Craftsman molding cutter for table saw

[Mitchell Garnett]

I got a Craftsman molding cutter head and cutter assortment back in 1981 when my father passed away. It got tucked into a drawer and I more-or-less forgot about it. In the process of packing to move, I came across it and am wondering what to do it.

I see lots of video and comments on the Internet but wonder if anyone on the forum has any experience using this?

Thanks,

Mitchell

[Charlie Jones]

I bought one of those at a yard sale. I used it once and it worked fine. I just wasn’t comfortable with the sight and sound. Scary, so I have it tucked away in a drawer.

[Rick Potter]

The sound is disconcerting, but in use, it is not much different than a dado stack.

Advice?

1. Make a wooden insert for it, like you would for a dado. For most insert heads, you probably won't have cutters
more than 1/4 to 3/4" above the insert, depending on the cutters.

2. Move the work slower than usual, there are only 3 (?) cutters working there.

3. Push blocks.

4. Do not cut man made material like melamine or particle board, the cutters are not carbide.

5. Keep cutters sharp. Lay them face down on fine grit wet and dry sandpaper. Sharpen by hand...easy.

You might be surprised at how well they work.

Bonus tip....check the tightness of the pinch screws every now and then.

[Jerome Stanek]

I got one from my Father in law when he quit doing woodworking. Works pretty good for what I need

[Lisa Starr]

Make a zero clearance insert for it and use it. I've used it for some specific jobs with custom knife profiles and it has served the purpose.

[Lee Schierer]

I had one and got rid of it. They do work, but you have to be very careful and take very light cuts. Zero clearance inserts are a necessity as are knot free wood to run through the cutter.

Be aware that they also made a one blade cutter, which I would definitely not use under any circumstance.

[Jeff Bartley]

To those that have run one of these: do you make one deep pass or several light passes?

[Patrick Morris IV]

I make several light passes as I get better results that way, little or no tear out.

[Jim Mackell]

To those that have run one of these: do you make one deep pass or several light passes?

Several light passes, with a zero clearance insert and push sticks. Done carefully, you can make extremely inexpensive custom moldings.

[John TenEyck]

I have two of them; both a one knife and 3 knife version. They both work fine and w/o drama. As was said, they are no different than using a dado set. They are very handy to have on occasion, especially when you need a custom ground knife on the one knife version. I take a straight knife and grind it on my bench and chainsaw grinders to the profile needed. Cheap and effective.

John

[Ray Newman]

Replacement knives and additional profiles for Delta and Craftsman molding head cutters, see Corob Cutters -- http://corobcutters.com/

Back-In-The-Day, I ran a Delta molding head cutter on my Uni-saw and Delta Contractor's Saw. As others posted, take light cuts, slow feed rate, push sticks, zero clearance throat insert, and if possible feather boards to press the work into the fence as well as hold the work down onto the cutter head. Carefully select stock to run through the cutter head. The noise is intimidating, but with careful set up and feed rate, a molding head cutter works well.

[Mike Null]

I used the Craftsman for years. It works surprisingly well if one takes sensible precautions as others have mentioned.

[Lisa Starr]

Light passes, and I recommend profiling your stock while it is still "rough length". I've sometimes had a oops in the first or last 1" or so while cutting the profile and that way you can just trim it off.

[ray grundhoefer]

used to use one on my radial arm saw a lot. it worked really good for trim on cabinets