Figuring Helical Trim Twist
Here's a long and detailed thread with pictures and photos about a real head-scratcher of a problem: calculating, modeling, or mocking up and then fabricating a piece of molding that follows the underside of a helical staircase. January 20, 2011

Are Small Moulders Practical for Small Runs?
Here's an extensive and informative run on the hows and whys of buying and using a small moulder to make short runs of custom profiles. October 19, 2013

Radius Moulding Machinery Choices
Millwork pros discuss shopping for a radius moulder and the related knives. January 9, 2008

Home-built moulder
Advice on the construction of a moulder, and encouragement to follow an easier path. November 18, 2002

Increasing production flow
Presenting to a boss the numbers that prove production flow could be improved. (Business Forum) May 17, 2003

Crown Molding Detail -- For Sloped Ceilings
Calculating angles and inside corner details for crown applied to sloped ceilings. April 2, 2004

Troubleshooting Moulder Tear-Out
Tweaks to the knives, the feed rate, the drive belt set-up, or the bed board may help eliminate moulder chatter and tear-out. August 29, 2005

Fabricating Radius and Curved Mouldings
Here's a detailed discussion comparing two approaches to creating curved and arched mouldings: the CNC route, or the dedicated moulder and shaper setup (which may involve templates). July 13, 2010


Troubleshooting problems when moulding MDF
A detailed discussion of challenges in getting a smooth finish when putting profiles on MDF material. February 13, 2001

Moulding prices
Pricing product in a small, start-up moulding manufacturing operation. October 9, 2002

Better moulder finish quality
Eliminating snipe on mouldings. August 13, 2002

Straight-line vs. gang rip
Which is better suited to this moderate operation? June 24, 2002

Moulding Quality Issues
A batch of mouldings with quality problems sets off a discussion of proper dimensions, back-relief, and surface smoothness for base, casing, and jamb stock. December 15, 2005

Sanding Problem with Hemisphere Mouldings
A woodworker asks for advice about sanding a complex moulding that's coming off the CNC with a rough surface. But the answer turns out to lie with improving the CNC side of things. September 17, 2014

Setting Up a Six-Head Moulder for Machining Tall Baseboard
Here's a detailed discussion of how to arrange the top knives for cutting of the flat and the profiled part of tall, highly detailed baseboard mouldings. March 31, 2008

Crown Moulding Corner Fastening Techniques
Advice on using adhesive to fasten outside corner joints in large crown moulding, along with other practical tips for installing crown. October 12, 2007

Compression and Chatter
Pros discuss the meaning and causes of "compression" and "chatter" in moulder operation. October 4, 2005

MDF as Interior Trim
Does MDF make good trim, especially in a humid climate? Pros share their observations. December 20, 2005

Is Making Custom Moulding a Viable Business?
Can you make money doing short runs of custom mouldings? Experienced shop owners share business tips. March 26, 2009

Bending 3/16 Solid Wood
Methods for bending wood to fit an arch. October 5, 2004

Wrapping a Cone with Crown Moulding
Practical math and hands-on approaches to a tricky crown moulding problem. February 28, 2012

Creating templates for moulder knives
Thoughts on producing templates for cutting moulder knives. June 14, 2000

Machining S-Curved Crown Moulding
Woodworkers weigh in on a complex machining challenge: crown moulding with both an inside and an outside curve. September 5, 2006

Radius Shoe Molding
Determining radius of cabinets in order to match molding. July 20, 2004

Troubleshooting Shaper Tearout
Solutions for a tearout problem include slower feed speeds, climb cutting, and larger-diameter tooling. April 5, 2007

Repeatability at the Shaper
Advice on ways to set up shapers to consistently produce mouldings that are identical to a previous run. June 16, 2010

Accurate Cutting and Coping for Crown Moulding
Fine points of cutting crown moulding for installers. June 16, 2010

Machining Custom Crown from Synthetic Trim Material
Advice and feedback about making custom crown molding out of plastic trim materials, to match old trim for a curved porch restoration job. March 20, 2007

Making Custom Curved Moulding for Arched Doors
Ideas for curved moulding fabrication, including nice photos of a couple of router-table jigs. February 18, 2011

Tools and Techniques for Coping Wide Baseboard
Most carpenters apply a whole range of specialized tools and methods, but everyone has a favorite approach. November 19, 2005

Climb Cutting on a Moulder
Molding manufacturers discuss the potentially dangerous but sometimes necessary practice of climb cutting. January 22, 2006

Choices for Sanding Moulding
Hand-sanding mouldings is tedious and time-consuming. Here's a set of suggestions for mechanizing the process. July 23, 2005

Tooling Up to Run Mouldings
Pros give advice on how to choose and use equipment for producing mouldings.

Warping, Bowing and Cupping of Moulding Batches
Expert input on what could make fresh runs of moulding move in unwanted ways. October 2, 2005

Old Trimwork: Strip and Refinish, or Replace?
Trim pros discuss whether it's worth the labor to preserve existing woodwork in an old house. August 22, 2007

Jigs for Elliptical Moulder Work
Aftermarket jigs let you do complex curved work on the moulder, especially if given additional shop modifications. May 21, 2007

Cutterhead Options for a Five-Head Moulder
Shop owners who machine S4S mouldings discuss the relative merits of carbide versus high-speed steel knives, and 2-sided versus insert cutter heads. September 15, 2006

Shaping with a Table Saw
Lacking the machinery to run a large moulding, a woodworker spends a few hours using his table saw to cut the curve. May 28, 2010

Ways to Cut Crown Molding
Pros discuss various methods. May 4, 2005

Improving Moulder Efficiency
Two guys have their hands full trying to satisfy a busy shop's moulding needs. Here, they get some advice on how to streamline their operation. March 29, 2006

Single Knife and Counterweight Setup on a Moulder
Using just one knife rarely gives the best results. November 19, 2006

Crown Moulding and Cathedral Ceilings
The joint between horizontal to rake treatments when applying crown in a cathedral-ceilinged room involves some complex geometry, and usually creates awkward visuals. Here's more discussion on this pesky problem. April 6, 2007

Upgrading a Shaper Motor
Should a woodworker beef up the motor on his shaper when the original one breaks down? It's a questionable call. May 5, 2007

High-speed jointing head moulders
Are these machines practical for a custom moulding business? June 13, 2001

New turn on rosettes
Could cutting rosettes on a lathe reduce tearout problems? July 22, 2003

Creating Custom Curved Moulding Profiles with a CNC Router
Any good CNC router can create mouldings, using either a ball-end cutter or a custom-ground bit. In this thread, pros provide a few pointers on the process. November 25, 2005

Matching Old Moulding Profiles
Advice on how to get custom moulder knives for reproducing historic old trim profiles. July 30, 2009

Machining crown moulding
What's the best way to run crown moulding? May 2, 2001

Getting Started with Finger-Jointing
Advice on tooling up to finger-joint moulding stock on an occasional basis. April 2, 2013

Moulder Options for the Small Shop
Pros discuss the cost-effectiveness and convenience of various moulders, singly or in combination. November 9, 2005

Coped Crown Installation
Coping in an octagonal room. April 18, 2004

Brush Backed Flap Sanding Wheels
A simple question about where to buy a replacement sanding wheel prompts an information-filled thread about brush and flap sanding technology. August 29, 2014

Crown Moulding on a Radius
For crown to follow a curve is a tricky dimensional problem. Here, woodworkers discuss various approaches to creating a piece that will work. October 2, 2007

Is It Necessary to Sand Mouldings?
Sanding equipment for your moulding operation shouldn't be needed if knives are sharp and well balanced and the machine is well set up. September 5, 2006

Running Baseboard and Casing in One Pass
Can you run baseboard moulding or casing on a four-head moulder, using the first knife to create the necessary back-relief? October 14, 2006

Making Templates from Existing Mouldings
Moulding shop pros discuss how to scan and import profiles of existing mouldings in order to make exact drawings or manufacture new knives. November 10, 2006

Machining Small Radius Molding
The problem: holding a small, curved piece of brittle wood fixed while machining a small moulding profile into it. Here, pros offer various solutions. December 20, 2005

Replicating a Custom Moulding Profile
For a matching finish job, a craftsman needs fifteen feet of a non-standard moulding. Pros suggest several methods, from ordering custom moulder knives to engaging in router-and-tablesaw sculpting. November 10, 2005

Splicing Pre-Finished Crown Molding
Tips for getting a tight joint on pre-finished crown molding splices.

Stock Moulding Start-Up Tips
A millwork installer moving into moulding manufacturing gets advice on running his new business. June 23, 2006

Causes of Grain Ridging in Moulder Finish
This thread includes a nice concise summary of issues that cause finish defects in mouldings. August 21, 2012

Sanding with a Flap Wheel Head
Jacob Malherbe of flap-wheels.com supplies a brief explanation of how flap-wheel sander heads work, with tips on getting the best from your machine. May 4, 2010

Running Radius Moulding: Shaper Technique
Tips for a newbie on making curved mouldings for an arched door jamb casing. January 26, 2008

Purpose of Back Relief Cuts on Mouldings
Mouldings are machined on the back as well as the face, for several important reasons. August 23, 2006

Tolerance for Moulding Dimensions
Moulding manufacturers discuss the limits of perfection in wood machining. January 13, 2006

When Air-Duct Registers Get in the Way of Crown Moulding
A vent grille near the ceiling interferes with planned crown moulding. Now what do you do? May 26, 2008

Finger Joints: A Few Whys and Wherefores
The Wood Doctor provides his prescription for effective finger joints in solid stock. 1998.

Limitations of a Router Table for Making Mouldings
Buying a second-hand shaper is a wiser choice than trying to stretch your router's capabilities too far. April 26, 2006

Stating Dimensions for Crown Moulding
Crown molding sizes can be looked at two ways: The thickness and width of the board, or the vertical and horizontal distances it will span when installed. Depending on the situation, either could be important. December 2, 2006

Cutting a Bead on a Curved Backband Moulding
Tips on fine-tuning an elliptical shaper jig so that it will profile a bead correctly on the inside edge of a curved piece. June 24, 2007

Cutting Angles Sharper than Forty-Five Degrees
Wall intersections tighter than 45° call for tricky chop-saw technique. Here's advice on jigs from a few trim carpenters. June 16, 2010

Coping on a Shaper
For large quantities of base shoe and cap, coping ends on a shaper could be worth the setup expense. Here's a discussion of the fine points. November 10, 2006

Keeping Tally of Moulding Runs
Moulding manufacturers discuss efficient systems to keep track of moulding production (including tracking defective and rejected pieces). September 3, 2005

Selling small quantity custom profiles
Dealing with customers who don't comprehend the work and cost involved in the manufacture of custom knives. June 6, 2001

Tweaking the Feed Rollers on a Moulder
Woodworkers suggest reasons wood might get stuck going through the moulder, and suggest ways to fix the problem. December 6, 2006

Setting up a new moulder operation
Thoughts on setting up a moulding operation in an established architectural millwork shop. June 14, 2000

Crown moulding on a radius
Upside down, backwards, and bent; lots of ideas for making crown flow sexily around an inside curve.

Baseboard Transition at the Top of a Stair
Wise advice from a pro helps a trim carpenter detail the juncture where hallway baseboard moulding turns and goes down a staircase. November 14, 2014

Chip-out from a year-old moulder
The moulder had worked perfectly for a year when all of a sudden, chip-out reared its ugly face. June 14, 2000

Troubleshooting Tearout With Maple Flooring
Check sharpening, settings, feed rates, and more. April 10, 2005

Sanding Moulding Profiles
Tips and tricks for sanding the profiles surface of trim moldings without overly softening the sharp edges. August 21, 2006

Crown Molding With Staggered Cabinets
Making a smooth transition from cabinet to cabinet. July 20, 2004

Fabricating and Installing Curved Baseboard
Suggestions for this curved baseboard situation include using flexible stock, or clamping and laying up thin layers of MDF before profiling with a router. July 12, 2012

Machining Mouldings from Flexible Stock
Running flexible moulding stock through your machinery is doable, but problematic. October 15, 2010

Focusing a Moulding Business
Shop owners discuss whether custom small-volume runs or large stock moulding jobs are the preferred path to profitability. June 12, 2005

Moulding maple versus oak
Why such problematic tearout on one and not the other? September 23, 2003

Moulding Calculator Spreadsheet Program
A free downloadable Excel spreadsheet that calculates the price per foot to charge for mouldings. December 16, 2000

Pricing Moulder Services
How to charge for machining someone else's material. January 13, 2006

Grain standards for radius mouldings
Standards methods for joinery of radius mouldings, with exposure of end-grain in mind. June 6, 2001

Bit Balance and Tool Speed — Routers Versus Shapers
A custom shaping knife for a router has to be carefully balanced, because routers spin faster than shapers. November 19, 2005

Making Curved Casings from MDF
MDF is rough on knives, which makes custom moulding runs costly. January 12, 2009

Vacuum Bag Versus Clamp Jig for Curved Moldings
For a small molding laid up from laminated plies, keep it simple: a curved jig and clamps works as well as vacuum baggin, or better. June 23, 2006

Dedicated vs. power-fed tablesaw ripping
Increasing productivity by upgrading to a straight-line, dedicated saw. August 29, 2001

Blanks for Curved Mouldings
Two ways to make curved blanks for machining into radiused moulding. May 5, 2007

Tips on Making Radius Moldings
Explanation and examples of radius arched door casings. September 15, 2006

Buying Premade Moulder Blanks Versus Ripping Your Own
Purchasing pre-ripped stock for moulding manufacture has its advantages and disadvantages. November 19, 2005

Running Radius Mouldings on a Standard Shaper
Tips on making curved mouldings with jigs, ingenuity, and a shaper. December 6, 2008

Machining Alder
Tips on hook angle, feed speed, and more. February 19, 2006

Sanding Pads for Profile Work
Tips for hand-sanding profiled mouldings. October 26, 2011

Sharpening Tongue-and-Groove Knife Sets
If you choose the right knives to begin with, tongue-and-groove profile cutters can be sharpened repeatedly. March 5, 2008

Setting Up to Produce Dentil Moulding
Suggestions for fast ways to make dentil mouldings. December 27, 2008

Filling holes in pre-finished moulding
What to use for filling nail holes after pre-finished trim in installed. June 6, 2001

Embossed mouldings
A discussion of various elements in the manufacture of embossed moulding. June 14, 2000

Crown moulding: Calculating miters
How to calculate the correct mitering angles in crown moulding installation. November 29, 2000

Wide belt sanders for moulding
Can the same finish quality be attained with a wide belt sander as with a random orbit sander? April 25, 2001

Trying to cope
and how to do it. May 15, 2002

Cutting crown for cathedral ceilings
Tricks for installing crown moulding in rooms with cathedral ceilings. June 14, 2000

Choosing tooling for MDF moulding
Using carbide tooling on MDF in planer/moulder machines. November 21, 2000

Crown Moulding for a Vaulted Ceiling
Tips for applying crown molding into a 30-degree ceiling joint. June 16, 2005

Flexible Stock for Curved Mouldings
Brief advice on using synthetics and composites to make custom curved mouldings. December 6, 2008

Coping Crown Moulding
Coping crown moulding, and recognizing un-copable crown moulding. January 28, 2007

Arched Crown Moulding
You may never have to do it, but just in case you do, this thread with expert analysis, practical tips, and great pictures will help you wrap your head around the problem of fitting crown moulding to a barrel-vault wall-to-ceiling joint. November 2, 2010

Applied wainscot
Creating fake raised panels for the lower portion of walls. April 3, 2002

Architectural mouldings on CNC routers
A discussion of the ins and outs of producing architectural mouldings on CNC routers. June 14, 2000

Avoiding Tear-Out with Very Small Mouldings
Thin stock chatters going through the moulder or shaper, which can cause major tear-out. Here's advice on ways to overcome the problem. March 4, 2009

Arched Moulding Glue-Ups
Advice on sawing thin strips and gluing them up for arched moulding blanks. July 22, 2013

A multi-faceted challenge
An architectural woodworker gets ideas for making a too-wide handrail intersect gracefully with an octagon-shaped newel cap. December 17, 2003

Applied Mouldings for Frame-and-Panel Doors
Tips on how to make and apply "bolection" moldings for the joint between door frame and panel. November 10, 2005

Attaching crown moulding
Methods of attaching crown moulding to frameless cabinets. March 28, 2001

Radius Cabinet Job - Project Review
October 27, 2003

Eliminating Wood Problems -- An Industry Review: 10 Ways of Eliminating Wood Problems
Gene Wengert explains why eliminating wood problems begins and ends with monitoring and controlling the moisture content (MC) in wood -March 18, 2000

Crown Molding: Cope Or Miter?
Either can work - craftsmen share opinions and tips. April 14, 2005

Moulding on a Curved Wall
Installing trim work along a curved staricase. February 28, 2004

Bleaching, Pickling and Antiquing -- Hardwood Flooring and Millwork
Customized hardwood finishes offer new decorative dimension. December 3, 2001

Ellipse jig
Making your own jig for ellipse-based arcs. (From WOODWEB's Cabinetmaking Forum) March 5, 2003

Short Run Patch and Match Pieces for Custom Crown Moulding
Suggestions for ways to match the look of old existing crown in a few small areas. August 15, 2011

Multiple cut crown molding
Handling such installations with accuracy. April 3, 2002

Machining Curved Crown Moulding
Pros describe how they manufacture small runs of crown moulding to curve around outside corners. November 8, 2008

Measuring and Estimating Trim Quantities
Tips for figuring quantities and ordering lengths. March 14, 2005

Curved Stairway Trim Job
Where chair rail meets moulding. February 28, 2004

Kitchen and Cabinet Crown Molding
Matching the molding details when cabinets meet the ceiling. May 4, 2005

- Spreadsheet Calculation Program -- for Curves, Angles, Compound Miters and Springback
Free downloadable program(s) in both Excel and MS Works, including illustrations that support the formulas.. August 6, 2002

Flexible Crown Molding
Pros discuss product choices and finishing methods. May 4, 2005

Built-up Crown Molding Configuration
Achieving unique looks with standard crown profiles. May 8, 2004

Laminating Cellular PVC
Tip on laminating with Azek. August 27, 2013

Angle for Coping Crown Molding
Looking for the magic number. December 26, 2004

Today's Sponsors
  • TradeJobPlacement.com
    Individualized Placement Services, Specializing in Millwork Design Engineers
  • Scarlett Machinery Inc.
    New and Used CNC Routers and Used Woodworking Machinery, for Operations Ranging From Small Woodworking Shops to Large Progressive Manufacturing Plants
  • Acorn Woodworks
    David Sochar - woodworker and author of "Small Shop Production of Custom Wood Doors"
  • Rose Machinery
    Horizontal Band Re-rips, Standard & Custom Designed Machinery
  • J & G Machinery
    Sales of New Solid Wood and Panel Processing Machinery and Quality Used and Reconditioned Woodworking Machinery
  • Original Saw Company
    Industrial Radial Arm Saws
  • WOODWEB, Inc.
    The Information Resource for the Woodworking Industries
  • RT Machine Co.
    Stocking Distributor of New and Used Woodworking Machinery
  • Baker Products
    Industrial Woodworking Machines, Wooden Pallet Manufacturing Machines, & Portable Sawmills
  • W. Moore Profiles, Ltd.
    Supplying Knives and Cutters to the Woodworking Industry - Standard and Custom Profiles Available
  • MachineryMax
    New and Used Machinery for the Professional Woodworker
  • Salice America Inc.
    Leading Manufacturer of Functional Hardware for Cabinets and Furniture, Including Concealed Hinges, Drawer Slides, Lift Systems, Coplanar Sliding Door Hardware
  • Quickwood
    Quick Wood specializes in finishing machines and brushes to finish any size and surface since 1975.

Become a Sponsor today!