Cove molding on TS - how tough is it?

[radhak]

For the same book case I talked about elsewhere, thought of putting a cove molding at the top.

Have read about such moldings made on the TS - but just how easy / safe would it be? I do not have any special tools for it, would just be using shop made push sticks and hold-downs and a couple of push blocks.

And I have the gripper too.

I only need a couple of feet of molding.

[Popeye]

The toughest part of doing it is getting the saw marks out. I was carefull with a ROS and got good results. In my case I was making coved raised panels but the procedure is the same. By varying the angle of the fence and saw blade you can come up with some pretty neat moldings. If I can find the table of angles I'll post it for you. Pat

[cabinetman]

If you have a table saw, you can get a moulding head and cutters like this one from Sears. It's not hard to use, you just have to take your time. If you don't need a whole lot of moulding, this might be the ticket. There may be other brands available besides Craftsman.

Or, you can create a cove with a single blade and adjust a temp fence for the desired cove, as Popeye described.

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[jussi]

Here's a decent site about making one. Doesn't say what type of blade he uses except that it uses 50T or more. But not what hook type.

http://www.binkyswoodworking.com/CoveMouldingTip.htm

[stormdog74]

Rockler sells a jig just for this purpose - not sure a few feet will be worth the $80 though, but in case you are interested:

http://www.rockler.com/product.cfm?p...%20table%20saw

[Uncle Cracker]

If you have a table saw, you can get a moulding head and cutters like this one from Sears. It's not hard to use, you just have to take your time. If you don't need a whole lot of moulding, this might be the ticket. There may be other brands available besides Craftsman.

Have you used this Crapsman setup on a TS, C-man? I have one I bought years back to use on my RAS, but it's gathering dust, because the results on the RAS were so poor. Never tried it on the TS, but since getting some molding bits and a table with a big honkin' router, I haven't really thought about the Sears cutter. Seems like it really needs to be spun faster than either the RAS or the TS can do it.

[cabinetman]

Have you used this Crapsman setup on a TS, C-man? I have one I bought years back to use on my RAS, but it's gathering dust, because the results on the RAS were so poor. Never tried it on the TS, but since getting some molding bits and a table with a big honkin' router, I haven't really thought about the Sears cutter. Seems like it really needs to be spun faster than either the RAS or the TS can do it.

It works very well on the table saw. It's really innovative for mouldings. There's also a nice assortment of cutters available. I've had custom cutters made for the head in the past. I've had mine for many years and have used it a lot. I don't use it on the RAS. As in many procedures, and depending on the profile used, graduated depth cuts can make for cleaner cuts.

It's much easier to make a smooth pass on the TS than the RAS. I only use the RAS as a crosscut tool. The cutters do take quite a bit of material compared to a single blade. The profile cutters, being gibbed, require close attention to set up for a smooth operation.

Sorry to hear you don't like Craftsman. Not all tools/machinery from any brand will satisfy everyone. Sometimes we expect more or have a different expectation of how certain products or tools will work. I will say, a 5 HP shaper will do a better job than a 1/2 HP shaper. For some work, a heavy machine is more suited to efficiency. Some table saws are too small, underpowered, and not suited for a moulding procedure. I've always kept one of those lightweight bench top table saws that go for $100 around just to take to the jobsite for some light work. I would never think of putting on that a moulding head, or a stack dado. I try to evaluate what I want to do and use the appropriate tool the way it is intended.
.

[Uncle Cracker]

Thanks C-man. I really don't have any fundamental problems with Sears. In fact, I swear by their hand tools. It just seems like they have fallen short of the mark on certain things in the past, particularly when it comes to attachments for power tools. No biggie. I'll dust off my cutter head and try it on the TS next time I make a blade change.

[drumpriest]

I would encourage you to check out goose neck scrapers for cleaning up the cut, more effective with less dust than a sander.