This traditional-looking style features a thin protruding horizontal piece just under the top casing and on top of the side casing pieces. Variously called a “fillet,” “parting bead,” or even “popsicle stick” because of its thinness, this piece adds a distinctive touch for a small outlay of money and labor. A fillet may be a simple piece of lath; in the example shown here, we added some detail by using a piece of upside-down Colonial stop.
FILLETED CASING. This trim arrangement is made with plain (or sanitary) side casing that is trimmed on the sides with outside corner moldings, a ripped 1×6 for the head casing, Colonial stop, and plinth blocks.
Fillets are usually used along with side casings that are not tapered along their widths, as most mitered casings are. The side casings could be plain, without a profile (sometimes called “sanitary casing”). In our example, we add a decorative touch to the side casings by attaching outside corner molding to each side; we left the head casing piece plain.
1. ASSEMBLE THE SIDE CASING. To make this style of casing, nail pieces of 3⁄4-in. outside corner trim to each side of 3 1⁄2-in. sanitary casing. Hold a straightedge at one end as shown.
TIP: It’s important that both the side casing pieces be precisely tall enough to create the desired reveal on the top jamb. Before fastening the side pieces, set a scrap piece of wood on top, spanning both pieces, to be sure the reveal will be consistent.
Making Plinth Blocks
If you cannot buy plinth blocks that suit you, it’s not difficult to make your own. In our example, none of the available blocks came close to matching plinth blocks elsewhere in the house. You may have to go to a hardwood supplier to buy some 1-in.-thick or 11⁄8-in.-thick stock. Find a router bit (1) that creates a similar profile; you probably won’t get an exact match, but the difference will not be noticeable if the blocks are in different rooms. Cut the blocks to length and width (2). Use a power sander to smooth any rough edges, then rout the top and side front edges (3).
1. FIND A ROUTER BIT WITH A SIMILAR PROFILE.
2. CUT THE PLINTH BLOCK TO LENGTH
3. ROUT THE PROFILE
2. MEASURE FOR AND CUT THE SIDE CASING. Install the plinth block at the bottom, if it will be used. (Of course, for window trim the casing will rest on the stool.) Mark the reveal. Measure for side casing pieces that reach the top reveal mark.
Then cut the side casing.
TIP: If the baseboard is in place, hold a plinth block (this one is scheduled for edge routing) in place to mark for cutting the baseboard. Note that the block is wider than the casing, and so nearly covers the entire thickness of the jamb.
3. ATTACH THE SIDE CASING. Be sure to maintain a consistent reveal along the side and top jamb edges. Drive pairs of nails, one into the jamb and one into the wall framing, every 16 in. or so.
4. MEASURE FOR THE FILLET. Measure across the outside edges of the casing boards and add 1 in., so it will overhang 1⁄2 in. on each side.
5. CUT RETURNS FOR THE FILLET. Cut a piece of 13⁄8-in. Colonial stop to length with 45-degree miters at each end. (Measure from tip to tip of the miter cuts.) Place the stop upside down on the saw’s base to make the cuts. To make returns, cut 45-degree miters on both sides of a scrap piece of stop, then cut across at 90 degrees as shown to make a triangle.
6. GLUE AND NAIL THE RETURN. Test that the triangular return piece fits neatly. Apply glue to the return piece, press it into place.
Then drive a pin nail or two to hold it until the glue dries.
7. NAIL THE FILLET. Place the fillet atop the side casing pieces. Check that it comes tight to the edge of the top jamb; if there is a gap, see the sidebar to solve the problem. Position the fillet so it overhangs the casing on each side by 1⁄2 in., and drive small nails down into the top of the casing.
8. ATTACH THE HEAD CASING. Rip-cut a piece of 1×6 to the same width as the side casings (including the attached outside corners)—about 4 1⁄4 in. Cut it to the same length as the distance from outside to outside of the side casings. Set it centered on top of the fillet. Drive nails up through the fillet and into the head casing; nail the head casing to the wall framing as well.
Modifying a Fillet for an Imperfect Wall
If your wall is wavy or otherwise imperfect (a not unusual situation, especially in an older home), you may need to shave one end of a fillet so it can come tight against the top jamb. Use a plane for a small discrepancy, or make a cutout with a tablesaw and handsaw to close a gap of more than 1⁄8 in.
Excerpted from Trim (The Taunton Press, 2015) by Steve Cory.
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