Miniature molding

make it

Bill Tindall, E.Tn.

Making this molding is a trivial task. Plane board to thickness. run router across it to make the quarter round or scrape it. Scraping is surprisingly easy. Saw off on table saw. It can be made at "miles per hour"!

Scraping...

John in NM

Yeah, with that small radius you could make plenty with a scratch stock and just saw it off the board. If one has a planer and a table saw, and a homemade scratch stock, this would be a pretty pleasant evening's work.

With a router maybe a less pleasant half hour to 45 minutes

Re: make it

Howard

Planing a board and cutting the radius would be easy enough but ripping 3/16 strips would be a problem as my saw does not have a zero clearance insert.

That's why a thought about buying the molding.

Howard

Re: make it too

David Yoho

This is the perfect time to make a zero clearance insert for the saw. You could also purchase a blank that fits your saw.

Re: make it too

Barry Irby

David is right. I broke down and made about six zero clearance inserts for my saw. Had sum half inch Baltic birch scraps. Traced the original and cut them out on the bandsaw and sanded them to fit. They were too thin so I put scraps on each "corner" where the supports were and ran them through the Perfomax to sand the scraps to the just right thickness. If you don't have a thickness sander, you could put a short screw into the bottom at each support and use them as adjustable legs. (The screws might be better and easier.) I have consumed the ones I made over the years. Dado inserts, angle inserts, zero clearance for different blades, whatever. Very worthwhile project in hindsight.

Or, you could set the fence, lower the blade, put a scrap of plywood or wood beside the fence over the blade, wide enough to support your work and the full depth of the table front to rear and clamp it into place, then raise the blade through it. (wide enough to get the clamps out of the way) This would be a temporary false top for the saw. The problem with this is that if you rip the piece repeatedly, you would have to move the false top.

I have made yards of this type of molding with a belt sander clamped upside down in a vice or a stationary one. Once you get the knack or rhythm of rolling the edge it goes quickly. I have used thicker stock and ripped a piece off all four corners.

Re: make it

AZ in Colorado Springs

Use duct tape or packaging tape. Lay a piece alongside of the blade. It'll be able to support such a lightweight offcut. Just run far enough forward that you can lay the leading edge of your stock on top of it before pushing forward.

Re: Several suggestions

William Duffield

Instead of sanding them to thickness, I install four small FHWSs in the bottom of the insert, to rest on the tabs machined into the saw table, and adjust them until the top of the insert is flush with the top of the saw.

Woodcraft (and I assume also Highland Woodworking, Rockler, etc.) carry zero clearance insert blanks to fit most common table saws. If you make your own from plywood, the blade, even fully retracted might contact the bottom of the insert when you go to cut the kerf, which makes the saw very difficult to start. If so, an additional step in the process of making several blanks is to install your dado set and cut a relief slot part way through the inserts. Manufactured zero clearance insert blanks already have the relief cut.

Once you have fitted one insert, use it with double sided tape and a router pattern bit to make several exactly the same size.

If you make or buy insert blanks made from phenolic, use a blade ready to go to the sharpening service to cut the kerf. The phenolic is very abrasive on saw blades, even carbide tipped.

When you cut the kerfs, make sure you clearly label the insert with the angle of the kerf. If you mismatch the insert and blade angle, you have to start over, because on most saws the blade angle makes a big difference to where the blade exits the top of the insert. If you have a SawStop, this is much less of a problem, because the geometry of the trunnions is such that the axis of rotation is just at the surface of the saw table. Their standard insert provides a very narrow kerf (at least the top of the kerf) for all blade angles. However, it is not narrow enough for ripping 3/16" mouldings.

I would rip all the moulding pieces between the blade and the fence instead of trying to deal with the small but annoying differences in width that I would get if I tried to adjust the fence for each cut and rip the moulding off the outside of the stock. I use a sacrificial push shoe, as I described in this post:

http://www.woodcentral.com/woodworking/forum/messages.pl/pro/search/pmd/sread/srchid/31126hVQLDrwfht5wwxG1435152884/spage/1/sanc/489640/sbid/1000/md/read/id/489609/sbj/ripping-on-the-table-saw/

Make sure a nearly complete project, or your bench dog, is not sitting down range while you are ripping these, because if you are reusing a push shoe that you had used for a different fence setting, an essential part of it could disappear with your first cut of this moulding, and the moulding ejected. Since the push shoe continues to hold it against the table, at least it will not be violently kicked up and back, but I've had them ejected fast enough to go a few feet, where they could have put a ding in a finished project surface, or seriously hurt a dog if it hit it in the face.

If you are using a router table to shape the moulding, it will save you some time to route both edges in one trip to the router table, and then cut off two strips at the table saw.

more suggestions

Bill Tindall, E.Tn.

You can make an insert out of lots of stuff-3/8" or 1/2" plywood, Corian, Plexiglasetc, polycarbonate glazing, etc. I made some from 1/4" phenolic resin sheet. Drill undersized holes and thread in 1/4" set screws for leveling jacks. Buy a 7 1/2" x 40T blade for ripping the pieces. It will be lots less scary than ripping these delicate pieces with a 10" blade.

Some more suggestions.....

roger lance

Learning to make your own zero clearance inserts is a good basic skill to have. As has been mentioned, I use 1/2" bb ply and flat head screws for levelers. But, I'd also suggest that you drill an access hole to help you remove the insert when needed. Also, make provision for your splitter. For safety, I glue a small wood piece on the back of the insert. It fits under the lip of the table saw and helps to prevent the insert from being ejected by the blade.

use set screws

Bill Tindall, E.Tn.

Insert from top and the resulting insert can be leveled from the top. I get them for pennies at local nuts an bolts store. I like the 1/4" size for this task.

next time I'll give 'em a try.....

Re: use set screws

William Duffield

That's a good idea, but there are tradeoffs. Most commercially made inserts use set screws, and they are easier to use. Don't you need to tap the holes for them? I'd need to make a special trip, which would require planning ahead, to buy a handful, while I have lots of wood screws in the shop, but maybe not any that are short enough. Set screws are a bit more expensive, but the total cost is insignificant, especially compared to the cost of a commercially made insert. If I use wood screws, once I have the plate adjusted, I lock them in position with a drop of CA glue, so the first time I adjust it is the last.

Re: use set screws

Mark Mandell - Gone Round In New Jersey

Drill a hole that's sized for a tap on the set screw of your choice. Wax your set screw. Put several drops of CA in the hole, then run your set screw through the hole and out the other side. Repeat the glue and through-screw. The CA will set up the fibers into a threaded hole and the wax will keep the screw from sticking. Put the waxed screws back in each hole and use to adjust the insert.

Been doing this for many years with 1/2" inserts sized to exact matches on my stacked dado set. Never fails.