Replies

1. 
   Guest_ | Jan 10, 2000 09:37am | #1

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   Jon, kerfing standard crown mould doesnt work like kerfing flat moulding like base board etc. The angle at which it rests against the wall causes the bottom edge to need a smaller radius than the top edge which would require the bottom to compress or the top to stretch or both in order to bend around a curve.

   There are a few ways to deal with the curve depending on whether it paints or stains. For paint I would probably laminate medium density fiberboard to the overall height of the installed crown and shape the profile on a shaper, you could have this done at a well equiped cabinet or millwork shop, it takes a custom ground shaper cutter. Also for paint there is a synthetic product, kind of a rubber crown mould that is supposed to bend, I have never used it and dont know how small a radius it will bend.

   For stain grade work you can laminate solid wood the same as mdf and get it milled to match or my choice would be to laminate strips around a curved form that matches the wall radius and get that milled to match the straight moulding. The second method is more difficult but looks better because the grain of the wood follows the curve as opposed to the first method which goes from face grain , to end grain in the middle of the curve and back to face grain, just doesnt look as natural especially if you stain it, the end grain will be darker.

   Do a search in the archives here this has been discussed before.

   hope this helps and isnt to confusing.

   Chuck

1. 
   Guest_ | Jan 10, 2000 09:41am | #2

   *I've done alot of curved crown in the past. I assume you are using an off the rack moulding in a 3 5/8 profile. You can kerf the back if it's not too tight of a radius, if you're careful in the installation. If the radius is tight I prefer to rip small sections from 2 pieces of the same material and glue them together in place, against a backer or ribs, to form the crown. This is similar to doing a curved handrail on a staircase. good luck, Bill Swales

1. 
   Guest_ | Jan 10, 2000 10:50am | #3

   *I've never kerfed crown, but have used Bill's second method on a few occasions and it works quite well.

1. 
   Guest_ | Jan 10, 2000 08:04pm | #4

   *Yes, this topic was discussed at least once, when I asked the same question to the group back about ten months ago. Three good methods were proposed, and what we found worked the best and fastest for painted crown was to duplicate the contour in plaster. Took less than 3 hours altogether for a 3' radius corner in a dining room.

1. 
   Guest_ | Jan 11, 2000 06:51am | #5

   *Forgive me, I was with a stupid stick when I wrote this. To kerf crown the cut must go all the way thru and leave a connected section at the top. Glue the kerfs and install. It basiclly pinches the bottom to create a curve and this only works on paint grade work. Sorry for the misinformation, I forgot to clarify this. Bill Swales

2. 
   Guest_ | Jan 11, 2000 04:12pm | #6

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   You really can't kerf crown or any moulding with a profile. When you do, the piece with bend conical (across two planes) and not along one plane. As for a flat moulding if you do kerf it, you must go through the profile and leave a uniform thickness in the stock when your done, if you don't it too will bend conical.

   Crown has the same problems but, since its already bending in two planes compounds the problem. The best route is ,as Ross suggests is to make them from plaster if you can't get them made from solid wood. You can also use flex moulding if it is available to you.

   To find out more about how to do it in plaster you might want to contact or go to Brian Ewing's site.

   Joseph FuscoView Image"Whenever, therefore, people are deceived and form opinions wide of the truth, it is clear that the error has slid into their minds through the medium of certain resemblance's to that truth." Socrates

3. 
   Guest_ | Jan 11, 2000 06:25pm | #7

   *I'm not an expert at curved crown, but FWIW, I have installed a product called Duraflex that I obtained locally through an architectural millwork supply that is a flexible molding. It is a heavy, dense resin that cuts and sands well, but needs to be pre-drilled for any fasteners. It is best worked with in warm weather (or inside), in cold weather it can get brittle. Even with it being flexible, it has to be ordered to the approximately the right radius, because it can only flex so much. The principal problem with it is that you may have a hard time matching the molding profile from regular wood crown to the Duraflex. I don't recommend using it on straight sections (although you can order it straight) because it is too floppy and won't look straight.Also FWIW, this stuff comes in flatstock, and can be pretty handy for tricky spots. Last time I used it was for the riser on an elliptical bottom stair tread. The stuff ain't cheap but it saved me hours of trying to glue up a curved piece or trying to kerf it.

4. 
   Guest_ | Jan 12, 2000 04:22pm | #8

   *Thank you Joe,I have used a built up also, similar to the method ina fhb a few years ago about a curved porch. By far the simplest is to use a flex trim. I have had to go in behind someone who trimmed a curved wall by cutting base, wainscot and crown in 3" pieces.Rick Tuk

2. 
   Ktaylor_ | Jan 13, 2000 06:38am | #9

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   If you would like to stain your crown try this method,
   you will need to purchase twice as much crown for the curved area, then rip a block of wood that matches the angle of your crown and glue the crown to this block,
   You will then proceed to rip the triangular blocks on a band saw, effectivly resawing them, you must be very carefull to cut exactly to the lines as you discard alternating pieces of the crown, then you should have 5-6 strips aprox 1/4" wide wich is like a bendable hand rail. This can be glued up and screwed/nailed in place. I'm not sure of your radius, but depending on how tight you need to go you can expieriment with the width of the rips.

1. 
   Phil_Vanderloo/Hiline_Builders | Jan 13, 2000 07:46am | #10

   *Just two days ago I installed some flex crown on my own project that worked beautifully. The brand is "Resinart" and is available in most moulding profiles. I had some 6-1/4" crown for an exterior radius as well as some 3" for a tighter(12") radius on the interior. You do need to specify the radius when you order as well as the length.It's also available in paint or stain grade.

3. 
   JON_NEUBURGER | Jan 13, 2000 07:46am | #11

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   I'd like to install 3" crown molding in my living room and need some advice on dealing with a part of the wall that curves out about a foot from the flat wall (to cover a hidden chimney) and then curves back to the flat wall. Can I kerf the molding ? Any other thoughts?