Creating Custom Moldings

Molding profiles tend to represent eras in building design. As architectural details, they often serve to pinpoint a building’s place in time. Those who own period or historic homes often order custom moldings to maintain their home’s character.

Over the years, intricate moldings often indicated wealth and status. Money allowed for more custom work. However, the evolution of tools and materials has influenced how moldings are made, making complex profiles accessible to many budgets and project ranges.

Making Custom Moldings

Custom moldings can be obtained as original profiles or to match an existing profile. The first step in matching existing moldings is to remove a piece of the molding or make an exact trace or photo of it in place.

The process of recreating molding profiles is exacting and methodical. Typically, the sample is scanned in or the drawing recreated in a CAD (computer-aided design) software program. The CAD diagram then generates a code to drive numerically controlled machine tools such as a CNC template maker. The template maker produces a metal or, in some cases, plastic template. That template is then used in a profile grinder to produce molding knives to the specific shape and size of the desired profile cut. It is much like making keys, but it takes considerable skill and practice on the part of the machinist.

After the knives are ground, they are installed on a head molder. The molding material, whether it is eight feet or 5,000 feet, is sent through the knives and cut to specifications.