Thread: Making skirting boards

We had a demo at one of our recent club meetings on just this thing. A piece of pine turned into skirting by doing 2 things:

1. Cut a 45 degree bevel on the top using a Triton bit.

2. Cut the rebate in the back using a straight bit and making a couple of passes. This allows for plaster sheets to slot in behind , as is done on skirting you buy.

The 45 degree bevel could be altered depending on what bits you have available.

I think it would be OK for plain type skirting but colonial designs will be more difficult. I've just purchased some for our current renovations in preference to making it.

what size stock do you intend using and what is the lenght of the cutters you have purchased?

I made bullnose skirting from 75x20mm oregon. It was just a simple roundover. If you want something fancy, you can combine bits in multiple passes. Say a roundover, a v-groove and a cove. Or you could use a vertical panel raising bit. I've seen complicated moulding cutters in catalogues if you want to go that route.

Mine was done on an old style Triton router table, not that it should make any difference. I cut the lengths to size first and then cut the moulding profile. That results in less waste when doing architraves.

Sorry mate but I probably didn't really make that clear. I've purchased pre-made colonial skirting in preference to nmaking it.

If you want to make your own, the standard would be to buy some 19mm x 65mm pine in appropriate lengths. The cutters I would use would be my 1/2 inch Triton bits that you get in that starter pack they have. there's a straight bit, 45 dgree bevel and a round over bit. I think it's around $100 for the set.
You can get large bits to do colonial mouldings but I think good ones would'nt be cheap. Whatever you do, get good quality. I've tried those cheaper ebay type bits and mostly they go blunt quickly and burn the timber.

I justy though that around $5 per meter, the mdf pre-made archs were pretty reasonable. I'm actually at home this afternoon putting some in.

sounds like it would be interesting to see what I could come up with. Thanks for the info guys.

Gumby, $5 metre for MDF sounds expensive to me (when I start thinking about how much wall space I have). Have you factored in the cost of prepping and painting the MDF?

Be interested to hear how you are finishing it and how the job goes. Keep us posted

cheers

RB

I'm doing the window frames at the moment. The skirtings are the same moulding, only wider boards. (about 95mm I think)

Here's a shot to show you the moulding style.

Finish is just gloss enamel

Gumby

Your mouldings look like they are coved (hollowed), and then bullnosed. If so, the cove could be done on a tablesaw and the bullnose on the router table.

Regards from Perth

Derek

The cost and time in making them at home would not make it worth it to me, the bits will set u back $50 + for a simple design. Then there is the cost of the DAR timber or sawn if you have a thicknesser.

I know that the cost of purchasing simple profiles off the shelf from proper old style timber yards is the same price as DAR, it is only when you go to buy fancy stuff the price rockets.

Ring around a few timber yards and get the price's you can buy 90x18mm for well under $4.00 plm. In Syd there a few places that sell cheaper than that,

If making them at home be carefully with the MDF that stuff is bad news if you have to route a heap of it.

Originally Posted by derekcohen

Gumby

Your mouldings look like they are coved (hollowed), and then bullnosed. If so, the cove could be done on a tablesaw and the bullnose on the router table.

Regards from Perth

Derek

True derek but I just don't fancy working with long lengths and trying to get it all even etc. I'm taking the lazy way out !

I made some chair rail from cypres pine using a bit from carb-i-tool (tfm 60 b 1/2). It cost $106.10 from www.apworkshop.com.au and was worth every bit of that. It took 3 passes and the bigest problem I had was the timber lifting off my triton table mainly when doing longer lengths. I'm happy with the results because it is somthing I cant buy.

Originally Posted by Redback

Has anyone made skirting boards using their router?

The wife wants us to put skirting boards all around the house. The neighbours across the road just spent a fortune buying moulded pine skirting boards. They are probably 100 mm high (this is a guess)

I couldnt believe how much they cost. I am thinking I could do smaller skirting boards and use the router to cut a pattern into some timber or MDF (our current interior painting and tiles probably wouldnt suit a timber look skirting board).

Anyway, is their a router bit that could do this? and to what height skirting boards could be done? I have a triton router and table.

cheers

RB

CarbatecWA have profile bits
Profile Bits

Bunnings have MDF skirting which is very cheap, already primed from memory.

I bought a set of 6 similar to all of the Carbatec ones from Timbecon at the Melb WW show. Cost me about $250 for the set in a timber box.

Grumpy

the moulding you used look like the same i have
mine are hardwood and think by memory was about $3 somethng a metre at bunnings

Originally Posted by aussiecolector

I made some chair rail from cypres pine using a bit from carb-i-tool (tfm 60 b 1/2). It cost $106.10 from www.apworkshop.com.au and was worth every bit of that. It took 3 passes and the bigest problem I had was the timber lifting off my triton table mainly when doing longer lengths. I'm happy with the results because it is somthing I cant buy.

The timber was lifting, you should be using finger boards to hold it against the fence and down on the table top, plus you get the extra safety of kickback arresting and no need of putting fingers near the cutter. Infeed and outfeed tables would be ideal too.
I think its viable to cut your own skirting, the price can get phenomenal once a nice design is used, was talking to a bloke tonight who said his cost an extra $1600 for an extra 20mm in height with 1 extra cove!(they were custom made...) Makes you want a spindle moulder doesn't it, pays for itself in 1 job, and once people know you can do it...