Picture Rail Dilemma

[Spoilt Victorian Child]

I wanted to reinstate a scotia type picture rail into the master bedroom of a 3 bed Victorian house, but am having problems finding anything that I think is thick enough for the height of room - I wonder if I'm being too picky?

The room height is 2.7m (about 9ft) and floor area is just under 4m x 4m (13' x 13').

All the off-the-shelf picture rails I can find say they are 50mm thick (2"), but in reality when I measure them are about 45mm. Either way, I 'feel' they should be just a little more bulky, eg 55mm - 60mm. Although I can't find any of this size. So maybe I'm barking up the wrong tree anyway?

Just wondering what other people think/have, if there's a rule of thumb size wise, if there's any suppliers I've yet to find? (London based), etc....

 

[noj]

The joy of timber dimensions - nominal and finished!

Timber always starts with a 'nominal' size (which is what it started from) - you then often get a finished size, which is what it is/was once it had been planed or profiled - then it can change again, based on moisture content!

If you're south of the river then Champion do the sort of size you want http://www.championtimber.com/Timber/dado-and-picture-rails/25-x-63mm-nom-picture-rail-no-1001 and I've always found their quality vastly exceeds the DIY sheds, Travis Perkins etc

 

[Spoilt Victorian Child]

Yeah, I reckon I could do with 50mm (2") finished. This is the size my neighbour has (as original) in their house.

Sadly am not south of the river, and that one, (their largest) is maybe just a bit too sculpted.

 

[plasticpigeon]

I got some made up by midland mouldings. We used PR4.

https://midlandmouldings.co.uk/timber-mouldings-picture-rail.php

They are miles from London, but there will definitely be a joinery shop/woodyard where you live that has cutters ready ground with something suitable. The problem is set up cost are quiet a lot (£50 - £100 I think) so can be more than the price of the material is you only need a bit. However it is probably worth it as you will have to look at it every day!

 

[Feltwell]

Dresser Mouldings do a couple of larger ones:-

https://www.dressermouldings.com/store/picture-rails/

 

[Abi Cott]

If you can find someone with a spindle moulder they can make pretty much any profile you desire. They could even recreate the moulding in your neighbours house.

Your looking for a one man operation though. Spindle moulders are no longer legal for use by employees under Health and Safety regs. If you're an owner operator you can do what the hell you like. My window guy is going to make mine

 

[MikeG]

......... Spindle moulders are no longer legal for use by employees under Health and Safety regs.........

Are you sure? With self-feeders, guarding, and safety cutters they are not only standard in every joinery shop in the land, they are also extremely safe.* There was one in use in the local medium sized joinery workshop I visited last week.

Here is the HSE Guide for safe use of spindle moulders, published in July last year.



*Manually fed, old fashioned cutters, and with poor guarding then yes, they are renowned for being dangerous.

 

[Abi Cott]

Are you sure? With self-feeders, guarding, and safety cutters they are not only standard in every joinery shop in the land, they are also extremely safe.* There was one in use in the local medium sized joinery workshop I visited last week.



*Manually fed, old fashioned cutters, and with poor guarding then yes, they are renowned for being dangerous.

No I'm not sure, but the two people I've met willing to make mouldings in small quantities for an only slightly eyewatering price have been one man bands using the old style of cutter (cutters bought in great quantity when the big boys off loaded them in great quantities.)

I need 18ft of skirting to match my original and my window renovator is happy to provide it. He might need to use a couple of different cutters to recreate it but he's got hundreds to choose from and he isn't going to add the cost of having a new one cut to my bill, which would make 18ft of moulding prohibitively expensive.

 

[Abi Cott]

I also have a minor advantage of having a partner that was apprenticed as a wood machinist and worked his way up to tool room manager, a job that largely entailed precision grinding of new cutters. I don't pretend to understand everything he says about whitehill blocks and the two cutter and four cutter options, but the difference between a cutter requiring an anti-kick back finger and one without in terms of production cost is significant.

 

[Abi Cott]

He's given me a bit of extra info. An anti kick back finger prevents the operatives hand being dragged into the machine and it chewing his fingers off if he's a bit distracted or hungover. The other advantage of the new whitehill blocks is the "peg" fixing prevents worn bolts allowing 4" x 2" razor sharp pieces of metal flying out at the speed of a bullet and killing people standing near by. (But a good operative should be able to tell if it's getting worn). He's missing 1/4" off his left thumb, but I get the impression this is fairly minor for someone working in wood machining prior to the puwer regulations.

 

[Easrow]

You could cheat a bit too depending on how original you want it. You could use the stuff you found which is a bit small then add some trim/moulding below it on the wall butt up to the rail. That way you can choose the style and sizes. A bit of caulk and paint...done. no one will ever know. Failing that have you tried a reclamation yard?