The Custom Milling Process
1. A Sample or Designs
Samples are pulled from a part of an existing structure that is under renovation or in disrepair. If it is difficult to find a piece of millwork that can be cut off and brought in, please call us and we can work out how to get the exact measurements.
2. Making the Profile and Blades
We'll take your sample to produce wood molding profiles and then grind down steel into a blade for our moulder that will recreate the sample.
3. Running the Moulder
To manufacture the product we set up the moulder and run your wood through! This involves setting the blades into the heads and watching carefully as each piece is finished.
3. Your Designs Come to Life
Once the product has made its way through our system it's ready to be picked up and installed!
Reviving the Past
Historically Accurate Custom Millwork Matching
In todays world of craftsman houses and modern design it can be hard to find a source for older designs, especially when you are matching your mouldings. We custom match your designs precisely so that you can keep your sympathetic restorative look and make repairs to any of the mouldings in your home. Our designs have been pivotal to may restoration efforts, including one recognized by the Historical Society of Pasadena and the government of California.
To recreate a moulding, we need a sample of the original work. We have seen samples in every state from burned edges to blistering with staples. We ask that a sample provided has some mostly-uncompromised detail which we can measure with calipers and create a detailed model in our system. This often means a part that is still unharmed and installed must be removed and brought into our shop.
What is A Moulding Profile?
To mill any item that would go through a moulder you must have a profile of the design. These profiles have been used in the woodworking industry for centuries and they are all customizable in size and arrangement.
Historically there have been styles associated with particular architectural movements and time-periods. Famously, the Rococo and Baroque periods of art and style featured grand and complex mouldings, as can be seen in many buildings in Europe, especially churches and palaces such as Versailles.
They often used a base of wood moulding and plastered their designs on top. Modern designs generally feature more linear and simple moulding profiles when compared to those of the past.
Moulding is usually painted after installation, and the more complex designs are often gilded as well to highlight the delicate details.
Here is shown a red profile, cut by a CNC, taped to it's matching steel blade along with a sample of the wood moulding they have been used to create.
Below are shown more examples of profiles and steel either freshly shaped or ready to be formed to specifications.
Common Profile Examples
Shiplap
Shiplap
Shiplap
Shiplap boards overlap each other, the one above to the one below. There are many shiplap variations such as v-groove, beveled, nickel gap, channel, and more. They are used as siding most often, but may be found in many different wood works, like furniture.
Base
Shiplap
Shiplap
Base mouldings are installed where the floor and walls meet. They form a visual foundation as well as a protective barrier from the part of the wall that might be kicked, bumped, or scuffed the most. This moulding profile is often designed more plainly due to it's location.
Casing
Shiplap
Tongue & Groove
A casing is the piece of trim or moulding that is installed along the door or window frame to hold everything together. Often it is referred to as the frame of the window or door. Casings may be intricately or plainly designed, similarly to crown-moulding.
Tongue & Groove
Tongue & Groove
Tongue & Groove
The anatomy of a tongue & groove moulding includes a rabbet, tongue, and joint. This moulding requires two parts. It is often used for siding and flooring, but many interlocking designs will use it's basic structure as an element of the whole design.
Crown
Tongue & Groove
Handrail
Crown Moulding is often built up by layers of wood and carvings into intricate and beautiful designs. Although modern crown is often just as plain as base. It is installed where the walls and ceilings meet, to add interest that draws the eyes upward.
Handrail
Tongue & Groove
Handrail
Handrail is generally defined by a flat top, curved edges, and a profile that tends inwards toward the bottom as it fits well in the human hand. There are many different takes on handrail and many include details such as a bead or groove.
Interested In Learning More About Moulding?
Our Historic Preservation Work
We complete projects with the Historic Society and City of Pasadena, see more about that story and our restoration methods.
Hours
Open today | 07:00 am – 03:30 pm |
Closed Major Holidays
