Woodmaster 718, what quality molding are you getting out of these machines?

[Wal Nut]

Hi, first post here have had a Woodmaster 718 for a few years love the machine but have never run molding out of it. 

I'm looking to run some molding on it, but am wondering what quality finished product I'll be able to produce. Will the final piece need a lot of finish sanding prior to prime/paint?

I'd assumed running 3 blades would yield the best quality product for more cuts/inch, but I see guys are running 1 blade and turning the feed rate down. Which way will yield the better/more paint-ready product? 

Thank you

[boardmaker]

First,
Welcome to the forum.

I've ran miles through several of those machines.  I have the 2 knife moulding head and run 2 knives.  There is nothing wrong running one knife and 2 counterweights in the planer head.  In reality the tallest knife does all the cutting anyway.  You just may need to run slower.  It is a little more difficult to setup but not too bad.

If you take your time during setup, you can make nice consistent moulding.  Some species will tearout some.  It's the nature of the beast. 
Also, some of it may have some very light chatter in it.  I see chatter in moulding that comes of a Weinig too so...  Snipe is very difficult to prevent due to the design of the machine.  I always just cut 4" off each end and accept it as a loss. 

With that said, it can make some nice moulding if you take your time.  Good dust collection is a must.
You will have to sand.  But you have to sand moulding off of very nice machines too.

[pineywoods]

Running molding knives in the planner head---too much trouble. I have TWO single knife molding heads mounted on the aux shaft. Works real nice for double sided stuff like crown molding. Finish quality depends on a couple of things..Knives need to be sharp sharp. I make my own. Wood should be dry dry. Some species will fuzz no matter what you do. I have had zero success trying to run any kind of tongue and groove. For that go with the router on the outfeed option,works good.

[Wal Nut]

Thanks guys, very much appreciate the input. This would be short batch production of specialty picture frame material from hardwoods, generally ~1" thick x 2.5-3.5" wide.

For this type of application, would you just stay on a shaper/moulder or move it to the Woodmaster? The custom knife availability and cost are what had me considering the Woodmaster to begin with.