routers and molding

[gardnesd]

Hey guys, I'm in the middle of a painted built in desk/bookcase. I need some quarter round and square edge molding possibly some crown molding at the top. Is it possible to buy router bits to diy? Is it worth it if I plan on doing more built ins in the future???

[Justin57]

sure you can buy bits and DIY, but only you can decide if it's worth buying them based on how much you think you'll use them.

EagleAmerica.com has lots of bit to choose from...or if you want to save some research time, Charles Neil was asked so many times "which bit do YOU use" that he finally did a group buy and he has bits available at his site (he originally only sold DVDs teaching how to build and finish). He has the roundover bit and also the crown/ogee bit for making crown molding and ogee bracket feet (his crown bit includes a DVD on using it). Some people even use their table saw to make the cove(s) for crown molding and ogee bracket feet (but using the router bit leaves less sanding afterwards)

[Beechwood Chip]

The current New Yankee Workshop Online has a demo of making complex moldings using router bits. It will be available through Thursday, January 20th, 2011.

[BuilderBill]

Anything is possible... But I'd say for paint-grade it'll be cheaper in the long run(when you consider your labor) to just buy it from a local lumber yard. If you need 6' of walnut bed mold you might want to consider making it yourself. If you need 600' you'll come out ahead finding a local millwork supplier to cut it for you. Millwork suppliers have already made the investment in tools and personnel to make literally miles of moldings every day that you can't possibly hope to compete with them pricewise.

Paint-grade stuff is so cheap it's hardly worth your time, much less the tooling investment, to make your own. While it's a lot of fun to buy a couple of expensive router bits and futz around in the shop for a few hours making a few feet of special molding for a particular project it would be hard to call it cost-effective if you could buy it locally in the profiles and the wood species you need.

It's a simple cost-benefit computation: figure out what it'll cost you in time, materials and equipment to make it and see if you can buy it cheaper. If you can, buy it. If you can't spend some money on tooling and make it. Forget the figuring to use it on future jobs, it may be 5 years before you find another customer that wants that particular molding profile. You have to buy the equipment for THIS job, can you make it pay for itself? and your time?

HTH,

Bill

[nateswoodworks]

I never buy trim but I also have the bits that I have acquired over the yrs as well. Not only can I make it just the way I want it I also make it the exact size I want it to be. I would notwant to have to design the whole project around what trim profiles and sizes I can buy. On top of that it is honestly a pride thing as well. Router bit's, moulding head and profile cutters, planes, and the TS for making coves as Justin said are all great ways to make trim and I think if you decide to buy the bits you'll see why. You don't need a ton of bits to get started either. There are a couple ways you could go with the first being to buy a few bits to get you started and add on as you go or buy a set. If you buy a set I would suggest a smaller set of decent quality but doesn't have to be top of the line. The ones you use a lot you can replace when the time comes with higher quality ones.

Nate