Crown molding how-to?

[myxpykalix]

Has anyone made crown molding on the bot? I want to make some crown molding at least 4.5" or bigger and buying at those prices is out of the question. I need to make around 150+ feet of it but i need advice about profiles and materials.

My initial thought was to use blue foam but was told the finishing would be tougher. I can get all the kiln dried maple i need for free from a friend. I wired her shop up so she has her own kiln and gives me what i need.

What thickness would i need to start out with to make a 4.5" molding? (I guess it depends on the profile right?)

Any advice/profiles/tips appreciated!:)

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Has anyone used a benchtop 12" planer as a moulding machine?

[steve_g]

Jack:
I have used the extrude tool in sb3 to make a profile I couldn’t get in Cherry. Just buy a foot of what you need at HD and copy the profile. I’m always amazed at how thin a crown mold is, given the dramatic depth it adds to a project. The extrude tool also makes wonderful oval picture frames.

Steve

[myxpykalix]

What I am starting to realize is that it will take way more time to 3D carve moulding on the bot then to try to use a moulding machine and run some. Maybe i can find someone with a machine and do some bartering for some 3d carving. Does anyone here own a moulding machine? What price ranges are we talking?

What about moulding profile router bits? I would put it in my router table and run it that way if i could find something in a 4.5" profile? or larger?

[Gary Campbell]

Jack...
The import knockoffs start at $1300, the W-H (real deal) higher. Knives in the 4.5" range vary from $30-50. Have owned one for years they work great.

[michael_schwartz]

I recently did a room and decided against milling my own crown with the bot. I bought pre primed pine crown at home depot for about $1.60 a foot instead.

If your not experienced installing crown I would suggest putting up a paint grade material. Your probably going to need to do quite a bit of caulking, as your walls, and ceilings are not going to be straight or flat.

I like to cope trim using a belt sander, and a small pencil sized die grinder with a flame shaped carbide burr. If I am doing it at my shop I also use the bandsaw to hog away some of the excess materiel.

[bleeth]

I only cope when doing stain grade larger dimension crown. Once I picked up on how to do it with the table saw I never went back. If you have never seen it do an internet search and you are bound to find "how to's". The first time I tried it it was an OMG moment.

[michael_schwartz]

I only cope when doing stain grade larger dimension crown. Once I picked up on how to do it with the table saw I never went back. If you have never seen it do an internet search and you are bound to find "how to's". The first time I tried it it was an OMG moment.

Wow I just had to try coping with the table saw and it works like a charm :D Still haven't found the how too, but Its pretty obvious if you think about it.

[Gary Campbell]

We have switched to the Bosch Digital Protractor. It has the crown angle calcs built in. Set the spring angle, measure the corner with the protractor, and read the miter and bevel setting on the DRO. Set a compound miter saw with these settings, and you get awesome corners.

[gene]

There is a machine called a copemaster that works like a key cutting machine for coping trim . works great, cost a bunch. i have a williams & hussey molder and it has paid for its self time and time again. any trimmings that come off of any lumber if its too narrow for anything else it gets made into quarter round or shelf edging. i also have a logosol 4 head molder that is great for bigger runs either machine would be a great addition to any shop. custom knives can be purchased reasonable . the w&h comes with a 7 yr warranty

[myxpykalix]

Michael....It's not obvious to me.....!

I haven't gone out to the shed to try it but went and couldn't find anything on youtube.

My thought was obviously you want to "back cut" or "undercut" the back of the moulding to conform to the profile of the moulding and I understand how to do that if you were just using a coping saw so my question is how do you hold the moulding to feed it into the tablesaw to chip away the underside?
Do you use something holding it up from the table and at an angle feeding it straight into the saw?

[gene]

If you are coping on a table saw you cut the trim at the angle for a corner (45) on a miter saw first and then use the table saw to nibble the back away . Lay the trim face up and feed it into the saw blade to remove the material that usually would be removed by a coping saw. This is for inside corners only

[michael_schwartz]

how do you hold the moulding to feed it into the tablesaw to chip away the underside?


Not the way they taught you to use a tablesaw, in school.

flat on the table, cutting sideways to nibble away, and creep up to the profile. The curvature of the blade removes material underneath.

[myxpykalix]

makes sense...I'll try that...thanks

[loriny]

There is a machine called a copemaster that works like a key cutting machine for coping trim . works great, cost a bunch. i have a williams & hussey molder and it has paid for its self time and time again. any trimmings that come off of any lumber if its too narrow for anything else it gets made into quarter round or shelf edging. i also have a logosol 4 head molder that is great for bigger runs either machine would be a great addition to any shop. custom knives can be purchased reasonable . the w&h comes with a 7 yr warranty

Gene- are you happy with the Logosol. I can't find much for reviews any where and am hoping to add a 4 head sometime as my woodmaster is to slow when doing big runs.
Lorin

[wberminio]

Second the William & Hussey- great machine for moulding/Straight or Curved
Making curved templates a breeze with the Bot.

Second also Bosch Digital Protractor-makes crown moulding a no brainier.

Haven't tried the table saw -yet

Gary- great mind think alike :D-at least some of the time!

[gene]

Lorin,Yes i am happy with the logosol . It does a great job , the only thing is on the two side spindles you have spacers to adjust the height of the side cutting knife heads . my machine is about 10 years old but i have had absolutely no problems at all with it. If you go to the logosol site there is a list of owners , contact a few of them and see their reply .