My first molding job

[jteneyck]

You may remember I bought a W&H molding machine a couple of months ago.  Well, if you don't, I did.  A couple of weeks ago I got a small job to make some baseboard and shoe molding, and window stool and casing, to match that in a 192X house, yellow pine for the varnished stuff and poplar where it will be painted.  

The W&H molder is a very simple machine, so simple that you would never expect it can produce molding of such high quality.  The knives are bolted onto the square arbor; no gibs, no depth setting, stupid simple and fast to install.  Here's how it looks with the shoe molding knives.  




The sides guides are just pieces of thin wood clamped to the spoil board, as needed, and relieved where the feed rollers interfere.  Nothing fancy.  The hood you see at the back is held on with a rod that fits through the front casting, also simple and fast.  

So here it is running the shoe molding.



This piece is 9' long and my shop is so crowed with "stuff" that I had to open the door to have a 20' clear path.  Dust collection is remarkably good.  

Unless you have the multi-pass kit the W&H is designed to make full depth molding in one pass, or a bulk pass and then a finish pass 1/32" deeper, which is how I ran this molding.   

To make the baseboard molding I had to have a new knife fabricated.  I got these from Custom Molding Knives in Shaftsbury, VT.  Great service.  $141 or these.  It's a 3/8" radius then a 1-7/8" flat and then another 3/8" radius.  You plane your stock to final thickness and rip it to width first, then run it through the molder.  I sanded the wood on the wide flat portion of this board, but the molded portion is not sanded, that's how it looks straight off the molder.  




Here's a photo of a piece of yellow pine baseboard, shoe molding, and another piece similar to the baseboard molding that is the trim under the window stool.  




This was a nice little job to get my feet wet running molding, less than 100 feet of each.  It's rather fun, but the long pieces make it obvious that I need to clean some wood out of my shop if I want to do much of it.  

John

[Hank Knight]

That's very cool, John. I've never seen that machine running. It's hard to believe that it can cut such a deep profile one pass, or even two. Thanks for posting the photos.

[jteneyck]

That's very cool, John. I've never seen that machine running. It's hard to believe that it can cut  such a deep profile one pass, or even two. Thanks for posting the photos.

Hank, with wider knives like for a big crown molding you need to cut away some of the waste with a dado blade on the TS, for example, before running it through the molder, unless you have the multi-pass kit which gives the drive rolls a greater vertical range. If this turns into much volume I will buy the multi-pass kit because it's not much money and would eliminate that extra step, time, and tedium.  

John

[Stwood_]

 If this turns into much volume I will buy the multi-pass kit because it's not much money and would eliminate that extra step, time, and tedium.  

John

So more-n-likely you'll spend that 750.00 after all then.





So you'll probably pass the money mark of buying a new 12" Woodmaster then.
I haven't priced those for several years, but back when, my 18" was 1700.00, and my current 12" was 1300.00, and both came with 5hp motors.

Have you got a 3 or 5hp there?

[jteneyck]

So more-n-likely you'll spend that 750.00 after all then.





So you'll probably pass the money mark of buying a new 12" Woodmaster then.
I haven't priced those for several years, but back when, my 18" was 1700.00, and my current 12" was 1300.00, and both came with 5hp motors.

Have you got a 3 or 5hp there?

So more-n-likely I'll spend $99.  At that point I'll have $1300 invested, with $3000 worth of knives as part of the deal.  

2 HP.  It's only 7" wide and rarely would you run a full width knife.  

John

[Stwood_]

So more-n-likely I'll spend $99.  At that point I'll have $1300 invested, with $3000 worth of knives as part of the deal.  

2 HP.  It's only 7" wide and rarely would you run a full width knife.  

John

[BloomingtonMike]

Whats the crank for if not for multi pass?

[jteneyck]

Whats the crank for if not for multi pass?

To set the depth of cut. 

I know it seems like you should be able to use this machine just like any other planer, but the feed rolls' travel range is very limited, and you can't start 1/4" above final depth, for example.  If you do the rollers won't apply enough force to resist the knives flinging the workpiece back out the front.  

John

[Stwood_]

Which thread/molder was it that was just discussed that the optional depth of cut head was additional coin?
I remember it from not too long ago

[jteneyck]

Which thread/molder was it that was just discussed that the optional depth of cut head was additional coin?
I remember it from not too long ago

The cost to convert a manual feed W&H to power feed, what I have, is about $750.  Might that be it?  

I had a Foley-Belsaw planer/molder for several years with a 5 HP motor.  That thing could power through anything.  But it took up a lot of space in my shop and changing the knives wasn't the simplest thing.  The W&H is stupid simple and the moldings I've made so far are smoother and have no tear out.  The original version of the machine was powered by a 1 or 1.5 HP 110V motor.  Both were fastened to a board and the whole thing weighed less than 100 lbs.  It was designed that way so you could carry it to a jobsite and fasten it to a couple of sawhorses, etc.  Later versions were offered with stands and a 2 HP motor, early ones with dual 110/220V motors like on mine, and now just at 220V.  They still offer a 110V only motor as well.  In any case, it wouldn't be hard to take any of their current offerings to a jobsite.  In my case, the machine is small enough and light enough that I can easily tuck it away when it's not needed.  

John