Milling dentil molding

[Vanilla Gorilla]

I am considering trying to make a copy of my girlfriend's night stand for her so she can have 2 of them. But one of my big obstacles is that it has a fair bit of dentil moulding on it, and I haven't the slightest idea how to mill that, short of hand carving it which would be time consuming and considering my carving skills, the results would be terrible. So, any suggestions? I have though about creating a jig to hold the piece on it's edge at the proper angle and then running small "dados across the workpiece, but it this the best way? Any info would be appreciated.

 

[McRabbet]

Since there are several types of dentil molding, you'd need to be more specific with the shape of hers. If it is like some I've seen, a repeating pattern of cuts can be made with a box joint jig -- google for the Lynn's Jig and that may be a starting point. If you can post a picture, we can answer more specifically.

Rob

 

[Vanilla Gorilla]

I should have already thought to post a pic....:BangHead:


http://www.crown-molding.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=173

that's basically what I am looking to do, except it is a stand alone molding, as in it doesn't have that ogee or cove milled into it.

 

[Vanilla Gorilla]

btw, I would love to build a lynn's jig, and already have the plans. Only problem is that I have the craftsman special table saw with the miter slots that are part t-track and part non-standard miter slot, so I have had NO success trying to come up with a slider that would work with little slop. That goes for fabricating one also. Using a store bought miter slider is a complete impossibility. I guess I will just have to break down and slap a miter track in my router table and do it that way.

 

[DaveO]

Check Capital City lumber they carry a huge assortment of moulding profiles in a varity of hardwoods.

Or you could consider doing what you suggested but with a router, I think that way might be safer.
Dave

 

[sapwood]

Only problem is that I have the craftsman special table saw with the miter slots that are part t-track and part non-standard miter slot, so I have had NO success trying to come up with a slider that would work with little slop.

Marco, if you ever need extra mitre guages for the saw, let me know. I have a couple of surplus ones that went on Craftsmans/Lowes tablesaws. They may fit your TS.

Sapwood

 

[Vanilla Gorilla]

Thanks Roger, I appreciate that. HOPEFULLY, I will not need one, as I hope to get a new saw in the not too distant future, so we will keep our fingers crossed on that one.

 

[McRabbet]

Based on the style you showed without the ogee and cove, let's assume you want 1/2" wide cuts separated by 1/2" "teeth". I would mill a 1"x3" piece of stock (3/4" x 2-1/2") of the length I needed for all of the dentil molding. Then cut a series of 1" spacers from a straight piece of 2x4 to use for a stacked set of stop blocks. Set your dado blade up for 1/2" cut and place a stop behind the blade at the depth of the cut you want to make to insure consistent depth of cuts. (Remember to adjust the blade for proper cut height.) Clamp the stack as a stop block perpendicular to your miter slot, to the right of the blade. Make the first cut with your stock pushed with your miter guage and the cut position defined by the end of the stacked stop blocks. (For safety, make sure the stop block stack is at least a few inches before the blade to avoid binding.) After each cut, remove one block from the stack and repeat. If you need to narrow the dentilled stock, you can rip it to width afterward.

Hope this will work. Rob