greeks designed for a couple of thousand years. There is still much more trying than improving.

+1, if it’s not broken, don’t try and fix it