DIY crown molding with a router

[FS7]

As part of my bar project (and as it continues to evolve, because I basically build for the sake of building like Sarah Winchester), I will need to add crown to my top cabinets. The entire thing is sapele, because apparently it's all I use. You can buy crown molding, but it would be rather expensive ($100+ for what I need). There are two top cabinets, both 24" wide, with 64" of shelving spanning between them for bottles. They will be regular wall cabinets (12" deep) and the top will be spanned by a 12" wide board. I will be installing mini recessed canless lights in this one, so crown, aside from just looks, will serve to hide the top of the lights and the wiring (there will be about 6" between the top of the cabinets and the ceiling for overcabinet lighting as well).

You can't find 112" molding without a joint (or without exorbitant shipping costs). I don't necessarily care that much about having a "traditional" crown profile, and I wouldn't even be averse to more or less vertical trim. But I was thinking of doing some type of "crown" - even 45 degree - with a 1/2" or 5/8" board. I assume it would be possible to chamfer or miter two edges like typical crown, and then add various cove or V profiles to get some type of crown-approximating profile. I see plenty of bits available, but what about just winging it? I rarely (never) do this, but it seems like it might be worth trying to mix up a few different profiles and see what happens.

Crazy idea?

[K. L. McReynolds]

I've done that with picture frame molding. I do a piece long enough to provide all four sides, sometimes up to 60" long or more. I use a router and a molding head set mounted on my table saw(Craftsman brand with three inserts). You could also use a TS for the top/bottom angles.

I've used those tools enough to be able to kind of visualize what each insert set/router bit will produce. If not sure, I run pine test pieces.

[fredhargis]

You can do some nice stuff with a router table and making built up moldings. I didn't wing this piece (had details in a book) but it's 7 different pieces of wood glued shaped and then glued together...I think it was a little over 6' long when I made it. This is on a corner cabinet my wife wanted.

   

[FS7]

You can do some nice stuff with a router table and making built up moldings. I didn't wing this piece (had details in a book) but it's 7 different pieces of wood glued shaped and then glued together...I think it was a little over 6' long when I made it. This is on a corner cabinet my wife wanted.

That is very nice, but far more elaborate than I would need. I see that it could work though. I have never had a problem doing baseboard moldings like that, even in hard woods, but I think the traditional crown look (angled up and out, I mean) would be most ideal. Of course building it up can simulate that as well. I mean the most basic thing you can do, Shaker style, would be trivial. What I don't have is a larger cove bit, though I could work around that with a table saw. It looks like the additional bits (and molding heads) really work towards the colonial crown profile. What I was trying to avoid was buying anything new, especially since I've never made crown before (and I don't know that I would do it again). So I can spend $100 on cutting tools, or $100 on pre-fab molding. Or I can use wood I already have and work something out.

[jteneyck]

Here's a simple piece of crown molding I did quite awhile ago for a fellow WoodNetter:




I clamped a straight edge to the tablesaw at an angle that would give me the profile I needed.



Then I ran it through taking 1/16" bites until I got to the required depth.  



Then a few more cuts on the TS to get the angles on the back and remove some more waste.



And then some work with a block plane and sandpaper.  The ioriginal in front, the new piece in the back.



Not hard to do.

John

[FS7]

Here's a simple piece of crown molding I did quite awhile ago for a fellow WoodNetter:




I clamped a straight edge to the tablesaw at an angle that would give me the profile I needed.



Then I ran it through taking 1/16" bites until I got to the required depth.  



Then a few more cuts on the TS to get the angles on the back and remove some more waste.



And then some work with a block plane and sandpaper.  The ioriginal in front, the new piece in the back.



Not hard to do.

John

Well dang. That makes it look easy. I honestly think the hardest part would be wrangling a 10 foot board on the table saw.

I don't need to match a profile, so using the saw to cut just a cove would be fine. Cutting the angles can be done with the fence straight, and I could do top and bottom V-grooves for a closer approximation to colonial crown.

[jteneyck]

Well dang. That makes it look easy. I honestly think the hardest part would be wrangling a 10 foot board on the table saw.

I don't need to match a profile, so using the saw to cut just a cove would be fine. Cutting the angles can be done with the fence straight, and I could do top and bottom V-grooves for a closer approximation to colonial crown.

If you need to do a 10 footer, set up an infeed and outfeed roller stand to support the work.  I'd also think about using a two board guide setup rather than the one I used, and I'd put a feather board on top, too.  Pretty foolproof then; just feed at a steady rate.  

As you noted, there are lots of options with this technique to add beads or V-grooves, etc., either integral or built up.  

Also, you can change the cove from symmetrical with the bevel at 0 degrees to elliptical by tilting the blade.  

John

[hcbph]

As part of my bar project (and as it continues to evolve, because I basically build for the sake of building like Sarah Winchester), I will need to add crown to my top cabinets. The entire thing is sapele, because apparently it's all I use. You can buy crown molding, but it would be rather expensive ($100+ for what I need). There are two top cabinets, both 24" wide, with 64" of shelving spanning between them for bottles. They will be regular wall cabinets (12" deep) and the top will be spanned by a 12" wide board. I will be installing mini recessed canless lights in this one, so crown, aside from just looks, will serve to hide the top of the lights and the wiring (there will be about 6" between the top of the cabinets and the ceiling for overcabinet lighting as well).

You can't find 112" molding without a joint (or without exorbitant shipping costs). I don't necessarily care that much about having a "traditional" crown profile, and I wouldn't even be averse to more or less vertical trim. But I was thinking of doing some type of "crown" - even 45 degree - with a 1/2" or 5/8" board. I assume it would be possible to chamfer or miter two edges like typical crown, and then add various cove or V profiles to get some type of crown-approximating profile. I see plenty of bits available, but what about just winging it? I rarely (never) do this, but it seems like it might be worth trying to mix up a few different profiles and see what happens.

Crazy idea?

I'd offer to run it through the molder but there's 2 problems.  First is you're too far away.  Second is I don't have 20' of workspace in my basement shop.  Maybe you could find someone local that would run it off for you.  Good luck.

[FS7]

I did a short test cut today with some scrap pine. Cutting a cove is trivial. If I can get somebody to help me I think it will be very easy to cut a cove in a 10 foot piece.

[MstrCarpenter]

I did a short test cut today with some scrap pine. Cutting a cove is trivial. If I can get somebody to help me I think it will be very easy to cut a cove in a 10 foot piece.

So, when you ran your test you figured out how the fence angle to the blade relates to height:width ratio of the cove. Now you should try a few tests to see what happens when you tilt the blade. I posted here a few years ago about this and suggested a simple way to visualize the results by using a compact disk; Hold a notepad (or whatever) at eye level to represent the T.S. top. Raise the blade (CD) up behind it and rotate it 45°. You'll see the cove the saw will cut if the fence is at that angle. Rotate it back some and you'll see how the angle relates to the ratio. Now tilt the blade and you'll see some incredible curves that can be cut on the T.S.!