Cope & style problem

[Ron Hitchcock]

Please refer to the attached picture. I'm making a Roman desk, using full semi-circles for the arches. How do I prevent the corner from chipping out as shown? One more question, you can see that the style and rail don't fit perfectly, but they do on the other side of the style - why?

[William Fretwell]

You have less than 90 degrees of a circle in the picture. If you cut the semi circles in half they will both be less than 90 degrees. Post a picture of the side that works so we can see where the other degrees went.

[Joe Calhoon]

When we do Roman arches the stiles get notched for the rail. If the door or sash gets wide we turn the grain at the ends to reduce short grain. These are painted windows and 2 or 3 segments might look better in stain grade. When shaping leave the tails long and cut rail to width after shaping. Applied raised mouldings make these easier.
Roman arch 1.jpg
Roman arch 2.jpg
Notching for arch.jpg

[Wayne Lomman]

Some alternatives. Notch deeper into the stiles and use a different joint for the top rail. Build a better jig that fully backs up the rail during machining. Glue the rail to an mdf backing board before machining. Assemble the top rail and stiles and machine the frame as a whole. All or none may work. Cheers

[Ron Hitchcock]

Thanks for the info. I have more practice wood (poplar) to use before the walnut.