Suggestions on making 1/4 round molding

DR Buck · March 24, 2015, 02:21:22 PM

I'm getting ready to make several hundred linear feet of 3/4" quarter round molding. I plan on doing it on my router table. The router is a 3 1/2 HP Porter-Cable and I will be using a 3/4" round-over bit. The molding will be painted when it's used and I will be making it from poplar only because I have lots of it, and no pine.

I've made lots of molding both with my Woodmaster molder-planer and on the router table, but never anything this small. Any suggestions before I start?

beenthere · March 24, 2015, 02:27:07 PM

Will you run 3/4" boards past the router bit first, then rip it off? Or another way?

terrifictimbersllc · March 24, 2015, 03:44:11 PM

Haven't done it, sorry. I'd sure need to practice out the idea first. Much rather have stock between fence and table saw blade than between fence and router bit

Different ways to do it depending on whether your round over bit has a bearing or not, if it does then there will be ripping afterwards. Going to involve feather boards on one of the tools regardless. Rounding over is easy with a bearing bit and hand-held router, if the stock has some width to it to hold on to, although I've not done 3/4. Just made about 20 ft of 1" bull nose tread using 1/2" round over with bearing.

1938farmall · March 24, 2015, 04:16:02 PM

i would rip it down to 3/4" squares & set up 2 or more feather boards. push or pull sticks thru. may be a couple inches of snipe on ends.

DR Buck · March 24, 2015, 05:25:52 PM

What I'm thinking is taking wide 3/4" stock and using the round-over on opposite sides, rip them off on the table saw, then repeat until the stock gets too small to work with.

Posts I've read caution against using the round-over on 3/4" square stock because it's to close to the bit and there is high probability of tear-out or splitting/shredding when routing off the full amount in a single pass, which is what I will do on the wide stock.

Bruno of NH · March 24, 2015, 05:34:51 PM

I've made a lot of 3/4 round over the years
Just like 1938farmall said he mills it .
Works good for me .
Jim/Bruno

Lawg Dawg · March 24, 2015, 09:17:34 PM

Quote from: DR_Buck on March 24, 2015, 05:25:52 PM
What I'm thinking is taking wide 3/4" stock and using the round-over on opposite sides, rip them off on the table saw, then repeat until the stock gets too small to work with.

Posts I've read caution against using the round-over on 3/4" square stock because it's to close to the bit and there is high probability of tear-out or splitting/shredding when routing off the full amount in a single pass, which is what I will do on the wide stock.

That's how I make all small trim pieces. But I never make 100s of feet at one time.

1938farmall · March 24, 2015, 09:18:35 PM

i should have mentioned that i too have actually made a good quantity of 3/4" quarter-round - so it's not just an opinion; it's experience.

if you are doing poplar you need a very sharp cutter or you'll get "fuzzies".

hackberry jake · March 24, 2015, 09:32:49 PM

I would probably go with @1938farmall's way as well. Or I might try taking four planed boards and gluing them together to form a hollow square with 3/4" by 3/4" square hole running through the middle. mount the square "guide" onto the router and push stock through one side, pull it out the other... Na, I still thing the feather board approach would work better.

Peter Drouin · March 24, 2015, 10:16:47 PM

Quote from: beenthere on March 24, 2015, 02:27:07 PM
run boards past the router bit first, then rip it off

Don_Papenburg · March 24, 2015, 11:29:33 PM

I like to round off the edges of the wider boards then cut the molding off.

johnnyllama · March 25, 2015, 07:36:05 AM

I've done it both ways but think the best way is routing both edges of a wider board, then ripping off the molding. The wider board is stiffer with less flex. This is more of an advantage the smaller radius 1/4 round you are making. We use the shaper nowadays but same principle.

jueston · March 25, 2015, 09:05:01 AM

Quote from: 1938farmall on March 24, 2015, 04:16:02 PM
i would rip it down to 3/4" squares & set up 2 or more feather boards. push or pull sticks thru. may be a couple inches of snipe on ends.

i was not making 1/4round but i was using this exact set up last night

a large part of the outcome is getting the feed rate just right, at least in my experience, but after a few sticks you figure out the best speed to get a good cut without to many fuzzies, i really need to sharpen the bit i was using or toss it and buy another, because the cut quality on this wasn't amazing.

if i was going to do it again, i also would have put feather boards on the outfeed side too. as i did it, i would push it through, then walk around and pull it out holding it against the fence with my hand on the outfeed side.

if i had outfeed featherboards too, i think i could have just pushed one stick after another and let them fall on the ground on the outfeed side, that would have been faster...

but in only a few hours i pushed/pulled at least 300 ft through twice, and they were all small sticks, i think longer sticks would give you more efficiency, less time setting one down and picking up the next one.

this picture makes the pile look smaller then it is, that is 300+ feet of 3/4 by 1 inch pieces with a profile on 2 edges.

ely · March 25, 2015, 04:57:00 PM

any trim that I make like that I do in quads. I start with a 1 5/8 square stock how ever long you can handle, run it through my shaper 4 times then quarter it on my table saw.
if I am making a lot, it taxes my router pretty hard...almost nothing on the shaper.

hackberry jake · March 25, 2015, 06:01:36 PM

It would probably work better if your pieces weren't so crooked @jueston
:D
What are the crooked pieces and the trim going to be when they grow up?

jueston · March 25, 2015, 07:06:51 PM

Quote from: hackberry jake on March 25, 2015, 06:01:36 PM
It would probably work better if your pieces weren't so crooked @jueston
:D
What are the crooked pieces and the trim going to be when they grow up?

:D

2 seperate projects.

the trim is for project which is similar to a picture frame but it protects a wet painting when a painter wants to paint on site and then carry his painting to another location. i'll post a picture when i finish one, that pile is enough stock to make a hundred of them, i just had a lot of scraps and decided to save some set up time by running a lot through at once.... since i have a good friend who has connected me with a group of artists, the product is a great way for me to make a little money getting rid of small scraps that aren't good for much else.

the curved things in back are legs to a table, that table has a deadline of April 22nd, so hopefully i'll have something to show you before then. should be original if it comes together...

21incher · March 25, 2015, 07:37:16 PM

I have run a batch of quarter round like that on my Bellsaw planer using molding cutters with 3/4 poplar squares. It took longer to setup and make a guide then to run it, but was easy to make 2 passes to keep tear out to a minimum. The best part was no burning from the wrong feed rate. You should be able to pick up a set for your woodmaster and the 1" wide cutters are very low cost.