To make a somewhat complicated molding in the edge of a board, like the one in the picture, we have basically the same problems as when making plywood gears like the ones we saw in a previous post: we need the most perfect possible drawing of the shape we want to cut; and we need some way to make the cuts in the wood with sufficient precision.
This project occurred to me by chance, when I was planning to make a wall mount for the thermometer and in the end decided to focus on making a more complicated molding to the wooden board. And I have to say that it was a surprise to see how successful the video was on my YouTube channel.
Despite using as a drawing template the metal plate from a wall thermometer that I planned to screw onto this board, making a symmetrical drawing and repeating it the same on the other side of the board was a bit tricky.
In the video I explain in detail how I made the drawing once I decided on the shape you see in the picture.
To cut with sufficient precision a band saw would be perfect, but in my case I’ll settle for my homemade table jigsaw. I just have to plan the cuts a little bit, without trying to force the cut when making the curved cuts. I first make straight cuts to remove most of the wood. I continue with the upper curve, which shape I can make by cutting half to one side and half to the other side.
And then I cut the curved corners without much trouble (something that would be a bit more complicated with the hand held jigsaw tool). Now I just have to cut the small inner curves, which I was going to drill with a drill bit with a radius equal to the radius of the curve. But since I was not sure I could drill in the exact place in all four cases, and any deviation would be too noticeable as the molding would no longer be perfectly symmetrical, I decided to approximate the curves with cuts perpendicular to the line, being very careful not to cut the line.
A little work with the coarse file making sure to keep the cuts vertical to the surface of the board, and going over the marks with the medium grit sandpaper.
I clamp the board on the worktable, and now I can route the molding, on the edge of the board, with the router machine.
