Replies

1. 
   Mr._Pita | Feb 26, 2002 12:34am | #1

   *
   Some friends had a contractor run crown in their dining room. One wall bumps out and is curved to about 15-18" radius. (Maybe 6' straight run, inside corner, then immediately the radius section, transitions to maybe 10' straight run) The contractor had the great idea to (I guess steam) bend the regular crown to go around the curve, but it didn't work - the ends raised up, when looking at the crown from a horizontal plane. The contractor fixed his mistake by cutting the crown into maybe 12 sections. These pieces were installed, and painted over. When done, my friends tell me it looked OK, but now it is VERY obviously sectioned. The work was done at some point maybe 6 months ago, not sure.

   Now, they want to know what they can do to fix this as a DIY project. (Too many contractor problems, with multiple contactors - they don't want to ever see another contractor on their property. It's a rural area, so not many to choose from.)

   I mentioned a few ideas when I was there. One, use plenty of filler and try to reproduce the molding profile while getting it to a more pefectly rounded form. Maybe the cheapest way, only costs filler & sandpaper, but a PITA to do. Two, use a plaster crown that can be profiled in place. Might require hiring a real plasterer, which would take some doing, or a LOT of practice to get it right. But I am told this was the way the room was originally, so a valid option. Three, cut the molding into thin strips in a vertical plane, and bend them to form the radius, much like some curved railings are done. With this method, I would assume a solid backing would need to be attached (in the triangular gap) to ease ripping and assembly. While writing this, I have now thought of the urethane foam moldings - I assume they could be ordered to a custom radius, maybe not.

   Any other ideas?

1. 
   Stan_Foster | Feb 26, 2002 03:50am | #2

   *Mr. PitaThe easiest way is just to find someone to make it in flex mould, but for the satisfaction of doing it yourself, it is more rewarding. Heres how I have done it. I have never tried the plaster method, mainly because I only work in wood.You hit pretty close with filling in the crown with solid wood. I filled in the triangular void behind the crown with a glued in piece of wood. I glued up twice as much in straight crown as I needed to for the curved piece. One piece of crown is labeled A, the other B. There is a very systematic way to take alternate rips from A and B, and then glue them all together to make a curved profile exactly matching the straight profile. This is a little complicated to explain, but if you keep rereading it and follow the logic, you will see how it works.1 .....Make a three inch tall shim that is the exact width of your tablesaw saw kerf.2 ....determine what thickness will comfortably bend around your desired radius. For an example-lets say 1/4 inch3 ....set yours saw to rip 1/4 inch4 ...take crown A and rip off a 1/4 laminate off the back. Set this aside..this will be your first laminate for your curved crown5 ....place shim against saw fence and take crown B and rip off the back. Discard this piece.6 ....remove shim and run crown B through again, and set aside this 1/4 inch rip. This will be your second laminate for your curved crown. 7 ...place shim back against fence and take crown A through the saw, and discard this piece. 8 ...remove shim and take crown A through again and set aside this 1/4 inch rip. This will be the third laminate.9 ...replace the shim, and running crown B through, discard rip, take out shim, and run crown B through again. This 1/4 inch rip will be your fourth laminate.NOTE: This method allows you to stack together the laminates that are now in sequence, just as if they were cut out of one piece of crown with zero saw kerf. Its not bad at all making the sequenced laminates, but gluing them up is a little tougher. I have placed each laminate one at a time on with glue and brads that are hidden by the next laminate.Hope this makes sense. The logic of it takes a while to sink in, but when it does, you wont forget it.

1. 
   Mr._Pita | Feb 26, 2002 05:33pm | #3

   *Thanks, Stan. That does make sense, and is exactly the process I was thinking of. The one key piece I wasn't thinking of was the shim the thickness of the kerf. It'd be kind of a pain, but fun to me. (I have a warped sense of humor/fun, no pun intended.)

1. 
   Jeff_Clarke_ | Feb 26, 2002 08:54pm | #4

   *Sean - You could have someone else make it who makes curved crown all the time, like Lititz Planing Mill (717) 626-2186 c/o Jeff May - he's in your general vicinity, too.Jeff

1. 
   Mr._Pita | Mar 02, 2002 01:59am | #5

   *Thanks, Jeff, I'll pass the number along. My friends' place is in northeast MD (as opposed to North East, MD) and they go up that way semi-frequently for farm supplies. Also, I'm replying to shamelessly move this to the top for the weekend & higher traffic... :)