The Technique of FURNITURE MAKING

WORKING MOULDINGS

Some form of spindle-moulder/-shaper or high­speed router is almost indispensable in any trade workshop, but where such facilities do not exist or the length of moulding required hardly justifies grinding a cutter blank and setting up a machine, then hand methods must be used. Very few craftsmen now own a set of moulding - planes, nor are they freely obtainable, while the scratch stock is hardly suitable for deep mouldings. In working the moulding shown in 309:1 much of the rough work can be done by making a succession of saw cuts (309:2) and then planing off to the dotted line; or working a series of grooves (309:3) in the order stated, as a firm shoulder must be left for the plough - plane fence. If the capacity of the plane allows it additional grooves can be worked, but the number shown will probably be the limit, and here again the waste is planed off as in 309:2.

314 Lippings/edgings

Final shaping will have to be done with bullnose rabbet - or shoulder-plane, chisel or scraper, and the hollow (309:2A) worked with a gouge or scraper ground to a suitable curve, shown in 310, while it will pay to make shaped rubbers out of pine blocks for final sanding (311). If a spindle-moulder is used it will be more usual to form the moulding in two sections (309:4), thus avoiding heavy cuts.

FLUTINGS, REEDINGS, ETC.

Flutings can be worked with a scratch stock if small in section (see Moulded legs, p. 209), but wider flutings must be cut with a gouge or formed with a suitable round moulding-plane if available, and 312 illustrates a typical fluting worked cross-grain on a drawer front by the latter method. If necessary, battens can be cramped/clamped across the face of the work to form a guide for the plane, but the example shown was worked entirely without guides. The flutes were laid out with pencil, the cross-flutes worked first and the half-fluting to the surrounds worked afterwards to take out any chipped edges.

Various moulded details are illustrated in 313: 1-2 are carcass or table-top treatments; 3-8 show drawer fronts and 9-11 carcass edges.