Craftsman molding head

[Rick Potter]

I have a large selection, 23 sets, of Craftsman molding head cutters, never used, along with some I have used. I also have three or four Craftsman molding heads in three different sizes.

I would like to use them in a Delta molding head rather than the Craftsman head because it is much heavier, and should run smoother. I know of Carob, and they make both styles. Their drawings show the cutters being the same size. I know the Delta cutters do not fit the Craftsman head because they do not have the groove, but the website does not say if the Craftsman cutters will fit the Delta head.

Yes, I called Carob, and I got a lady who may not have understood the question. So I ask the question.....

.

Has anyone used Craftsman cutters in a Delta head, or is there a reason they won't fit? Maybe the hole is a different size?

Thanks
Rick Potter

[david brum]

Rick, I have a Delta moulding head. I got it for making beading in wainscoting. Unbelievably easy. Anyway, I'm pretty sure the Delta has a larger diameter hole. The hole on mine measures .360 with a substantial chamfer.

What about getting the larger Carob Cutter head? It looks like a pretty hefty piece of steel and fits your cutters.

[Bruce Wrenn]

Craftsman won't fit Delta heads. It's a molding head, with either one or three cutters, so you can't expect it to run but so smooth, no which brand.

[Rick Potter]

Thanks David. My Craftsman blades have a 9/32 hole with no chamfer, so I guess I will just stick to my Craftsman molding head. Looking at the picture of the Carob head for my cutters it looks pretty much like mine, much thinner than the Delta, to fit in the blade grooves.

Thanks Bruce. Yup, It's not as smooth as a shaper, and you do not want to use it on MDF or particle board, but on wood it is smoother than I thought it would be. I really like it for making beadboard. It is the only way I have to make a bead in the center of a board, or sheet of plywood. My favorite cutter is a three way that makes 1/2 round overs, 1/4 round overs, and a single bead. The cutter I use the most is a fingernail shape that I use to make cove molding...less sanding than using a saw blade.

Rick Potter

[david brum]

I get good results from mine, even on mdf, although I admit that I don't use it often. I initially tried a bead cutting router bit to make beading and swore I'd never do it again. The geometry just isn't there for cut quality or cutter life on one of those little guys. It's a perfect application for a moulding head. Quick and easy on a table saw, as long as you're cautious.

It's pretty easy to sharpen the cutters with a water stone. I do the same thing with with the HSS cutters on my Euro shaper head.

[Rick Potter]

I like to use wet/dry sandpaper, it works pretty good too.

Rick P

PS: Someday, I am going to find a picture of some shadow boxes my dad made around 1955, and make a couple duplicates using his old tools, including a molding set that was his. They were black boxes, with bright red combed plywood wings, shelves held up by solid clear Plexiglas rods that were lit by a lite bulb behind the wings...........pure 50's, probably got the idea from Popular Mechanix.

[Rick Lizek]

I have several of the craftsman single knife molding heads and I love them because I can easily grind a custom knife in minutes literally. I have several of the three knife cutterheads as well and have no problem with those either.

[John McClanahan]

Rick, How do you get 3 cutters ground exactly the same? I have a 3 cutter Craftsman and need to make a custom profile. I'm thinking I should start with a single head cutter.

John

[Rick Lizek]

You misread my post. I only do custom knives on the single knife. While the original poster thought his Craftsman 3 knife head was as vibration free as a delta head I have no problems with the. 3 knife head.

I can grind knives for the 3 knife head it's not worth the time. I even know the formula to draw the correct profile as the knife is on a chord of the circle the actual knife profile is elongated and not a simple cross section of the original profile of the moulding.

[Mel Fulks]

Rick, I made a "sweep rule" for the three inch diameter slotted shaper cutters. Used it to make knife layout patterns for hand grinding .Also can be used to check an existing set of knives to see how deep actual cut will be. I think your mention of the concept is the only one I've seen except for the book instructions for the layout. Amazing how many prefer trial and
error to measuring.

[Bruce Wrenn]

Where I used to get custom molding, there was an older gentleman, who would look at sample of molding, quickly generate just one knife to run a sample piece. If sample matched, he then used duplicator to make the additional knives, plus an extra for a future pattern. AMAZING to watch him do this in less than a half hour. He knew what he was doing!