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I would like to get some opinions and facts about fluted casings.
What is the most popular style? Stopped flutes or continuous flutes.
Also I would like to know the thickness that is most commonly used. 1/2″, 5/8″, 3/4″, thicker?
I seen some prefab casing at HD and it appeared to be 5/8″ or so.
If it matters the casing will probably have rosettes at the corners.
The reason I ask all this is because when I have my house built I am going to do alot of the trim carpentry. Will probably even mill the casings myself as well as the rosettes.
I understand that to get a nice looking stopped flute then I will probably have to buy a molding head cutter for the TS. Have tried with the router and the ends just didn’t look quite right being rounded. I like the tapered look that you get from a molding head. If possible could a jig be used with the router that would sweep the bit(and router) up out of the work to give the same effect?
Thanks for any thoughts on this.
glenn
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Glenn,
Yes, you can make a jig to accomplish the tapers you desire. It is basically a ramp-up at the ends of the jig that steer your router down the piece of stock. If you don't care for the finished look you can always finish the tapers off with a chisel or gouge.
Eric
*Hi Glenn, The thickness of the casing is usually set up by the manufacturer so that the corner blocks and plinth blocks will be thicker and overhang the casing giving it a reveal. Last year I made up all the casing, corner blocks with rosettes and plinth blocks for a 4800 sq ft home. A moulding head for a table saw does do the best job as it tapers the flute at the end. You can achieve this same taper with a router and a sloped jig placed where you want the flutes to stop; however I feel that if you are making alot of casing it is better to use the table saw and moulding head. I made my casing out of 3/4" yellow pine, and the plinth and corner blocks out of 1-1/2" yellow pine. For the corner blocks I used a drill press set up for about 620 RPM with a carbide rosette cutter. I found that it worked best to cut a long length of stock to the width of the block and do a careful layout where the rosettes should be milled. After milling the rosettes you then can cut out the individual blocks. I milled a roman ogee edge on the ones I made. There is a picture of a door under a stair case that I made the trim for which has the rosettes and some beaded casing. Go to http://business.fortunecity.com/ingram/109 and look on page 4. Mad Dog M.
*Thanks for the suggestions, I was also wondering how you would handle an arched top door or window casing. Do the tops usually have flutes as well or just plain? thanksglenn