Replies

1. 
   Guest_ | Jun 22, 1999 05:10am | #1

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   No matter how much time you have on your hands, it can be better spent doing something else rather than making your own base moulding. At less than $.50 per LF at the supply house, it would only save you penneys in the first place. And who wants to take the time to make all those joints?

   Do yourself a favor and buy your base and spend your time on something more productive.

   Have fun with your home.
   kcoyner

2. 
   david_sorg | Jun 22, 1999 06:19am | #2

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   I'd like to know where you can buy a 6inch base moulding for less than 50 cents.

   We recently did all the base, window, and door trim in a bedroom with ripped MDF and it worked great. This was a traditional room and had 10 inch base. We used butt joints with no biscuits and they have stayed invisible for more than an entire heating/cooling cycle. Although you can put a shape on the edge, it doesn't really take paint well without a fair bit of putty and priming. We used various combinations of small cap mouldings to finish the edges. Not only did it paint easier, it added extra levels and depths that you couldn't really get in a single piece profile.

3. 
   Guest_ | Jun 22, 1999 06:51am | #3

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   MDF?

   Hold me back youngbob.....hold me back!

   Ed.

1. 
   Guest_ | Jun 22, 1999 07:29am | #4

   *Hi All,Some projects make as much sense as scraping skid marks off the highway to build your own tires.There is no such thing as time that isn't worth money. Buy the damn stuff and spend some of your worthless ( but extremely limited) time with your family. I can't see anyone standing back and saying, that's the finest MDF baseboard I've ever seen. Biscuits in MDF?Gabe

4. 
   Rich_B. | Jun 22, 1999 06:41pm | #5

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   But all the stuff at the supply houses that goes for 50 cents is so common and mundane. How about 4 1/2" cherry base for about $1.20 lf all cut from rw&l 4/4, or custom cherry 4' circle top window moldings at $15. each. To the owner-builder, the time is free and maybe for some of us spending a weekend with the wife ripping 4 x 8 sheets into 6" strips is spending time with family. At least we sure think so.

5. 
   Guest_ | Jun 22, 1999 08:13pm | #6

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   I don't know about baseboards but I've used MDF for the ledge boards on knee walls in an office I just completed. Biscuit jointed & glued all the butt and intersecting joints and it looks absolutely great. If you are going to shape and cut that much of it, wear a respirator because this stuff makes the most and finest dust that you can imagine. Real messy. The best part of MDF is that it has no knots and is very ridgid and clean looking once painted. Problem may be that especially with baseboards, the stuff chips when banged into. It's hard as a rock but brittle too.

   Pete Draganic

1. 
   Guest_ | Jun 23, 1999 04:15am | #7

   *Why not veneer it with contact cement and self adhesive veneer? Yeah, I know contact cement doesn't work and all the counter tops in the world are scheduled to fall apart December 31, 1999. Herrick Kimbal's idea of bending the veneer around 90 degree angles works and I am sitting at a long desk that was bisquetted together twenty years ago to achieve a length greater than 8 feet. Funny thing, it now has two layers of formica applied with contact cement, and no separations. I only see one drawback and that is the dust and the fast wear on blades. I did cut come strips for backers last week-end with my Dewalt and a self clamping straight edge - outdoors with the wind at my back. Withot dust collection, I think that is the only way I would try and do it. For what it is worth, I find that a 10'x24" melmaine shelf makes a nice cutting surface when supported by Storehorses and a couple of 2x12's for rigidity.

1. 
   Guest_ | Jun 23, 1999 05:19am | #8

   *I beg to differ on the mundane and common selection, at least at my supply house. MDF comes in several different profiles and sizes, some common and some not so common. They make some pretty intricant profiles too. If you just enjoy doing it that's fine, but for someone who spends most of his waking hours doing this work, I can find better ways to spend my time.

1. 
   Guest_ | Jun 23, 1999 05:28am | #9

   *I'm not going to question the workability or suitability of MDF for moulding. I love the stuff. Yes I can see a project like yours coming out beautifully using this method, but the original question said 6" base with a simple base cap milled on the top. I based my reply on the information given by a DIYer who wanted to know what we thought about the economics of this procedure.

6. 
   Rock_Heindel | Jun 29, 1999 04:58pm | #10

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   When my wife and I remodeled our own house 10 yrs ago, we did exactly what you are proposing...took a weekend and ripped the stuff at a friend's shop (because he had a great Powermatic with generous outfeed tables). It worked out great for us. We used a wood cap on the base and a backband on the casing to cover the inevitable 'rough' grainy edge.
   Since then, if I was going to use MDF for trim, I would go down to a specific supplier who stocks pre-ripped MDF in 16 ft. lengths...you might want to call around and see if someone near you has it.
   If you are going to machine the edges: after routing, sand the edges, then coat them with a watered-down yellow glue...it paints out like a dream. Good luck.

7. 
   Joe_(NJ) | Jun 29, 1999 04:58pm | #11

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   We are building our own house. I was thinking about trying to rip 4x8 sheet into 6 inch base board. Run it through a shaper for the base cap finish, Install it using bisquits instead of an angle cut. Or maybe angle and bisquit. Any one have any experience. The only drawback I can see is only 8 foot length instead of 16's, but I a self builder some my time is free. But it would seem to price out at pennies a foot.Just one long monotonous weekend of cutting baseboard.