Tuesday, April 1, 2008

Handcut Dentil Moulding


The PA German Hanging Cupboard in the sidebar is a reproduction of a cupboard housed at the Winterthur Museum. I learned how to make this cupboard in a class taught by Gene Landon at Olde Mill Cabinet Shoppe.

The most impressive part of the cupboard is the crown moulding and I think, specifically, the dentil moulding. When those of us taking Gene's class first saw his reproduction, we gasped. And I thought, "How the heck did he figure that out?"

Making the dentil moulding is surprisingly simple. At left are progress shots of the layout and the series of saw cuts. Each tooth is 3/8" square. The pointed part of the tooth is half the height and width of each square and is created by cutting a 45 degree angle from the top two corners of each tooth.

I used a 24 tpi Zona saw, but you can use a scroll saw or coping saw or whatever you like, just so it makes a fine cut. Touch up saw cuts with a small chisel, if necessary.

That's all there is to it! Some clever 18th c. carpenter figured that out and made one impressive kitchen cupboard.







10 comments:

Identity Mixed said...

My inner girly girl is always amazed at how good your nails look. How do you do it?

Kari Hultman said...

LOL! Another person commented on my nails before and I told him they were zinc-coated. ; )

Vic Hubbard said...

Nice dentil molding. Nice nails, too:-D

Brad Ferguson said...

How many hours did it take to handcut all those teeth, and to make the rest of the molding?

Kari Hultman said...

Brad, I didn't keep my time on it, but all of the moulding was made by hand with moulding planes and saws and probably took about 4-6 hours.
It helped that Bess, at Olde Mill, had all of the moulding planes we needed to make the various profiles.

Thanks, Vic!

sticks said...

Great dentil moulding, You made it look so easy! I love easy!!1 Keep up the good work and thanks for sharing
Sticks

Kari Hultman said...

Thanks, Sticks! I like easy, too. (Short atttention span...)

anteakhuntr said...

Hi - New to your blog. Really like the dentil moulding. Think I can use it on my current project (tall case clock). Also enjoy your travel reports. I am originally from central PA - lived in Steelton when I was born - and still get back every couple of years and am always looking for interesting places to visit.

Kari Hultman said...

anteakhuntr, that's great---I hope you can use the dentil moulding. Steelton is just across the river from me! Have you ever been to the Mercer Museum in Doylestown?
http://www.mercermuseum.org/
It houses lots of antique tools.

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