Routing Mouldings

[Greg.B]

I have decided to route my own mouldings. I'm going to start with 1x3 stock and do what needs to be done, then make the miter cuts and fit it up.

Here are my questions. Using a table router what should be kept in mind when routing pieces that are 6 and 8 feet long ? I have done many projects using the router, but can't say I've ever had to run 8 feet of board through continually. The only thing on my side is its pine and should cut easily (compared to hardwood). My plan of attack is to use multiple featherboard, one on the top pushing down, one on the front pushing the board toward the fence, and one on both ends of the fence on the in and out.

Anything other then featherboards I should consider ?

I will be posting a pic of this project when done, so all can see the results, since I have received so much help and input on this job.

[L. D. Jeffries]

I routed all the moulding in my house and learned some things the hard way. Every time you stop to change hands you will leave a small divit...any up and down motion in the board (especially when near the end of an 8' piece) will leave a wave in the pattern. F'boards are GOOD..good support on each end of the board are essential (roller stands etc). You can get good results but its tricky at best. Good luck!

[Greg.B]

This is exactly why I asked. I know what you mean about the hand change, you get a mark/deeper spot, etc, right where you switch. I'm going to have to work on keeping it moving. I'm hoping with all the featherboards in place I will only have to worry about feeding the board continually. Support will be key as well, excellent point.

[twistsol]

Fingerboards are must as stated above.

Before I start any milling, I identify each piece and where it will go and rough cut with a few inches of extra length. This makes handling door and window trim pieces much easier than wrestling with a bunch of long pieces that will end up getting cut down anyway.

Then I make it more complicated because I also finger joint any long pieces like floor trim and crown moulding into a single really long piece. That way I have no splices when putting in the moulding. Just this morning I identified the seven locations where I need floor trim longer than 8' everything else is 8' or less.

The only time this is a pain is when you screw up cutting a piece and then have to set everything up again to make just one more.

[gerti]

It is not to late to change your mind... As other have said, feather boards and supports (and 3x sanding paper) will do the trick, but don't underestimate how time consuming it is. I enjoyed doing it for smaller projects, but last weekend I did 80 feet, 6 different complex profiles and it took a long time. Had I had the choice I would have bought of the shelf, but in my case (flooring transitions between various heights) I had no choice.

[drumpriest]

Gerti, I'm going to have to do some transition moldings like that as well, though not 80 feet of it, sounds like a chore.

Even with featherboards I think you'll still have a tough time when the hand changes happen. Good luck though!

[Slik Geek]

I routed all the moulding in my house and learned some things the hard way. Every time you stop to change hands you will leave a small divit...any up and down motion in the board (especially when near the end of an 8' piece) will leave a wave in the pattern. F'boards are GOOD..good support on each end of the board are essential (roller stands etc). You can get good results but its tricky at best. Good luck!

Couldn't agree more -LD's advice is golden. I routed over 500 feet of moulding for my house. (Fortunately, it was a simple profile that required at most two times thru the router).

It was time consuming and tiring, but once you have everything up and running, you make rapid progress. Just don't get too used to the routine and become careless. Ripping nearly 100 identical pieces on the tablesaw can get boring and hand motions automatic. Don't get complacent and cut anything that you didn't intend to.

Be sure to rout plenty of extra - you'll find flaws (and sometimes spoil a piece) later and you'll kick yourself for not making extras when it was convenient.

When your arm starts to hurt from feeding the zillionth piece thru the router, just remind yourself how much money you are saving. It is also satisfying when you are done and you see the mound of sawdust / shavings that you created.

I'm puzzled that you are starting with 1x3s. Those are usually low-quality pieces of wood (surpassed in the low-quality direction only by 1x2s). I've had good success starting with 1x8s (or 1x6s), which yielded better quality wood in the end.

[JimD]

I've also done this including crown moulding. I agree with what has been said. Feather boards will minimize but not eliminate the marks from an inconsistent feed rate. Fortunately, if you are making multiple passes its only the last one that counts if you are using feather boards to eliminate the bigger divots. I often need a push stick which needs to be handy if you want to keep things moving.

MDF is cheap and cuts well. If it will be painted, it will also finish well. You need dust collection, however. I also wouldn't use it in an application where it could get wet.

Jim

[cabinetman]

Along with everything that has been said I'd like to emphasize that the last pass should be just a slight clean up pass. What would help is to make up a temporary long infeed and outfeed support. If you can arrange the room set up a board like 6" wide x 8' long. This will add tremendous support and make the passes much smoother.

Or, on the other hand, I have used solid stock of say 6" - 12" wide, run the profile on the edge with the router in hand so you can walk down the length of the board, and then cut it off on the TS. Then run the profile on the same stock, and then cut it off on the TS again. This will also help with the over and over isometric of pushing pieces through a router table, which can be very exhausting.

[Greg.B]

Thanks for all the replies.

I have begun on the routing and so far so good. I only have 28 feet to do, and really only need 21 feet, so I have some extra.

The reason why 1x3 is this. I am using this to edge cover the top of the bar I made. The bar top is 1.5" thick. So I am routing a 1.5" dado in the back of the moulding so that the moulding will slip onto the bartop and create a lip all the way around, in which I'm going to pour epoxy resin in to get that hard bartop look. Then I am just using plain round over on the exposed edges. So far the dado on the back has been done, that take a while to rip a 3/8" deep 3/4" wide dado on a 8 foot board. I have to next do the round over, which should be easier since the cut is not going to be so deep.