I need to make some 3/8″ quarter round molding form soft maple. And I need a bunch of it too!
Called around my local lumberyard’s and suppliers with no luck.
So I made some up with a 3/8″ round over bit on the router table, then ripped it to width on my table saw.
Worked ok, but it’s very difficult to get all the pieces consistent.
Problem is, any slight difference in “width” makes for a miss match when mitered together at a corner.
I planed 3 or 4 pieces down to 3/8″ so “thickness” is ok.
Rounded over the edges with the same setting so that’s ok.
Ripping them to a consistent “width” is not working so well. It was hit or miss at best.
Any suggestions?
Bill
Replies
There's a video link on the FWW home page: Rip Narrow Moldings from Wide Stock. In it, Steve Latta shows exactly what you need to do, and specifically addresses the problem of making sure they're all exactly the same size.
In a nutshell: Use a router table or shaper to cut the moldings, and saw them off the stock with the molding against the table saw's fence. But there are more tips and tricks in the video.
-Steve
I just realized how small you're talking, so I'm editing my original idea -
Tablesaw:
rip your stock down to 3/8" square
rip a 3/8" rabbet along the edge of a long, six inch wide strip of 3/4" mdf.
Router table:
Use the MDF to hold the stock snugly down against the fence as you run it past the cutter. You could move them both together, or possibly clamp a shorter piece of mdf in place and push long strips through the "tunnel".
This should work well as long as your cuts are clean and accurate -especially on the tablesaw. Square the blade and fence and use a "zero clearance" throat plate that supports the work evenly around the blade.
Edited 9/18/2007 8:03 am ET by saulgood
Do it as you did it before but use featherboards when ripping
Look up Steve Latta's video on cutting small molding pieces on the table saw. He's got some very clever techniques that I use to make small quarter round pieces. They are dead exact and I feel safe on the table saw using his technique. Take a look.
Can't find the video on FWW?? The PDF article is called "Cutting it Close Safely"
You might have better luck searching FWW?? It was a video on the home page about 3 weeks back. The article carefully explains the process and the results are just great.
Edited 9/19/2007 6:28 pm ET by danmart
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