Ideas Needed: How to Make This Molding

[Mark Wyatt]

As part of a remodel of our older home, I need to replicate some existing door molding. The molding is about 4" wide and has a cross section roughly like the picture (a quick and dirty sketch; the real casing is symetric). Since I only need about 20 linear feet, I'd like to make this myself. It will be painted when complete.

Any ideas on a good, relatively quick method to make this?

[brett gallmeyer]

I would check out you local cabinet shops. I work at one here in colorado. I custom grind knives to any profile, or shapes. We can run any kind of molding through this machine its great. Look in the phone book and call around. Either for custom molding places or cabinet shops. good luck.

brett g.

[Andrew Derhammer]

Some specialty saw mills will do it too.

[Lucas Bittick]

I don't know of any quick way to match an old molding profile like that unless you have a collection of molding planes on hand. If it had a flat surface you could just use a shaper to route grooves into it, but ftom your drawing it looks like a fluted convex profile.

Like the previous posters suggested, it is best to contact a local molding/cabinet business. You will need to purchase a profile copy guage and take an impression of your molding. You can trace its profile on a piece of paper and take it with you to get it matched.

Google tells me this business is in your area:
http://cardinalcustommoulding.com/

They have a ton of molding profiles available, and cut custom knives. I have a feeling if they can't help you, then you're out of luck...

[Neal Clayton]

unless you can find someone that already has the knives, it'll be pretty cost prohibitive. the custom knives alone are gonna cost you a hundred bucks or so, maybe upwards of 200 for such a wide profile if the person cutting them needs multiples. most molding shops will charge a setup fee on top of that.

i agree that your local shops might be your best bet since someone else with the same profile might've already gone to them to have some reproduced, so they might already have the knives.

[Jeff Bratt]

How closely do you need to match this? There are no dimensions in your drawing - but you might be able to get close by cutting with multiple passes with a bit like this (http://www.infinitytools.com/products.asp?dept=1354). If you need to exactly match an existing profile you'll have to get a custom cutter made. Least expensive might be grinding a custom blade (http://www.lie-nielsen.com/catalog.php?cat=548) for a molding plane.

[Mark Wyatt]

My first thought was local milling shops, but none had a similar profile. As I only need about 20 linear feet for a new closet door, it seems cost prohibitive to have a set of knives made.

[Paul Atkins]

Hi,
I use a moulding head for the tablesaw for small runs of moulding. The blades are cheap and HSS that can be ground with the bench grinder. They don't have to be exactly perfectly matched as profile goes, but should weigh about the same. I get the closest profile to what I need and then grind a set in about 1/2 hour.

[Hal Taft]

Mark,
Since it's going to be painted, you can do a cheat that I find helpful doing small historic repairs in my hometown. With something like a dremel tool, cut a piece of sheetmetal with the shape of the molding. Prep several boards the thickness of the unmolded part of your molding, then use the metal piece to trowel automotive bodyputty onto the boards. start out with a rough pass, then after hardening,make another,cleaner, pass. Eventually you'll have a fairly close approximation of your molding. This is the same way, only using plaster, that the oldfashioned fancy plaster moldings were made. Practice the technique on small pieces first, to get the hang of it.

[Paul Greathouse]

Since its going to be painted you could do it in pieces.

Depending on the thickness of the beads, you could possible rip several strips of the heights that you need. Then on a router table or shaper run one edge of each strip through a beading bit or use a round over bit and run them twice to make the bead.

After the beads are run arrange the different height strips in the correct order and glue the strips up to get the profile that you need.

[Mark Wyatt]

Hal and Paul,

Thanks for the great ideas! This is exactly what I was looking for.

[Alfred J Sevitski]

:rolleyes: find something close to what you have and do the whole door frame chances are no one will notice.