192-062 - mitered molding

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Mitee MolinSimplifiesTaitional doos

quickly. These matched bits will “cop

joint cleanly, sculptin one sie to

the othe. But these bit sets ae expe

an they elive only a shot stub t

when main a pai of oos fo a

of fine caseo, you’ll ant the

stenth of a full tenon an motise

hee the sticin intesects in th

nes, you’ll have to choices, a co

a mite.

A cope, o sculpte, joint is ex

by han an equies a cetain a

of han-tool poficiency. It also ea oue ith a seep that match

pofile of the sticin.

The tem “sticin” efes to the

decorative molding along the inside

ees of taitional oo fames.

The sticin is commonly a simple mol-

in pofile such as an ovolo o a thumb-

nail. The challene is joinin this molin

cleanly at the insie cones.

I use a mite joint that is quic an easy,

equies almost no han tools, os on

any molding profile, and allows a full mor-

tise an tenon.

If you ae constuctin a ozen o moe

oos fo itchen o shop cabinets, cope-an-stic oute bit sets can be an efficient

ay to pouce a lae numbe of oos

Power-tool technique works

for any molding profile

B Y L O N N I E B I R D

Mitee Molin

F I N E w O O d w O r k I N g62 Photos: Anissa kapsales; ains: kelly J

COPYRIGHT 2007 by The Taunton Press, Inc. Copying and distribution of this article is not permitted.



Panel OPtiOns

Panels can be flat (above) or beveled along

the edges with a raised field ( right). When

compared to a raised panel, a flat panel

appears somewhat plain, which looks

appropriate on a simple piece of furniture.

Although flat on the outside, flat panels in

solid wood are typically beveled on the inside.

This allows for a thicker, stronger panel. Either

way, panels are a great place to show off

beautiful, wide, figured stock or veneer.

FLAT PANEL

BEVELED PANEL

The mite is the easie metho, binin any

pofile toethe at a clean 45° line. Mitee

sticking is a traditional technique that has been

use by funitue caftsmen fo seveal hun-

e yeas; it is time-teste. You on’t nee

special tools o costly bits. Also, mitein al-

los the use of pofiles that cannot be cope,

such as a qui bea o an oee.

Thee may be a concen that seasonal oo

movement coul cause a ap to appea at the

mite an sho liht. I haven’t ha this pob-

lem because the rails on furniture are typically

nao an the movement is minimal in such

nao pieces.

Taitionally, sticin is mitee usin a

chisel uie by a bloc. My metho is faless time-consumin: The mites ae cut ef-

ficiently an accuately ith a tablesa an a

anatOmY Of a mOrtise-anD-tenOn

JOint with mitereD sticking

RailTenon

Mortise

Groove forpanel

MiterDecorativeprofile

(sticking)

Stile

Fillet

Panel

PanelSticking

Sticking

SMALL DOOR LARGE DOOR

3 ⁄ 8-in. or ½

radius

¼-in. or5 ⁄ 16-in. radius

The term “sticking” refers to

the decorative profile around

the inside edges of doors.

Sticking profiles are usually

simple, such as the ovolo

and thumbnail, and are sizedin proportion to the door.

For example, large doors

for a secretary may have a

thumbnail profile of 3 ⁄ 8 in. or

a ½-in. radius, while a ¼-in.

or 5 ⁄ 16-in. radius looks more

appropriate on the small

door of a spice cabinet.

the right PrOPOrtiOns

Design the

sticking

www.finewoodworking.com J U L Y / A U g U S T 2 0 0 7




Clamp the

pieces together

for accuracy.

Mark the length

of the finisheddoor on the stiles.

Then mark the rail

width, the sticking

width, and the end

of the mortise.

Scribe the mortise. A marking gauge m

it easy to score the sides of the mortise.

Transfer the lines to the edges. Use a

square to bring the layout marks to the e

of the stiles.

combination blae. Once you’ve mastee this

nique, you’e sue to fin othe uses fo it. Fo

ple, I use it to apply a qui bea to the insieof cabinet face fames an to join the complex

of a seat boa fo a es alley. This is a ve

technique that offes a lot of flexibility.

Lay out the door height, the molding profile,and the mortisesThe fist step to poucin a oo ith mitee

in is to mill the stoc so that all the fame me

ae the same thicness. diffeences can mae

cult to alin the sticin hee it joins in each c

I alays mill a couple of exta pieces of stoc f

hen settin up the tablesa an oute table.

Once you’ve mille the fame stoc, you’eto lay out the joiney. Althouh the layout po

petty staihtfoa, thee ae a couple of thi

keep in mind. First, because the sticking at the m

is emove afte mitein, the ail lenth bete

shoules of the tenons must be incease to

pensate fo the imensional chane. The ince

lenth is equal to the size of the sticin time

Also, the mortise depth must be increased by the

laY out

the

stiles

aDJust fOr

missing

sticking

The sticking

is cut away at

the mortises,

so pay special

attention

during layout.

Add length to

the rail and

depth to the

mortise.

Mortise

Sticking width

Shoulderwidth

3 ⁄ 8 in.

Extra length removedafter assembly

Depth addedto mortise

for stickingwidth

F I N E w O O d w O r k I N g64




Create the decorative profile. Leaving the

fence in place but adjusting the bit height, Bird

makes two passes. The first scores the profile

so the final cut can be made without tearout.

Groove the rails and stiles. Using a slot-

cutter, run the groove all the way through on

the rails. But on the stiles, be sure to stop and

start the groove in the mortise.

Complete the

shoulder. Kee

the tablesaw f

in the same po

raise the bladeflip the stile on

to cut the rem

of the shoulde

Use a dado s

cut the tenon

miter gauge, in

junction with a

graduated cros

ending at the r

fence, allows y

cut the cheek

establish the s

der at the sam

in ith to compensate fo the loss of epth afte

mitein (see ain, facin pae).

I bein layout ith the stiles left too lon. In fact,

I leave the stiles lon until I have finishe the fame

an I actually am eay to fit the oo to an openin.

This ensues that the ens of the motises on’t blo

out while I am cutting them and assembling the joints.

Fist, I ma the oveall heiht of the oo. This is the

most critical dimension if the door is going to fit. Next,I ma the ith of the top an bottom ails. Finally,

I ma lines fo the haunch an the ith of the ail

sticin hee it intesects the stile.

As a eneal ule, I on’t lay out the ails. Instea,

I use the stiles themselves an some simple math to

calculate the oveall lenth of the ails. Then I can

set up the tablesa to cut the tenons ith no layout

neee.

Cut the mortises first, then move on to the tenonsMy motise-an-tenon methos ae faily outine. A

hollo-chisel motise maes easy o of the mo-

tises, but a ill pess o oute an chisels ae ooalternatives. I use a dado set on the tablesaw to cut the

tenons. Once the motise-an-tenon joiney is com-

plete, you ae eay to shape the sticin pofile on

the stiles an ails.

Shape the molding profile and cut the groovesI cut both the sticin pofile an the ooves on the

oute table. with the sticin, to ensue the coect

rout the ProF

anD GrooVes

For the Panel

Chop the

mortises.

A hollow-chisel

mortiser is a

quick and

efficient way to

tackle mortises.

Cut the

JoinerY

PROFILE

THE EDG

CUT THE

GROOVE

Fence

Workp

1 ⁄ 16-in. rad

Groove,by ¼ in.

J U L Y / A U g U S T 2 0 0 7 www.finewoodworking.com




Use the reference line to make cuts. When mitering

the stiles, match the reference mark on the back-

ing board to the inside sticking line on the stile.

To miter the rail stock, align the shoulder with the

reference mark on the backing board.

Once the blade height

is set, attach a fresh

fence on the miter

gauge and run a cut

through it. Draw a

reference line from

the tip of the kerf

straight up and over

the top edge of the

fence.

Make test cuts on a

setup piece that hasbeen shaped with

the sticking profile.

The tip of the sawkerf

must be set precisely

to the width of the

sticking.

cutting depth, I align the fence with the guide

in on the bit fo the final pass.

Once I have cut the pofile on all the ai

stiles, I cut the grooves for the panel. For most

I cut a 1 ⁄ 4-in.-ie oove at a epth of 1 ⁄ 4 in.

measuements povie a snu fit fo the e

soli-oo panel hile alloin 1 ⁄ 16 in. on

sie fo seasonal expansion.

Miter the sticking The next step is to mite the sticin on the

sa usin the mite aue. To cut the mite

the blae to 45° an position the stiles an

on ee. But fist, to ensue that the mite

be pecise, I tae a fe minutes to set up th

caefully.

Fist I chec the anle of the blae by

in to pieces of stoc at 45° an placin

ithin the les of a squae. If the blae is s

cisely at 45°, the mite ill close an ceate

assembly.

Next, I ajust the blae heiht so that it e

matches the pofile ith. Seveal test cuts m

necessay to et the coect heiht.The last step to completin the tablesa

fo the mites is to fasten a bacup boa

mite aue. Mae a cut in the bacup

an ma a fine line fom the tip of the sa

up an ove the top ee of the bacup b

This ma seves as a efeence hen alini

workpieces to cut each miter, so it is very imp

that the cut is the coect heiht an that the

is mae accuately.

2 Draw a

reference line

3 make the miter cuts

Cut miters

on the

tablesaw

1 set the

blaDe height

F I N E w O O d w O r k I N g66




Slide the rails and stiles together. A beautiful fit depends on accurate layout,

tablesaw setup, and careful chisel work.

Finish by hand. Use a chise

the rest of the sticking away

Cut close to the sticking li

Cutting freehand on a bands

you can eliminate almost all

the sticking.

Transfer the sticking line. On the front

of the stock, the profile is the reference,

but you can use a marking gauge to scribe

that line on the back of the stock.

with the setup complete, you can mae the mite

cuts on both the ails an the stiles. when mitein

the stiles, alin the sticin layout ma ith the

line on the bacin boa. Fo the ails, line up the

shoule ith the line on the fence. when main

multiple oos, I clamp a thin stic to the bacin

boa to seve as a stop.

Eliminate sticking at the jointBefoe assemblin the oo, you’ll have to emove

the sticking where the joint comes together. I scribe

a line with a marking gauge on the back of the stock

to seve as a efeence ma.

On the face of the stoc, the insie ee of the

sticin seves as a efeence point. You can cut

aay most of the sticin ith a bansa an fin-

ish the cut by caefully pain to the line ith a

chisel.

At this point, if you have complete you cuts

an layout caefully an accuately, the stiles an

rails should come together perfectly. Once you have

lue up the oo, you can tim it to fit the cacase

openin. •

Lonnie Bird teaches woodworking in Dandridge, Tenn.

You can view his class schedule at www.lonniebird.com.

remoVe the stiCKinG

at the Joint

Scribe a line from the miter

cut to the end of the stock.

Sawkerf

BACKOF STILE

J U L Y / A U g U S T 2 0 0 7 www.finewoodworking.com

192-062 - mitered molding

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