wood choice for baseboards and casing

[John TenEyck]

I used Custom Molding Knives in VT for the last two sets of knives I needed for my W&H molder, also to cut baseboard molding. Exceptional service and excellent quality.

John

http://customouldingknives.com/

[Mike Kees]

My house s only 1190 sq ft. My shop is 2800 sq.ft. I guess you could say my priorities are aligned properly.. At this point will probably mill my own stock ,but will check out cost for others doing it. Thanks for all input ,this little machine is going to be fun. I bought it in a auction for 1/3 the cost of new. It looks hardly used,came with exactly one set of knives. My first step will be taking my wife to a store where she can see a bunch of moulding profiles in person to figure out which knives to buy. Thanks for the replies and advice,Mike.

[Jared Sankovich]

My house s only 1190 sq ft. My shop is 2800 sq.ft. I guess you could say my priorities are aligned properly.. At this point will probably mill my own stock ,but will check out cost for others doing it. Thanks for all input ,this little machine is going to be fun. I bought it in a auction for 1/3 the cost of new. It looks hardly used,came with exactly one set of knives. My first step will be taking my wife to a store where she can see a bunch of moulding profiles in person to figure out which knives to buy. Thanks for the replies and advice,Mike.

I would skip the store, if it's a stock moulding you likely can't even buy the lumber for what you can get Stock profiles for.

Historical millwork catalogs (as well as modern versions like kuiken brothers or WindsorOne classical American collection by Brent hull) would be where I would start looking. If you are going to take the time and effort to make all the moulding I would make it something special/custom you can't get in most stores.

[Andrew Seemann]

I would skip the store, if it's a stock moulding you likely can't even buy the lumber for what you can get Stock profiles for.

Yep, the only reason I did the moulding and trim and casework on my old house was that the house was from 1909 and I couldn't find anything that matched the existing trim. I won't be making my own moulding for my current 1975 house when I need to replace it. It is standard off the shelf stuff and it is too cheap and easy to buy vs fiddling with making my own.

[Jim Becker]

I would skip the store, if it's a stock moulding you likely can't even buy the lumber for what you can get Stock profiles for.

Historical millwork catalogs (as well as modern versions like kuiken brothers or WindsorOne classical American collection by Brent hull) would be where I would start looking. If you are going to take the time and effort to make all the moulding I would make it something special/custom you can't get in most stores.

I kinda agree with this. This is a great opportunity to make your home unique. Examining references like Jared mentions will get you to styles you both like and from there you can figure out what "your" version of the selected profile(s) will entail to make.

[Mike Kees]

All good if these catalogs show profiles not just by the cross section. Not a problem for me however Mrs. Kees cannot 'visualize' what they will look like unless she is holding the piece in her hands. I do intend to make base and casings that are different than what everyone is using.So it is off to stores to get a feel for what my wife likes.

[Brad Shipton]

I agree the others. I was going with craftsman style, and could not find the profiles locally. If you like that I highly recommend Bob Lang's book on trim details. The whole "making your house unique" is something that has to be important to you. 90% of people do not notice trim other than when it is missing.

I would add that you need to carefully consider how much material you will waste. I thought I might save a few bucks as well, but in the end I didn't. My trim was stain grade Cherry, so the waste was very high. Maybe you will end up saving a bit, but I know my math was way out.

[Tom M King]

When I was building new, spec houses, I always made the trim. Using a backband on casing allows you to hide the outer nails (not even considering pre-finishing everything, including walls before trim), and the band can be pinned on with 23 ga. pins, along with a little glue. Baseboard was simply a board, with a cap. The board was nailed behind where the shoe molding would go, and toenailed in the top, to be covered with the cap. Almost anyone can make base cap a lot cheaper than you can buy it, and with good selection of straight grain, it can be nailed on with a pinner too.

I would go to some lengths to avoid puttying nail holes, but it didn't end up being as much as the time required for hiding nail holes with finish, and a better looking end result . Design the casing to hold a spline to the jambs, and nail holes can be almost completely eliminated.

I was building one high end house a year though, and not cranking out tract houses. When you do everything yourself, you can plan the whole job out so the steps compliment each other. Typically, one contractor does one job, and leaves as much as possible to the next guy.

[Jared Sankovich]

All good if these catalogs show profiles not just by the cross section. Not a problem for me however Mrs. Kees cannot 'visualize' what they will look like unless she is holding the piece in her hands. I do intend to make base and casings that are different than what everyone is using.So it is off to stores to get a feel for what my wife likes.

Both do a reasonable job of showing the various profiles in finished rooms.
https://windsorone.com/idea-gallery/...sman-moldings/

https://www.kuikenbrothers.com/mould...n-craftsman-2/

[Jared Sankovich]

Almost anyone can make base cap a lot cheaper than you can buy it, and with good selection of straight grain, it can be nailed on with a pinner too.
.

The small moulding is where you can actually come out ahead.
Base cap, shoe, door/window stop and panel are all labor costs when purchasing from a supplier.

As an example this door had 120' of stop, 60' of panel mould that were run out of scrap off cuts. Locally stop is 1.20/lf and 7.25" victorian-ish profile base is $1.88/lf
20180401_155953.jpg

[jeff shanz]

When I was building new, spec houses, I always made the trim. Using a backband on casing allows you to hide the outer nails (not even considering pre-finishing everything, including walls before trim), and the band can be pinned on with 23 ga. pins, along with a little glue. Baseboard was simply a board, with a cap. The board was nailed behind where the shoe molding would go, and toenailed in the top, to be covered with the cap. Almost anyone can make base cap a lot cheaper than you can buy it, and with good selection of straight grain, it can be nailed on with a pinner too.

I would go to some lengths to avoid puttying nail holes, but it didn't end up being as much as the time required for hiding nail holes with finish, and a better looking end result . Design the casing to hold a spline to the jambs, and nail holes can be almost completely eliminated.

I was building one high end house a year though, and not cranking out tract houses. When you do everything yourself, you can plan the whole job out so the steps compliment each other. Typically, one contractor does one job, and leaves as much as possible to the next guy.

I was going to suggest MDF for baseboards and as a base when using a 3-piece crown.

[Mike Kees]

So I went to town today with my wife and we figured out the style of doors she wants . Have also narrowed down casing and base profiles considerably. As soon as that is final I will get knives ordered and begin the process. Kind of looking forward to getting to work on my own house instead of other peoples for once. There will be no MDF in my house for trim anywhere, it may have it's place but it is not in my house.

[Dan Kopack]

Agree, soft maple.