All How-To Topics
|
|
Spade-bit rosettes
comments (0) January 31st, 2011 in Project Gallery
Official Fine Homebuilding Post, editor
6 users recommend
Click the "thumbs up" button above to vote for this tip. Help us choose Fine Homebuilding's top-10 window and door tips.
Photo: Drawing by Chuck Miller
I'm building an apartment in a commercial building that dates back to 1851. To remain true to the original detailing, the casings around doors and windows needed rosettes at the corners. So I checked out a rosette router bit and choked on the $50 price tag.
Back in my shop, I played around with a 1-3/8-in. spade bit and a tabletop grinder. First I rounded the bit's shoulders, which correspond to the outside ring of the rosette. Then, halfway between the point and the shoulders, I ground in the cove shapes. Next, I flattened the bit's point to carve the rounded hollow at the center of the rosette. My last modification was to cut off most of the bit's shaft to reduce the chance that the bit would wobble in the drill press.
I chucked the bit (see drawing) in my drill press and made a couple of test cuts to check the profile. After some minor modifications, the bit was ready to go to work. Since then I've used the bit in oak, teak and fir with great results. And all for the price of a spade bit.
James R. Chittick, Fort Mill, SC
posted in: Project Gallery, finish carpentry, doors
|
|
|
|
-
How to Paint Fiber-Cement Siding
Painter Jim Lacey shares some tips for caulking and painting fiber-cement siding. read more
|
|
The Best Door and Window Tips
Give you're favorite tip a thumbs up
Browse through this collection of Fine Homebuilding reader-submitted window and door tips, and tell us which ones are the most, useful, interesting, and innovative. We'll tally the thumbs up and make a pdf download of the ten favorite tips.
Have a better tip to share?
Stop by our There's a Better Way Quick Tips page and post your own ingenious construction solutions.
Comments (0)
You must be logged in to post comments. Click here to login.