I am curious what the accepted practice is for joining shorter lengths of hardwood molding to fit long runs. Suggestions?
I am curious what the accepted practice is for joining shorter lengths of hardwood molding to fit long runs. Suggestions?
For paint grade work, I'd just use finger joints. For molding that will have a clear finish, I'd use a scarf joint, just as you would for crown molding, etc.
Regards,
John
Use a scarf joint and make sure you glue the joint very, very well.
I scarf cut and do a biscuit joint indexing off the back side, cutting a #20 slot but inserting a #10 biscuit (due to the inside miter cut). I will further add a glued and screwed strip of 1/2" ply on the back side. Gone back to job sites 5 yrs later and joint is still tight.
David Werkheiser
+1 on scarf. I extended some of my cleat wall system cleats this way and no failures despite many moves of fixtures.
"A hen is only an egg's way of making another egg".
– Samuel Butler
A long scarf joint can be nearly invisible. You can make a jig for a SCMS to basically hold the miters at 20 degrees off of 90, like a large plywood sine block. I imagine the same could work on the TS with the right sled. It gives a good glue joint that can be clamped or pinned. For paint grade work we run long lengths. How short are you talking? Too many shorts in stain grade can give a pretty choppy look. Much more than one or two joints in 20' is pushing it.
Not sure if that was clear, but basically I'm talking about cutting a 70-80 degree miter like a shipscarf.
Ok, "scarf joint" is a new term. Please explain.
Here's a decent description:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scarf_joint
Dave Falkenstein aka Daviddubya
Cave Creek, AZ
Link #1 by Google is http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scarf_joint
Doug, the "Wood Loon"
Acton, MA
72, slow road cyclist, woodworking dabbler, tool junkie , and bonsai enthusiast.
Now, if I could just stay focused longer than a few weeks...
ditto on the scarf joint. just made a piece to go on floor between kitchen and living room in the house my brother just flipped and except for the slight grain difference you could hardly tell it was 2 pieces. came out better than i expected if i say so myself!
Biscuit and glue, clamp and sand.
If you are on site, scarf joint with glue on a stud.
Oh I use that joint all the time. Didn't know it had a name. Thanks.
Be sure to take the time to glue the scarf joint!
I take it a step further when running crown molding and install an angled backer (8 or 10" long more or less) that sits against the back of the crown at the joint. I glue the crown to the wood backer and I also use three or four pin nails from my pinner right through the scarf joint to keep it perfectly positioned.