I am wondering where I can find hand tools to make some crown molding for a project I am working on. I’ve been told to go to yard sales, auctions, flea markets, etc., but this is hit or miss and could take years. Also, it is cutting into actual woodworking time.
Are there any companies that produce new molding planes?
Replies
Check out Shepherd Tool Co. They've just introduced a DIY set!
Malcolm
Thanks! I just went to thier web site and this looks promising!
Crown molding was often made by complex molding planes specifically for one profile. To use rabbet planes and hollows and rounds like Clark & Williams have offered for years and that Sheperd is just now offering would be a daunting task. A few feet of molding for a cabinet or picture frame is one thing, but running hundreds of feet is a much different prospect
For running enough molding to do a house a complex crown molding plane is the thing. Crown molders are often sold on Ebay, but the profile is hit or miss, depending on your tastes and many require lots of work to tune so that they work sweetly.
I can recommend Clark & Williams planes, I own several, they are set up and honed ready for use out of the box and they are a joy to use. They will also make custom planes to match specific profiles and they sell half sets of H & Rs too.
http://www.planemaker.com/sample/
David C.
This site looks promising also! Thank you for the info! I am checking on the hollows and rounds kits from Shepherd Tool and the complex moulders from Clark and williams.
I appreciate the endeavour to accumulate moulding planes to the point where you can complete yer project.
If you consider that you may indeed by waiting for Godot, cause such wishes never seem to come true when we need them to, let me suggest that you can actually, and perhaps you already knew this, .....
You can actually grind a 10 buck cabinet scraper into the profile you need, perhaps rough cut yer stock as much as you can on a table saw, and simply scratch mould the final product with yer profiled scraper.
To be sure, it involves a substantial amount of elbow grease, and no doubt yer standards of scraper sharpening will be honed, but in the absence of the required moulding planes, this technique is not only totally historic, but also economically achieved even in this day and age.
Just an alternative fer yer consideration.
Eric
Whose twin is a Normitic (now did I say he was evil? eh?)
Actually, your idea is beginning to sound pretty good! I do have old scrapers. This project requires only about 10 feet of cornice molding and it will have egg and dart carving on part of it. This scraper idea is sounding better all the time!
Thanks!
10' is realatively easily scrapable. How you gonna figure out the egg and dart spacing so yer corners work out with a modicum of matching? What you save on moulding planes you can spend on carving tools....Eric.
The current plan is to carve the front piece and see where it ends up while leaving the two side pieces long and cutting them for the best effect. I could also force the front to end in the middle of "eggs" for exampls and if it is a little long I could add a small molding like a cove or somthing to the bottom to hide the end gaps. Mainly, I am just going to see where it ends and figure it out from there.
Saving money for carving tools is a good plan. "Honey, look, I saved sooo much money by not buying the molders that we now have plenty to buy this nice set of carving tools!"
Yeah, that'll work.
Bob
There are a number of 'old tool' dealers who will have these planes. Try http://www.mjdtools.com, or http://www.finetoolj.com Both of these dealers are good, reliable and long standing dealers in the old tool community. There are many others out there, but these are two have a great track record. SawdustSteve
Thanks for the tip! I'm ALWAYS on the lookout for sources of old tools in working condition.
Thanks again!
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