Moulding question - router bits

[a twig]

It’s Christmas and my dining table isn’t big enough - so I’ve made a new leaf to go in the middle and uprated the timber than supports it.

Only issue is that the existing table is 19mm thick and has a lovely double bullnose / 2 reed (depending how you want to describe it) moulding around the edge.

Now obviously I could just put a table cloth over it but my OCD is struggling with that so I’m after suggestions that don’t involve spending £60 on a router bit like this that I’ll never use again, as by the time I add up the cost of that plus £70 in timber and finishes my wife will start muttering how “we could have just bought a table the right size for that sort of money”

All inspiration welcome

 

[a twig]

8mm half round mouldings are a thing apparently but then I’ll still have to buy a flush trim router bit to remove the requisite couple of mm from the leaf, and then try to glue and pin them without them splitting.

I suppose I’d at least use the flush trim bit again in the future and it would be a lot cheaper

 

[paulc]

If you have a router table, something like this might do the job: https://www.aliexpress.com/item/32878000543.html
A couple of other alternatives spring to mind. Take a regular bull nose router bit and grind the shoulder back, but you'd want a proper tool & cutter grinder to do it well. Or if you have access to a lathe, turn the shape you want from a length of silver steel, cut flutes, and then harden/temper it.

I've done the former when modifying butchering a bit to cut a single reed for a molding I was trying to replicate. The latter, I did when I needed a gear cutter. But I doubt you'd get any one of the three suggestions in place before the new year.

 

[a twig]

I do have an old Myford but it is in dire need of some TLC / restoration so that definitely won’t be happening before Christmas!

Don’t have a proper router table just a mini one that has an palm router wanged in it - reckon gingerly pinning half round dowel might be the answer then

 

[Stevers]

gingerly pinning half round dowel might be the answer then

A pilot hole with 1.5mm drill bit will be your friend if trying that!

 

[eezageeza]

Thats quite an unusual moulding so I don't suppose many joiners will have a bit like that in stock, but you could try calling round any local joinery shops to see if they could match it for you. If they had a suitable cutter it'd only be a few minutes work, and even if they have to cobble something together using several different cutters it still shouldn't take long, or cost a fortune.

 

[Stevers]

An old wooden bead moulding plane is another way and can be very satisfying to set up and use - a little round edged whetstone is needed to sharpen them. I have three, with the one that I use the most being 5/16" - that still has it's £5 sticker on it (local salvage yard) - a bargain considering the miles of bead that's put in over the last twenty years! I also have 3/16" (Ebay) and 7/16" (salvage yard), but you'd need one that's 3/8" for a 19mm (3/4") table top.

My local joiner has cutters for single beads, and as with the wooden bead moulding plane you'd run them in one side at a time.

 

[a twig]

Good thoughts both, appreciate that thank you

 

[a twig]

Oooh, hadn't even considered doing the moulding by hand, the wood I'm using is pretty soft pine so should work, plus there seem to be loads on eBay at present for not much money at all! Worth getting one and trialing a test piece at least!

 

[Cubist]

Mind if I ask a dumb question?

If you are likely only to use the table extension once each year, would your OCD spoil your Christmas Lunch if you used a larger heat resistant pad and an equally larger table cloth?

I recall an occasion when I was considering something similar the First Lady, in anticipation of the newly enlarged table, went out and bought a ludicrously expensive antique table cloth to cover my proposed works - didn't bother after that.

 

[a twig]

Not a dumb question at all!

The plan is for the new larger leaf to stay in permanently, as due to a recent extension we now have a bigger dining room, and I'm desperate to avoid an extortionate trip to Oak Furnitureland or worse the reassuringly expensive local antique furniture place.

So yes I could put it in for Christmas covered with a table cloth and then temporarily remove it to finish it off afterwards, but as we all know these temporary jobs tend to end up staying, and would likely get de-prioritised and remain an annoyance for a long time given it would be fighting for attention against more exciting things like the rotting floor joists in a corner of the living room.

So ideally I'd like to do it once, get in in for Christmas and then it is off the list.

 

[fernicarry]

get in in for Christmas

Now you've jinxed it.... <smug Kevin McCloud face>

that don’t involve spending £60 on a router bit

I've gone through the same dilemma multiple times recently. Worth having a trawl through ebay to see if there are any suitable unused or lightly used cutters for cheap. I've grabbed a few that way.

I have quite a few corner beads and round overs of various sizes if you want to borrow. Some will be 1/2" shank though so not for a palm router. Maybe we could set up a group library of cutters?

 

[paulc]

Don’t have a proper router table just a mini one that has an palm router wanged in it - reckon gingerly pinning half round dowel might be the answer then

My router table is nothing more than a 24" square bit of MDF with the router fixed to the underside and mounted on an old B&D WorkMate. Fence is just another strip of MDF held in place with a couple of coach bolts. You don't need anything fancy or expensive.

 

[a twig]

My router table is nothing more than a 24" square bit of MDF with the router fixed to the underside and mounted on an old B&D WorkMate. Fence is just another strip of MDF held in place with a couple of coach bolts. You don't need anything fancy or expensive.

Yep mine is only slightly less agricultural - no issue from that side of things, the main problem is the cheap Erbauer palm router that is strapped to the underside to power it doesn’t have much grunt

 

[paulc]

the main problem is the cheap Erbauer palm router that is strapped to the underside to power it doesn’t have much grunt

Light cuts is the way to go.
I found when trying to take big cuts, the timber would get ripped to shreds. Ended up cutting as much of the waste as I could on the table saw, and then multiple passes on the router table. With only 3mm or so to take off, you could probably do it in a couple of passes.