# the right bit for the job?



## rokosz (May 12, 2016)

Hi, the below pic is some vintage window trim.

I'd like to mimic that trim style given that I've invested in a router and table (and why not invest in another bit?)

It seems a channel style bit is appropriate -- but all the ones I see are square bottomed channels.

Then I thought a roundover would do it in multiple passes -- but no! -- there's no edge here for the bearing to ride against. plus those outside edges'll be tough.

So a bit with a roundover profile -- no bearing, but shaped like a kid's top with a point that makes the deepest part of the channel.

Then three passes to rout each of the three channels.

No? Then how to do? 
Yes? anybody know what that kind of bit is called out? 

I thanks you much.


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## nealtw (May 12, 2016)

Usually if you spend enough time looking thru catalogs  you can find something close enough.
http://www.routerbitsdirect.ca/viewItem.asp?idProduct=3984&idCategory=177


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## rokosz (May 12, 2016)

nealtw said:


> Usually if you spend enough time looking thru catalogs you can find something close enough.
> http://www.routerbitsdirect.ca/viewItem.asp?idProduct=3984&idCategory=177


 
D'oh!  a Beadboard bit. Freud.  and that profile. all that was in my head or had seen it in searches over the last few days but it didn't congeal.  
Sometimes I think I should write my post, email it to myself -- and then read it again.
thx/


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## KULTULZ (May 12, 2016)

rokosz said:


> Sometimes I think I should write my post, email it to myself -- and then read it again.
> thx/



Now that was good... :rofl:

*ADDENDUM*-

Any chance of a full photo of the window casing, especially the header?


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## rokosz (May 27, 2016)

KULTULZ re: a picture -- I'll get one here, but it'll probably be later next week.

Now, V-groove radius bits.  These buggers apparently do not come in a variety of sizes (say, like, roundovers).  The Freud that NealTW posted seems to be the only one they make, and that's too small (r=1/8").  I'm thinking I need at least a 1/4" radius.  And I'd be happy to take a chance on one -- if I could find one.  
Just seems strange how the diversity of straight v-groove bits so swamps radius bits.

anybody know of someplace? maybe they're not on-line but local? my rotary dial still works...

ps I love that walmart has the freud bit listed as 
*"Freud 20-301 1/4" Radius V Groove Straight Router Bit"*

not the first time I've been surprised by something I saw at Walmart.


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## rokosz (May 27, 2016)

Well here's 50% more:
*Whiteside Router Bits 1570 Point Cutting Round Over Bit with 3/16-Inch Radius 3/8-Inch*

Could my old affliction of  "poor estimation" be coming back?  That picture with the trim in the OP is what I'd like toduplicate.  That board is 4 5/8"w do these beads look like 1/8, 1/4" or ?? radius to any experience eyes out there?


I'm a little gunshy to go with a 1/8"r (I got a roundover that size to ease an edge of a threshold  and was surprised at how little came away.)


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## nealtw (May 27, 2016)

Do you have a table saw?


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## nealtw (May 28, 2016)

rokosz said:


> Well here's 50% more:
> *Whiteside Router Bits 1570 Point Cutting Round Over Bit with 3/16-Inch Radius 3/8-Inch*
> 
> Could my old affliction of  "poor estimation" be coming back?  That picture with the trim in the OP is what I'd like toduplicate.  That board is 4 5/8"w do these beads look like 1/8, 1/4" or ?? radius to any experience eyes out there?
> ...



If you look at it roughly speaking and I work with 4 1/2" for convenience of math.
The section that has been routered looks close to one third of the width of the board so apox. 1 1/2" divided by three passes, each pass would be 1/2" divide that by 2 and I would guess 1/4 R.
Or just measure the depth of the cut.


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## jeffmattero76 (May 28, 2016)

nealtw said:


> Do you have a table saw?


I have the craftsman set nealtw posted and made all of the baseboard and door casing in my house from an oak tree that i had milled into slabs and then dried. The molding head did a great job, but a house full of trim is an endless job! Good luck!


rokosz said:


> KULTULZ re: a picture -- I'll get one here, but it'll probably be later next week.
> 
> Now, V-groove radius bits.  These buggers apparently do not come in a variety of sizes (say, like, roundovers).  The Freud that NealTW posted seems to be the only one they make, and that's too small (r=1/8").  I'm thinking I need at least a 1/4" radius.  And I'd be happy to take a chance on one -- if I could find one.
> Just seems strange how the diversity of straight v-groove bits so swamps radius bits.
> ...


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## rokosz (May 28, 2016)

Genius!  But I've got to temper that first thought.  There it is!  A tri-bead cutter.  But that cutter is , what, at most an 1" wide? -- and yeah, it looks like for the closest mimicry I'll need 1 1/2".  Can anyone confirm a particular tri-bead cutter is 1 1/2" wide?

I like the beefy beads but I may have to leave the secrets of craftsmen from the 19th c. still secret.  Did those guys have routers , and bits and/or table saws with cutter blades?)  Or were these boards mass produced?

Luckily my effort is limited to windows with (currently) no casement/trim at all.   I just gotta decide/settle(!) on a design. Something like this






or I could make two passes down the center...

real bummer about the lack of a 1/4r v-groove bit.  I did the math too on 1.5/4.5.  I kept thinking, incorrectly,  that 1/4r was the _arc_ on the bit blade. Duh. with that sorted out its pretty apparent 1/4r is the magic number.

thank you all.  Good vid that one (for the newbie/diyer).  It mentions sharpening the cutters (even as new) and making 1/8"d channels off the back of the boards so out of plane walls don't require massive planing of boards.  Yeah, and I gotta look into this "scribing" that seems to be mentioned in so many places....


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## nealtw (May 28, 2016)

They made it on a shaper or I think they called it a sticker in the old mills. Either way if you found someone with the machine you would have to have the cutting edge made about  $1000 or more.

But with the unit on the table say you can get blanks and have a machine shop make into the shape you need.


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## rokosz (Jun 12, 2016)

here's a few shots:


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## nealtw (Jun 15, 2016)

rokosz said:


> here's a few shots:



You don't have any that are not installed that you could photo the end.


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## nealtw (Jun 15, 2016)

rokosz said:


> here's a few shots:



You don't have any that are not installed that you could photo the end.

This might be done with a multitude of passes  a few different bits.


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## rokosz (Jun 15, 2016)

no, these windows (with the most original trim) are all on the first floor.   Emphasis has been on the second floor where the removed trim is/was simpler.   Replacements on the first floor (and so removal) are planned but not even a hazard'ed guess as to when


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## nealtw (Jun 15, 2016)

Have you checked out used building supplies in the area.
One old house I fixed up I spent 6 month trying to find matching molding and with help from a city engineer I found a house that was slated for demolition and got all the molding I needed. For free too.
 Here is a trick for making a sample to work with.
http://www.ronhazelton.com/tips/how_to_duplicate_molding_that_is_damaged_or_missing


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## rokosz (Jun 16, 2016)

Bondo!  great for a missing piece -- but I can't imagine doing 100' or more board feet -- and how many cans?  Maybe they make a 5gal....

I actually posted those pics for Kultulz(?sp) s/he asked for a shot of the head.  

That milling does seem to have the same roundover profile that I put on the shoe molding -- the outside edges have a square reveal. So, perhaps mimicry in a smaller dimension (3/8" as I recall was the closest I could find) will be best fit. 

That "empire" pencil scribe I got from the orange box does have an immediate use -- I could more accurately measure those ridges:  yup, 1/4" (with paint on).  Multiple passes. s'ok I find the table saw relaxing -- kind of like methodically shoveling a 6" snow on the driveway.


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## nealtw (Jun 16, 2016)

You need a sample to plan all you cuts with a router with different bits, with bondo you could make a small sample.
Or use your scribe to get the profile.


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