On 13 May, 12:21, andyv wrote:
I know a lot of this has been discussed before but I can't quite sort
out what I need. I have an old Victorian property which has been badly
messed about with lots of non original skirting boards, architraves
and window surrounds. There are however plenty of original bits I can
copy.

I've considered getting a router or maybe a spindle moulder, but don't
know much about these. I've presumed that a router is a small hand
held version of a spindle moulder, though you can get benches to
attach your router to to get greater precision.

How though do you go about getting the shape you need right.
Presumably cutter profiles from Victorian times are not still
available. *The fluting on some of my mouldings is quite complex. Do
you need to make several passes with different cutters, and try and
make it match the old shape?

I saw in one thread about making your own cutters. How is this done?
Is it a DIY proposition?

A spindle moulder is a large, heavy and expensive machine - with a
reputation for snatching fingers from the inexperienced or careless.

You might pay someone to run you some custom mouldings for you on a
spindle moulder, it's not a realistic proposition to consider one of
your own for a domestic project.

However running your own mouldings with a router mounted on a table,
is very doable.

If the moulding is unusual you will need several passes and some
ingenuity to produce it. Particularly after the initial cut on a
rectangular section timber, there's likely to be a need to support the
moulding in different ways on subsequent passes.

If you have no experience of routers, expect to spend some time
mastering it in order to get good results.

Have a look through the cutters offered by Trend and through Axminster
to see if there's something suitable. But also take a sample of your
required moulding to a larger timber merchant - you might be lucky, or
find something not-too-far-off that can be adapted.

If you look at Axminster (.co.uk) you'll also see what a spindle looks
like and costs, and that cutters are fairly cheap with a very
extensive range. That's the deal - a very expensive and very powerful
machine that can rapidly cut deep and complex mouldings - but cutters
are cheap.