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When you need to replicate an old piece of molding, or match the profile of a molding plane because you need to form a shape on a piece with a radius edge, a scratch beader can be just the thing. Our reproduction Poole & Williams Windsor Beader cutters will match a lot of existing shapes but for the times they don’t, we offer a cutter with six edges that can be ground to most any profile.
The following techniques can be
used on about any piece of steel but we think a hardened piece
of spring steel works the best. You can cut up an old saw blade
or worn out cabinet scraper or order small pieces of spring
steel from the online supply houses – we use .05” blued spring
steel in our tools. For this example I’ve run some mahogany with a 1/8” side-bead plane and cut off a small piece to use as a guide;
I call it a “mullet”, for lack of a better term. Layout tools include a permanent marker with a broad tip, a scratch awl or machinist’s scriber with a good sharp point, a contour gauge and, in this case, the mullet. I used the mullet here because I wanted to be sure to replicate the exact profile of the product of the molding plane on hand.
If copying an existing shape (e.g. a piece of molding you are stripping paint from) you will need to use the profile gauge. Be sure and “zero out” the gauge first by pressing it against a flat surface.
The edge pressed into the molding will be the profile transferred to the cutter.
Use the marker to paint the metal surface of the cutter lay the mullet or contour gauge on the metal and use your scriber to scratch through the marker ink to make the profile.
I’ve used another piece of metal the same thickness as the cutter to make the mullet lie flat and not wobble.
Check to see you have a good, legible profile; if not, just paint over the metal again and repeat the process. Careful not to poke yourself with the scribe!
Once I’m satisfied with the profile I move to the hand grinder. You can use a power grinder if you are in a big hurry but I like using the hand cranked tool for a couple reasons: one, it’s of course SAFER as you don’t have the a powered, abrasive wheel, spinning around at 3500 rpm and apt to catch the part and throw it back at you at a similar speed. Two, it is a bit harder to burn the steel with a hand grinder, but you can do it, so don’t try to wear off all the meat in one pass. And, three, did I mention it is SAFER to use the hand tool? In either case, please be sure to wear some eye protection, in case things go awry. Use the grinder to wear off most of the waste; don’t expect it to really define the profile. Set your guide so that you can approach the wheel at a right angle to its rotation.
Keep your fingers out of the way (you can use a small pair of vise grips too) and grind down to just short of the line.
Mount the part in a vise... ...and use hand files or a handheld grinder to finish,
...checking your profile against the mullet or work piece as you go.
Once you are satisfied you’ve achieved the exact profile try it on a test piece.
The next article in this series will concentrate on the sharpening and use of our Poole & Williams cutter with multiple molding shapes around the edge.
The third article will discuss a new tool on the way from KCWTW. Kevin Brennan |
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