Need help on trim method

[john lawson]

I need a some help making a trim or putting this trim into a panel. The piece is a bed and both the headboard and footboard require this type of "sawtooth" trim. It will probably need to be cut at 60 degree angle, but some other angle might work

I will need to make rails and stiles that have this feature and carry a panel, or make separate trim and apply it after the parts are glued up.

Any ideas on how to do it, or make the trim?

thanks

john lawson

[Mike Golka]

Some type of jig and a router?

[Frank Drew]

John,

I'm sure there's a clever person who'll know exactly how to do this with minumum effort -- a jig and router as Mike suggests, maybe with a cone shaped bit? -- but all I can think of is slowly and laboriously with a sharp, thin-bladed hand saw, after careful layout. If you have a jig saw (scroll saw) that would be a lot quicker that a hand saw; you'd have to be ultra-careful if you used a bandsaw so that your cuts were neat and precise since there's no point doing it if it doesn't end up looking perfect.

[Frank Drew]

Maybe a V-shaped cutter in a radial arm saw moulding head. Or the same, mounted on a table saw, and then cut using a crosscut mode, advancing along as you would when cutting dentil moulding. Either method, you'd need some kind of registration so that each cut was spaced evenly.

[Jamie Buxton]

If the pattern is tricky to make, you're generally better off to make the trim seperately and apply it -- as constrasted to cutting the pattern into bigger parts.

The photo is fuzzy, but seems to show a repeating v-notch pattern along an edge, like the edge left by pinking shears. One way to make that would take a router table and a step-and-repeat jig.

The cut would be made by a bit sold for making V-shaped grooves, like http://eagleamerica.com/v-groove--plunge-lettering-bits/p/132-0422/.

The step-and-repeat jig is like the common box-joint jig. You cut one notch, then hook that notch over a pin on the jig, and cut the next notch, then hook that notch over the pin, etc. The spacing between the pin and router bit sets the spacing of the notches along the molding.

[john lawson]

Thanks for the replies; I had given this some thought before asking for advice, and I have thought about it a lot more since.

I like the idea of the router. I had also thought about using a band saw or scroll saw, but have not come up with a good way yet. I also had considered using applied trim but I am not sure that will work as the headboard has the curved rail holding the panel in place, making that approach difficult to envision how to do.

I have a high quality Laguna band saw with a 1" carbide blade, so if I were to mark both sides of the piece with the sawtooth design I might be able to do a good job by sawing one angle and then flipping it over to do the other. As someone pointed out, I need a good quality cut. I can get access to a nice DeWalt scroll saw so that also may work.

I am leaning toward cutting all the rails and stiles to size, cutting the mortises for floating tenons, and then as the last step cut the sawteeth, with one of the above methods. If I can figure out a way to use the router bit with jig or holder of some sort I would surely consider that.

The key is to get clean "teeth" that are not broken and then get the panel glued up so they will stay somewhat protected.

[Ed Peters]

I'd use a router, dovetail jig and a tapered router bit with a bearing that could be guided by the dovetail jig. Rip the boards wide and a bit long. Stack them together as deep as your dovetail jig will allow, screw or bolt them into a stack and cut away. My Keller jig would accomodate this, not sure about other brands.

Ed

[Ben Grunow]

The pics have a rustic look. Might just need to be done by hand (coping saw?). Dado blade tilted to 45 with jig like one for a box joint?