Goose Neck/swan neck molding

[David Turner]

:confused: I have my curly maple highboy complete to the point of making the bonnet top s-curved crown moldings. I have a shaper, router, radial arm saw, and carving tools. I am looking for the safest, most effective way of machining the moldings. Please advise as to your experience with one/each of these methods. Thanks, :confused: David Turner

[Jim Becker]

David, I think you're going to have to use template shaping/routing for those goosenecks...probably in steps as you build them up. I recall seeing an article on this awhile back, but don't recall where.

[tod evans]

david, alot of how to approach your moulding will depend on the cutters you have for your equipment.....you could use either the shaper or router, it`s really dificult to cut symmetrical mouldings by hand but folks have been doing it for years. if you opt for the power aproach be sure to make your blanks too long and mill some extra straight stock for checking your setups. i like to use mdf patterns for a guide bushing to follow when using the shaper, make both the left and right at the same time so they`re the same.....02 tod

[Richard Wolf]

Try MLCS, they have instruction sheets for gooseneck moldings.
www.mlcswoodworking.com/shopsite_sc/store/html/smarthtml/pages/instruct.html

Richard

[lou sansone]

this is how I have done it on various pieces and would recommend it to you

use an over arm router or set one up using a power feeder post. remove the power feeder and install a router in a home made jig on the power feeder post. If you don't have a power feeder post then using a RAS that you remove the motor and insert a router in a home made jig might work. you need to see what you are doing if you are going to do the goosnecks with power tools. I would not advise you try it with a normal shaper set up.

Place 2 rollers on a board that straddle both sides of the molding and use them to stabilize the molding while you run it past the router bits.

Rough out the goosnecks by using multiple passes on this set up and carve and scrape them by hand. make both ends longer than you need and miter back close to the case return and the top return. use a stationary belt sander with the table tilted to 46 degrees and finish off the miter very slowly till it all fits.
take it slow and you will be fine. make the return moldings as well this way and carve them to match

best wishes

lou

[Steve Wargo]

You could always use scratch stocks to make the bonnet top. Certainly the safest way to do it as you'll not use any powertools. I've done curved mouldings like this in the past and it's fairly quick, especially when you're only doing a small amount like you are doing. Break your profile down into stages and make a few different shaped profiles to match on your scratch stock. It is very easy to get a uniform cut and the chances of chipping out the whole thing as you near completion are next to none. you can even use a large chamfer on the corner to remove the bulk of the material before you start shaping the profile. You can PM me if you want to ask more detailed questions.

[Rob Millard]

I have made these moldings using 3 methods.
Hand carved
Not nearly as difficult as it would seem, and this is coming from a mediocre carver.
Router fitted the a single point fence.
I made my fence from some scrapes of steel and a router bearing. The stock for the molding is sawn to the goose-neck profile on its inside edge. Then draw the molding shape on the end and using various round nose and straight router bits route to the drawn molding shape. You can get a very accurate profile that will require only a minor amount of hand carving and scraping. You must plan your cuts carefully in order to maintain good support for the router. This means leaving a strip of wood intact at the inside edge of the profile. This edge can later be hand carved. The only downside, it that it requires a fair amount of concentration to maintain contact with the bearing point on the fence, and keep the cuts concentric with the goose-neck profile. After the profile is refined with the gouges and scrapers, the outside edge is sawn to shape. Don’t bother to refine the molding too much, until after the returns have been mitered, and the molding installed, as quite a bit of work will be required to make the profiles match.

The final method, I’ve used, was shown in the Vandal book on Queen Anne Furniture. It amounted to bolting a router motor to the arm of a RAS, and guiding stock sawn to the full shape of the goose-neck molding, between two bearing points. This worked okay, but scared the life out of me. Even with light cuts, I was afraid of the bit grabbing and pulling my fingers into the router.
Rob Millard

[Carl Eyman]

If you can find a copy of "Shaping Wood" by Lonnie Bird (I think) He has a great arti8cle on it.

[Peter Stahl]

:confused: I have my curly maple highboy complete to the point of making the bonnet top s-curved crown moldings. I have a shaper, router, radial arm saw, and carving tools. I am looking for the safest, most effective way of machining the moldings. Please advise as to your experience with one/each of these methods. Thanks, :confused: David Turner


Here's a link to a Woodworkers site from another WW forum. He's a very talented WW and don't think He'll mind you taking a look. I think this is what you're looking for but you'll have to scale it up of course. link is: http://www.cjohnhebert.com/Swanneck.htm

[Bruce Bosse]

Here is a youtube video of gooseneck molding, scroll board and other components for a Queen Ann bonnet top from a highboy. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a8xXEk3iASo

[Frederick Skelly]

Here is a youtube video of gooseneck molding, scroll board and other components for a Queen Ann bonnet top from a highboy. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a8xXEk3iASo

Good information Bruce. Thanks. You noticed that this thread is nearly 10 years old, right?