Sawdust on the Floor

Getting the three upper book cases in place and secured to the wall seemed easy, easier than trying to figure out how to trim them out. I was faced with three open shelf book cases, pretty damn boring and plain looking. I wanted something to tie them together, something to make them look like one unit instead of three separate units.

Looking at several pictures of built in bookcase, I noticed that almost every one featured wide molding along the top of the book, this wide molding often featured dentil molding which was further capped with crown molding. I also noticed that most of the vertical trim molding featured fluted case work.  After thinking about it for a while we decided to try to replicate this treatment on our built in book case.

Unfortunately, I don’t have ready access to a mill shop where I can purchase hardwood molding, so like most of us I am limited to the hardwood molding offered by the big DIY stores.  While their selection seems to be getting better, it is still very limited in variety, while at the same time the price seems to be escalating.  So it wasn’t much of a surprise that they didn’t have either the dentil molding or any fluted case work that would fit my requirements.  So, as I tend to often do, I decided to make my own molding in my shop.

I started by working on the vertical molding that would cover the joints where the three units are connected together. This same molding would be used along the left and right hand edges of the case, where the case met the side walls. My first thought was to use 1 1/2″ wide molding to cover the joints, but when I put a straight edge over these vertical joints, I noticed that they tended to wander in and out ever so slightly.  The drift wasn’t significant, but I realized that the molding had to be wider to cover this drifting.  So the molding became 2″ wide.  The length of the vertical fluted trim was set to 62 1/3″.  This is the distance from the bottom of the upper book case to the bottom edge of the top fixed shelf of the case.  I wanted the edge of the upper shelf to be covered by the horizontal dentil molding.

I went through the same process for preparing the stock for the molding as I would for any other piece of narrow stock used in my shop.  One edge is dressed flat on the jointer, then the stock is ripped to a width slightly wider then desired.  This second edge is then also dressed on the jointer. This step is to remove any marks left by the table saw blade.  After getting the edges dressed, I then make one surface flat, by passing it over the jointer.  The final step is to pass the stock through the surface planer, with the only face not yet dressed against the knives of the planer.  This ensures that your stock is truly flat and square.

The set up for cutting the flutes actually took longer than the act of cutting them.  I installed a 1/4″ diameter fluting bit in the shaper, set the fence of the shaper so that there was exactly a 1/2″ from the face of the fence to the inside edge of the bit. The fluting bit was set for 3/8″ height off of the table surface. Then I measured 2″ from the front and rear ends of the bit and drew reference lines on the shaper table.  I wanted to stop the flutes at 2″ of either end of the stock, and these lines would serve as the starting and stopping position of the stock as it passes over the bit.  I also installed a feather board on the table to keep the stock securely against the fence. Then, with my dust collector attached to the shaper and my hearing protection on, I cut the flutes into the trim stock.

With the bit at full speed, the stock is slowly lowered down onto the bit.  The trick is to lower the stock exactly the mark 2″ from the rear of the bit. I find that this is sometimes easier said than done.  I finally resolved that it’s better to lower the stock so that it’s just past the end marker, and then carefully pull the stock back slowly until you reach the first marker. If you choose to use this method, ensure that you have the stock secured with a good feather board, and that the contact between the stock and the fence is very tight.  Otherwise the stock can be thrown back at you. It also goes without saying, use push sticks to move the stock past the bit. 

When the stock reaches the other mark on your shaper top, stop pushing and turn the machine OFF.  It’s safer to remove the stock after the bit has stopped turning than to try and remove it while the bit is spinning. Now turn the stock end for end and repeat the process to cut the other flute. Doing so will hopefully produce two flutes that are 1/2″ from either edge, and a 1/2″ apart from each other.

I found out that when I pulled the stock back toward the bit, it tended to burn the wood. So a little more hand sanding was required to clean up the flutes and remove any burn marks.  For most of the flutes, I simply wrapped pieces of sandpaper over a 1/4″ dowel rod,  for the ends I used the same sandpaper, but switched to a rubber sanding pad that conformed to the shape of the flute.

The five fluted trim pieces were sanded and finished using the same processes as the book case.  After they were dry they were installed with glue and finish nails from my pneumatic nail gun. As they were installed, I used my 4′ level to ensure that they went up totally vertical and that they were centered over the joints.  The two outside pieces were scribed into the side walls and the 4′ level was used to ensure that the inside edge of these pieces were installed totally vertical. 

I know that I should trust my ability to measure, but I’ve learned the hard way that it’s much better to mark, rather then to measure. With that concept in mind, I wanted these vertical pieces in place before I laid out the dentil molding. The reason for this is that I wanted the teeth of the dentil molding over the five vertical fluted trim pieces to align perfectly with the vertical pieces.  I realized that the spacing between the fixed teeth might have to be adjusted, and I could live with that, just so that the five vertical pieces aligned correctly. So knowing the width of the room, and the placement of the five vertical trim pieces I could calculate the spacing  between the teeth. 

But it’s time to clean up the shop for the day and get cleaned up for dinner.  Hope to see you later.

Related posts:

1. Woodworking Projects:Built-in Book Case Part Two
2. Woodworking Project: Built-in Book Case Part Three
3. Woodworking Projects – Memorabilia Case
4. Woodworking Projects: The Newel Post Part II
5. Woodworking Project: Built in Book Cases